50-Year Anniversary Celebration Continues with the NIV Bible: "Made to Study"

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- To continue celebrating 50 years since work began on the New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible, Biblica and Zondervan are releasing the next campaign theme: Made to Study.

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Since its release in 1978, the NIV has become the world's most read and most trusted modern-English Bible translation with over 450 million copies distributed worldwide.

"Made to Study" launches today, continuing its focus on the historical milestones that accompanied the translation process. Fifty years ago, an international committee of cross-denominational evangelical scholars committed to spend countless hours discussing and debating detailed translation and language nuances. Their goal? To create a Bible translation that could be understood and adopted by pastors, academics, and laypeople alike.

In 1978, the committee, known as The Committee on Bible Translation (CBT), released the full version of the NIV; readers were ecstatic that they could finally understand the Word of God in contemporary language.  But the CBT's work was far from complete.  A smaller group of committee scholars assembled study notes, maps, charts and diagrams to provide additional content and context, resulting in the NIV Study Bible. This Bible released in 1985 and provided unprecedented clarity with over 20,000 study notes and hundreds of study tools available to readers. The NIV Study Bible was designed for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the Bible.  To date, this Study Bible has sold more than 10 million copies, making it the best-selling single study Bible available over the past 30 years.

"This anniversary campaign has been exciting thus far and we have only just begun to share the history of the NIV in this year-long campaign," said John Kramp, SVP and Bible publisher for HarperCollins Christian Publishing.  "The Made to Study campaign will continue to bring historical context to the NIV's establishment within the Christian movement throughout the world. In addition to the translation itself, another key milestone of the CBT's hard work was the publication of the NIV Study Bible. This Bible has been so impactful in helping Bible readers to grow deeper in their faith and understanding of God's Word.  Hundreds of thousands of people have come to better know Jesus because of this Bible's commitment to making the deep study of God's Word achievable."

Visit www.thenivbible.com to view the Made to Study video, along with several stories related to the theme under the "50^th Anniversary" tab. Also available on the site are a 365-day reading plan and tools for finding the NIV Bible that's right for you.

Earlier this year, Biblica, Zondervan and Tecarta launched a free NIV 50th Anniversary mobile app available on IOS and Android that provides free access to the NIV for the 2015 calendar year. In addition to providing the NIV text, the mobile app includes additional quarterly content including the NIV Study Bible notes, NIV Quest Study Bible notes, the NIV Women's Study Bible notes, and the NIV Student Bible notes. All of this bestselling content will be available for students of the NIV Bible to use at no charge.

For additional information on the NIV 50^th Anniversary, please visit www.thenivbible.com.  

About Zondervan
Zondervan is a world-leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications.  Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., delivers transformational Christian experiences through its bestselling Bibles, books, curriculum, academic resources and digital products. The Company's products are sold worldwide and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan's offices are located in Grand Rapids, MI.  For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.

About Biblica
For over 200 years, Biblica has provided God's Word so people can enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ and be formed by him. The Colorado Springs-based non-profit organization works in Africa, East Asia, the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East/North Africa, North America, and South Asia.  Biblica translates and publishes the complete Bible into the world's 100 most widely spoken languages and is the translation sponsor and worldwide publisher of the New International Version® (NIV®) Bible, the most widely used contemporary English translation in the world. For additional information, please visit www.biblica.com.

SOURCE Zondervan

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