Holman—America’s Oldest Bible Publisher

33 Years Before the Declaration of Independence, We Published Our First Revolutionary Document. Martin Luther’s Bible.

The pursuit of American freedom had not yet cost any lives when a loyal man of God launched a solitary battle for the liberty of souls in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Christoph Saur, a fervent—and expert—printer knew that a revolution of the soul would bring a peace more profound than any political movement. And that a real change in the hearts of men could come only from knowing God through His Word.

America’s measureless mountains and forests were friendlier to fur trading and timber harvesting than to a sophisticated industry like book printing. Though pamphlets, booklets, and newspapers were becoming the stock of printers, no one had dared attempt the production of a massive work like the Bible. But in 1740, Saur began printing the 1272-page German Bible, translated more than two centuries earlier by Martin Luther, four pages at a time.

The frequency of an event and the evidence for the occurrence of a one-time event with an accurate description of it are two entirely different matters.
— Doug Powell

Using rudimentary 18th century technology, the great task of producing America’s first Bible consumed three years of Saur’s life. The 1,000 Bibles he printed brought the blessing of Scripture to German-speaking colonists, a language group so pervasive in early America that until nearly 1800, it was unclear whether German or English would become the standard language of the people.

Saur died before his second edition could be completed, but a faithful son carried on the visionary work. Since then, others have shared the Saur passion for Scripture. In the 19th century, Saur’s enterprise passed on to A. J. Holman whose namesake company now lives on as Holman Bible Publishers.

Holman is one of America’s premiere Bible publishers, holding the distinction of being the nation’s leading publisher of Spanish-language Bibles. And in this century translating into English from the original biblical languages the highly accurate, remarkably readable Holman Christian Standard Bible®. The Holman CSB is available in dozens of fine editions, to include The Apologetics Study Bible beginning in October 2007.

The Apologetics Study Bible—Now available at your favorite bookstore or online retailer
See Why You Believe