The Bibles in our church pews are New International Version (NIV) Bibles. In our personal daily Bible Studies, many of us also use other versions such as the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), New Living Translation, Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, the Living Bible and so on. There seems to be no end to the number of translations and paraphrases of the Bible. One of my friends reads the Bible from cover to cover each and every year but uses a different translation each time. He has gone through a lot of translations!

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra posted a blog two years ago on Christianity Today titled, “The Most Popular and Fastest Growing Bible Translation Isn't What You Think It Is.” A bookstore’s best seller is the NIV Bible so you might think that it is then also the most popular Bible. Not so says Sarah. When Americans reach for their Bibles, more than half of them pick up a King James Version, according to a new study advised by respected historian Mark Noll.

Mr. Noll stated that “The 55 percent who read the KJV or the NKJV easily outnumber the 19 percent who read the New International Version (NIV). And the percentages drop into the single digits for competitors such as the New Revised Standard Version, New America Bible and the Living Bible.”

The high numbers of KJV readers confirm the findings of the American Bible Society (ABS) State of the Bible report. On behalf of ABS, Barna Group found that 52 percent of Americans read the King James or the New King James Version, compared with 11 percent who read the NIV.

The KJV has been around and changed lives for centuries. It is a rich translation and can enhance any Bible Study. As Mark stated, “Although the bookstores are now crowded with alternative versions, and although several different translations are now widely used in church services and for preaching, the large presence of the KJV testifies to the extraordinary power of this one classic English text."

Click here to read the complete blog by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra

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