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200 Years of the American Bible Society

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the American Bible Society, an organization dedicated to making the Bible available to everyone.  Discover highlights from ABS’s first 200 years.

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This year marks the 200th anniversary of the American Bible Society, an organization dedicated to making the Bible available to everyone, in languages and formats they can understand. Discover highlights from ABS’s first 200 years, and read more in the May 2016 issue of Guideposts.

Guideposts: John Jay, second president of the American Bible Society

1 of 5 John Jay, Second President of the American Bible Society

John Jay, co-author of the Federalist Papers, Governor of NY and first chief justice of the Supreme Court, served as the second president of the American Bible Society. Jay extended the Society’s ministry into Latin America and China, and it was during his tenure that the Society began providing Bibles in the U.S. that were translated into languages other than English, designed for recent immigrants.

 


Guideposts: A photograph of facing pages in the Delaware Bible

2 of 5 The Delaware Bible

In 1818, the American Bible Society offered its first translation of the Good Book, into Lenape of Delaware, a Native American language

 

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Guideposts: A worker at the Amity Press

3 of 5 A Worker at the Amity Press

A worker oversees the printing of Bibles at the Amity Press, a printing press in Nanjing, China, that began operation in 1987. On Nov. 8, 2012, the Amity Press celebrated the printing of its 100 millionth Bible. Today, Amity is the biggest Bible publisher in the world.


Guideposts: Pope Benedict XVI is presented with the Biblia Polyglotta

4 of 5 Pope Benedict XVI receives the Biblia Polyglotta

In 2008,  a delegation from the American Bible Society presented the Biblia Polyglotta (Polyglot Bible) to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican. A polyglot Bible is a multilingual Bible in which the different texts are displayed in parallel columns.

 


Guideposts: A closeup shot of scriptural tweets appearing on a smart phone

5 of 5 American Bible Society on Social Media

The American Bible Society, which launched its social media efforts in 2012, has a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Soundcloud.

 

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