Holman Christian Standard Bible^® Already #5

on Translation Sales Chart

New Bible Translation Lauded by Leaders, Pastors, and Other Readers

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 14, 2004 – The complete Holman Christian Standard Bible (Holman CSB ^®) translation, released for the first time with both Old and New Testaments in April 2004, is #5 on the July 2004 General Versions & Translations best-seller chart of national sales data from Christian retail stores.

The Holman CSB was commissioned by Broadman & Holman Publishers (B&H) and is the first all-new Bible translation from a major publisher in over 25 years.  An international team of 100 scholars and English stylists representing more than 20 different Protestant denominations worked together from the original biblical languages of Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic to arrive at the most accurate and readable modern English translation available today.

“We are encouraged by the early response to the complete Holman CSB,” said David R. Shepherd, B&H Senior Vice President/Publisher and Executive Editor of the new translation.  “It is selling faster than we expected, and we believe it reveals a hunger for a faithful, yet easy-to-understand, Bible.”

Now, Holman CSB readers from the United States and abroad are providing enthusiastic, unsolicited feedback to the B&H Web site:

·         “I commend your company for…a fresh and readable but still literal translation of the Holy Scriptures,” says Mark, a Lutheran pastor in Toowoomba, Australia.  “The Holman CSB will definitely fill a gap for readers of contemporary translations.”

·         “The translators combined the accuracy of the New American Standard Bible and the readability of the New Living Translation,” says Gary, a schoolteacher in Charlotte, Michigan.  “I compared the Holman CSB with numerous word studies from the original languages…and was very impressed with this translation.”

Christian leaders are enjoying the Holman CSB as well:

·         “What a fabulous translation of God’s Word!” says best-selling author and Bible teacher Beth Moore.  “A scholarly work true to the original languages yet very reader friendly.”  Others leaders endorsing the Holman CSB include Dr. Gary D. Chapman, Charles Colson, and Pat Robertson.

The Holman CSB is currently available in hardcover, pocket-size leather, and various specialty editions for churches, classrooms, gift/award giving, children, brides, sportsmen, police officers, firefighters, and the four military branches.  In October, the translation will be released in B&H’s most popular UltraThin Reference Bible format with full concordance and center column reference notes. 

In November, the Holman CSB will be featured in Every Day with Jesus, a Bible designed for reading through in one year, with 365 daily readings from the Old and New Testaments, Psalms, and Proverbs, plus daily devotionals from acclaimed British author Selwyn Hughes.  Every Day with Jesus will support a recent motion from the Southern Baptist Convention encouraging its 16 million-strong worldwide membership to read through the Bible in 2005.

Broadman & Holman is best known for publishing books by Dr. Henry Blackaby (Experiencing God) and Beth Moore (Praying God’s Word), as well as New York Times bestsellers Payne Stewart: The Authorized Biography and Lt.Col Oliver North’s Mission Compromised and The Jericho Sanction.  In fall 2004, B&H will release autobiographies by Chuck Norris (Against All Odds, September 1) and Michael Reagan (Twice Adopted, October 1).  In addition to developing the new Holman Christian Standard Bible translation, the company is also the largest publisher of Spanish language Bibles in the US.

For more information about the Holman Christian Standard Bible translation, visit http://www.holmancsb.org.

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