by Blaine A. Smith, Bible Publisher, Tyndale House Publishers

Tyndale House Publishers started in 1962 as a small publishing company operating out of Dr. Kenneth and Margaret Taylor’s home in Wheaton Illinois. The only product in that humble beginning was entitled Living Letters – the epistles paraphrased by Dr. Taylor, primarily so that his ten children could better understand their nightly Bible readings.  Dr. Taylor was passionate about making the Bible accessible for all people.

That passion, beginning with the publication of Living Letters eventually led to the publication of The Living Bible in 1971.  This green padded hardcover paraphrase went on to be the best-selling book in the United States from 1973 through 1975!

Making the Bible accessible has been the clarion call for all Tyndale employees from the very beginning.  The Living Bible continues to sell today with now over 40 million copies in circulation!  The New Living Translation, a full translation of the Bible based on the work of over 90 Bible scholars has gone on to become the #3 Bible translation in the United States and has eclipsed The Living Bible in units sold since its introduction in 1996.

Now 58 years old, Tyndale House Publishers has become a leading Bible Publisher, not only in the United States, but around the world.  We are always seeking fresh ways to engage people with the life-changing message of God’s Word and to encourage them in their Bible reading.

In 2010, Doug Knox, Senior Vice-President and Group Publisher, met with Klaus Krogh. From that very first meeting the spark of creativity fanned into flame.  It was clear from the beginning that 2K/Denmark and Tyndale House Publishers shared a burning desire to make God’s Word accessible and to do so in a way that honored the Scriptures while forming the presentation to appeal to the modern reader.

This year that collaborative partnership will bring the Daily Readers Bible, in the New Living Translation, to the market in the English language.  When Klaus first presented the concept to Doug Knox and Tyndale’s Bible Publisher, Blaine Smith, it was quickly apparent that the creative minds at 2K/Denmark had developed something truly unique – something that could rival Tyndale’s One Year Bible which has easily been the best-selling daily reading Bible since the concept was introduced in the 1980’s.

Tyndale’s Bible Acquisitions Director, Dave Thornton, stated “Most Christians want to read the Bible but when they set out to do that two key problems stand in their way. When they attempt a beginning-to-end reading of the Bible, they often bog down after the first 100 pages. The stories of Genesis and Exodus are fascinating, but as they begin moving into Leviticus and Numbers these two things pop up. First, they struggle to understand what’s happening and what it means, and second they can find some of the long lists, or detailed archaic laws boring. As a result, any Bible that helps people understand by connecting the dots throughout the full story of Scripture, and that groups the passages in such a way that daily readings vary throughout the different genres and testaments is quite helpful.”

Both Tyndale and 2K/Denmark clearly understood these challenges that a great daily reading Bible needs to address.  Bibles have come and gone over the years, but one that could truly endure would have to be something very special indeed.  Klaus and Johs Krehberg-Jahr set out to provide a daily reading Bible with a 4-part goal: 1 – structure the readings so that each reading related thematically for each day; 2 – provide a clear distinction between the different literary types of the Bible; 3 – control the length of time required of the reader each day; and, 4 – include every word of scripture without repeating any for the entire 365-days!  Any one of these four goals on its own is a challenging task.  Incorporating all FOUR into the same Bible is, well shall we say impossible?  Or so we thought, when Klaus first described the project in 2017.

After a revisit to the drawing board, Klaus presented the concept in 2018 – the 2K team had pulled off the impossible!  The Daily Reader’s Bible features the full text of the Bible without repetition in 365 daily readings (The Stories of the Bible, The Teaching of the Bible, and the Wisdom of the Bible).  Each daily reading is uninterrupted by chapter numbers, verse numbers, section headings or textual notes.  The daily theme helps the reader understand how the different sections of the reading support and complete the other.  The innovative typesetting using 3-columns for the Stories section, 2-columns for the Teachings section and 1-column for the Wisdom section help the reader to clearly see transitions from one reading type to another and help the reader to develop a rhythm of daily reading. Each reading takes about 10-15 minutes per day. And here’s the bonus – 2K/Denmark’s type foundry developed fonts expressly designed for the challenges of Bible typesetting, resulting in imminently readable pages that encourage the reader to linger in God’s Word.  The structure of the readings and the use of red-letter for the words of Christ, give the reader the sense that Jesus is speaking into their lives in nearly every daily reading.

Thornton said “The new Daily Readers Bible presents a fascinating approach to Scripture reading that links key themes of Scripture throughout the different genres and presents these texts in a visually fresh 3-2-1 column style unlike any other Bible on the market. We’re excited to present this fresh and visually stunning approach to 365 important thematic readings that help Christians accomplish the important goal of completing their plan to read through the Bible in a year.”

Our good friends at 2K/Denmark have helped us take another step forward in Dr. Taylor’s mission to make the Bible accessible – after all, it is who they are – and this shared, uncommon passion makes for a great partnership.

Take a look inside the Daily Readers Bible

Devotional from the THRIVE Devotional Bible for Women

Love Letter from God

Beloved Daughter

I am very near to you, and I delight in you. I am here for calm your fears and care for your every need. No one knows you better than I do because I created you to be close to Me. Many times you feel far from Me because you’re looking for comfort and love in places they can’t be found. I am the lover of your soul, and I want you to walk out each day in the confidence that you are loved and cherished by Me. As you look up to the heavens, know that I am with you everywhere you go.

Love,
Your Heavenly Father

Reflection

We can miss God’s presence when we’re blinded by our own fears and try to handle life’s problems on our own. When we are afraid, we should run right to our God. He feels more present when we feel out of control.

Treasure of Truth

God delights in you.

Look inside the Thrive Devotional Bible for Women

“O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.”

Psalm 139:1-3, NLT

Read those verses from Psalm 3 times to remind yourself who knows you best. Then ask a parent for guardian to help you print our a map of where you live.

Mark your map using the key below.

Use a highlighter to trace the roads your family uses, then read PSALM 139:1–3 out loud. God always knows where you are, what you’re doing , and what you’re thinking and feeling. Wherever you go, whatever you think or feel, God understands and loves you!

Use a red marker to draw a large heart that surrounds all the places you’ve highlighted on your map. Then hang your map in your room to help you remember the verse you just learned!

Bonus Idea: You also can print a map of the world or your country and mark different places you’ve been or lived.

Look inside the Hands-On Bible

“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.

His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”

Psalm 100, NLT

Notes from the HelpFinder Bible

We do not think of ourselves as a worshiping culture, let alone an idolatrous culture, but our behavior suggests otherwise. Consider our weekly gatherings of up to one hundred thousand frenzied fans observing a ceremony of men dressed in strange garb acting out a violent drama of conquest. Others stay at home and join in by way of a small glowing shrine set up in the family room.

Fans of professional football are probably not even aware that their behavior could be described as worship. Or consider the way thousands of young people scream and throw themselves at the stage where their rock-star idols are performing. Human beings were created to worship. To worship is to ascribe ultimate value to an object, person, or God—and then to revere, adore, pay homage to, and obey by ordering the priorities of our lives around that which we worship. The Bible teaches that God alone is worthy of our worship. Worship, more than anything else, will connect us with God, our only source of lasting hope.

What is the ultimate purpose of my worship?
• 1 CHRONICLES 17:16-18 | “Who am I, O Lord God . . . that you have brought me this far?. . . You know what your servant is really like.”

• 1 CHRONICLES 29:10-13 | Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly: “O Lord, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord. . . . We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!”

• ISAIAH 6:3 | They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

• LEVITICUS 15:31 | “This is how you will guard the people of Israel from ceremonial uncleanness. Otherwise they would die, for their impurity would defile my Tabernacle that stands among them.”
Worship is the recognition of who God is and of who you are in relation to him. Ultimately, everything we do should be based on what we think of and how we worship the almighty God. If our actions don’t pay ultimate honor to him, then we are paying ultimate honor to someone or something else.

• PROVERBS 3:9 | Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.

• EXODUS 23:19 | “As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.”
Giving the firstfruits of your income to God honors him as your number one priority. Your offerings demonstrate that your work is for God and that his work is most important.

• REVELATION 4:9-11 | Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

• REVELATION 5:11-12 | Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”
Your worship of God is a foretaste of heaven.

• GENESIS 4:3-4 | When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock.
In the gifts of Abel and Cain we see that, from the very beginning, humans have an instinct for worship. We desire to offer thanks and honor to God by expressing our praise and bringing offerings from our work to God. Even if we fall short of the mark, as Cain did, the instinct is still there.

Learn more about the HelpFinder Bible

But Elijah replied, ‘Give me your son.’ And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?’

And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.’ The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. ‘Look!’ he said. ‘Your son is alive!’

Then the woman told Elijah, ‘Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.'” 1 Kings 17:17-24, NLT

Elijah Profile from the Beyond Suffering Bible

Asking others for help is humbling and can be life changing for everyone involved. If the person you ask has little available to give, your request may seem selfish or insensitive. But what if God told you to ask that person for assistance?

Elijah had a word from God directing him to go to Zarephath, where he would meet an impoverished widow and single mother who had no way of knowing that God was about to set in motion a miracle—one that would not only provide for her needs, but also impact her faith forever.

This story plays out in three acts.

Act One. Elijah instructed the widow to use her meager supplies of flour and cooking oil to bake some bread to feed him first, then her and her son. Elijah acted with God’s assurance that there would be enough food from that day until the new rains and crops arrived (17:14). The widow followed the prophet’s instructions, and there was just enough flour and oil to meet their daily needs. The promise of God was fulfilled.

Act Two. When the widow’s son became sick and died, the desperate woman turned to Elijah for help. He carried the child to his own room, where he prayed. Elijah’s first prayer was a complaint: “Why bring this tragedy on a poor woman who is simply struggling to stay alive? How can this be fair?” His second prayer was a request: “Give back the child’s life.” And God did.

Act Three. The grieving mother was given back a healthy, living son. The woman’s response went beyond simple joy or relief—she acknowledged the activity of God in the life and words of his prophet. Elijah was obedient, willing to trust God and humble himself to ask for help, even when it made no sense. The result? An abundant provision came through an unlikely source, and a struggling woman’s faith was strengthened.

Look inside the Beyond Suffering Bible