Bibles are the most common book in the world, especially in the english language. Quotations from chairman mao zedong, mao zedong, 900 million. The bible is also the most widely translated book in history. First of all everything youve said about the bible is exactly the same but for the quran. Dont you feel bad and guilty when you know that your religion is responsible for cutting down more trees and destroying the environment more than any other book. The bible tops the list of the most read books in the world. The bible is easily one of the bestselling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard to nail down. William caxton, who introduced the printing press to england, printed the recuyell of the historyes of troye in 1473, which he had translated from the french original of raoul lefevre. Each year, some 60 million copies of the entire bible or portions of it are distributed. The bible book features breakdowns of some of the most wellknown passages ever written from the bible.
Bought by james lenox in 1847, it was the first copy to be acquired by a united states citizen. Another unique and related fact is that the bible was the first major book ever to be printed, on gutenbergs press. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Banning the most dangerous book in the world cnsnews.
It is a literal translation which holds to the wordforword school of thought mentioned above. It is the source of the christian religion and contains what christians need to know about god, jesus, salvation, the christian life, and more. I hope the below estimations show that the quran is in fact the most read book. Kjv holy bible, thinline large print bible, brown faux leather bible wthumb index and ribbon marker, red letter edition, king james version.
Why the king james bible of 1611 remains the most popular. And this is why, as bible gateway general manager rachel barach told christianity today, the bible has been criticized, challenged, and banned by individuals, groups, and governments through. No other book, religious or otherwise, even comes close. Jan 28, 2016 the gutenberg bible is probably the most valuable book or type of book in the world. Maos little red book comes in at number two and then the surprises begin. The bible, however, is exceptional even among classical works. Exact print figures for these and other books may also be missing or unreliable since these kinds of books may be produced by many different and unrelated. It was first printed in 1560, a full 51 years before the king james bible. Nov 21, 2018 the new american standard bible nasb was first published in 1963, with the most recent edition published in 1995. It is inspired, infallable, and theologically deep. Gutenbergs bibles were surprisingly beautiful, as each leaf gutenberg printed was later colorfully handilluminated. Today, the worlds most translated book is the bible.
It is by far the most widely circulated book on earth. Even now, more than four centuries after its publication, the king james bible a. Sep 06, 2016 the answer is quite surprising at first, but not that unexpected when you think about it. Unsurprisingly, the most popular book of all time has an interesting history.
What are the top 10 most printed books of all time. The bible, however, is by far the most exceptional of them all. Harris poll researchers asked 2,234 american adults what their favourite book is, without clarifying any particular kinds of book, or offering multiple choice selection. The name refers to the new covenant or promise between god and humanity through the death and resurrection of jesus christ. Since then, billions upon billions of books on every subject imaginable have been printed. As of june 2017, the series has been translated into 80 languages, placing harry potter among historys most translated literary works. The bible is by far the most widely translated and distributed book. The bible is the most widely distributed and bestselling book in the world. Oct 19, 2015 in fact, the very first book printed in english was a translation. Ap survey results released yesterday show that the bible is the most popular book in the us across all age groups and demographics. The first edition printed from movable type came off the printing press of the german inventor. Kjv holy bible, large print compact bible, tan faux leather bible wribbon marker, red letter edition, king james version. With thousands of translations, over forty original authors, and a two millennium history, lets take a look at the trails, tribulations, changes, and status of the worlds most popular book.
The 2010 edition of the catalogue is the worlds third most printed publication next to the bible and harry potter. The word bible comes from the greek word biblia meaning books. The bible is the holy scripture of the christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the earth from its earliest creation to the spread of christianity in the first century a. Then i will examine whether a copy of the bible is more or less likely to. Any socalled 1611 king james version you buy today at the local christian bookstore is absolutely not the 1611. Many other versions have emerged since then, but the king james authorized version remains the most printed book in the history of the world. But martin roth wrote an article in 2002 where he was pretty sure that ikea was close to beating the bible in regard of worldwide distribution. Exact print statistics for such books are, in fact, not available, or inaccurate because many unrelated publishers have printed these books over. The book alcoholics anonymous is not in the top ten books of all time.
How many bibles have been printed answers the most. The koran is not only the most widely read book in the islamic world but also the most widely recited koran means recitation. To even the most seasoned bible collector we would say, ill bet you dont have one of these. Despite its many enemies, the bible became and continues to be the most widely distributed book of all time.
Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures, there is little doubt that the bible is the worlds bestselling and most widely distributed book. The 20 most translated texts in history ingco international. Its popularity was immediate and persistently spectacular. The worlds most widely distributed book watchtower. Christian books still dominate alltime bestsellers lists. In 1455, johannes gutenberg created the first printed bible in the latin vulgate. Hi all, here is my opinion based on facts and partly on assumptions. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of. To date there have been approximately 6,001,500,000 bibles printed.
Also, does anyone have an update of the percentage of the religions in the world. The new testament is a collection of 27 books, usually placed after the old testament in most christian bibles. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years he found. The bible is the most widely circulated and printed book in history. The first edition printed from movable type came off the printing press of the german inventor johannes gutenberg about 1455. It holds the reputation for being the most accurate bible translation in english.
When asked for tips on how to better understand the bible, the evangelical pastor said the holy book is the most important text to understand in the entire world, because it is gods word gods message to you, and to all humanity. The king james bible is the most printed book in the history of the world. Since then an estimated four billion bibles the whole or in part have been printed. The first major book to come off his press was a bible. And this is why, as bible gateway general manager rachel barach told christianity today, the bible has been criticized, challenged, and banned by individuals, groups, and governments through centuries of persecution. Done in latin, and extensively accented in red ink, this is the very first concordance to the bible ever printed. The bible, the worlds bestselling book, is also the worlds most shoplifted book. What is the second best selling book of all time after the bible. According to guinness world records as of 1995, the bible is the bestselling book of all time, with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed. Thus the oldest book in the world must surely be the gutenberg bible oldest printed book in the west, from c. The bible is often said to be the worlds best sold book but search the best seller lists and you wont find it anywhere, top to bottom.
The most popular book of all time christian universities. Many scholars say the gutenberg bible is the oldest mechanically printed book. The bibleunique book, distributed more than any other. The bible is a wonderful book of wisdom and revelation. The geneva bible is one of the most significant translations of the bible into english. Equally incorrect are websites whose claims are based on the premise that a book is a printed object. As far back as 1966 the whole bible had appeared in 240 languages and dialects, and one or more of its books appeared in 739 additional ones. Is bible the worlds bestselling or mostread or most distributed. The gutenberg bible, also known as the 42line bible, is listed by the guinness book of world records as the worlds oldest mechanically printed book the first copies of which were printed. Scholars can debate endlessly over which book is the best of all time, but finding out which ones have enjoyed the most commercial success should be a more concrete endeavor.
The quran is also widely reported to be one of the most printed and distributed books worldwide, with billions of copies believed to be in. The bible is the most widely printed and published book in the world. It marked the start of the gutenberg revolution and the age of printed books in the west. Chances are good that your favorite bible was printed in china. Bound in its original boards, this is the only one known to be available in the world. Apr 26, 2016 to them, the bible is the worlds most dangerous book. Sunlight bibles are separate, lightweight, and portable individual books of the bible. The bible is a collection of ancient religious texts and is considered to be the word of god in both christianity and judaism. The most popular version of the bible, the king james version, was first published in 1611. Apr 20, 2020 the first dated printed book is the diamon sutra. Looking at several fun facts pages, the claim of bible being the most shoplifted book appears on several of them. And where does the book alcoholics anonymous place on that list.
Sep 17, 2012 the book we received was a 1580 copy of the geneva bible. He found that the bible far outsold any other book, with a whopping 3. Discover the best christian bibles in best sellers. Last time it was like 33% christian the most popular but what is it now.
Chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. Researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 mostread books in the world. Discover the best christian bible concordances in best sellers. The bible and quotations from chairman mao still vie for the top spot, with. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years. To them, the bible is the worlds most dangerous book. Johann gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1450s, and the first book to ever be printed was a latin language bible, printed in mainz, germany. While its true that many neglect reading this book, and its probably because they dont want to hear the message of coming judgment, revelation is not the least read book. The 15 biggest bestsellers ever after the bible photos. The most popular book of all time christian universities online.
Since the invention of the printing press in mid1400s, the holy bible has been the most printed book in all of world history, at an estimated 6 billion copies. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. Although its written origins go back 3,500 years, it is still very much alive. The bible is one of the most shoplifted books in the world, as well as being one of. The bible is the us\s most popular book christian news on. The bible is the most read and sold book in the history of the world, with an estimated sale amount of 100 million copies annually its not surprising that this text received the number 1 spot on this list. Apr 16, 2019 published in 1611, the king james bible spread quickly throughout europe. Each book in the complete set weighs less than 16 oz. There are more and more people becoming christians all over the world, especially in antichristian nations like iraq, iran, china, north korea, and afghanistan. A survey by the bible society concluded that around 2. We offer a very affordable 11 tall regular edition and two fullsize 17 tall slipcased fine binding options, featuring 100% rag cotton pages, and fullgrain leather. The worlds most widely distributed book watchtower online. The bible is the most printed and read book in the world.
This page provides lists of bestselling individual books and book series to date and. We can just look at the sales numbers and rank them. Nov 15, 20 researcher james chapman has compiled this look at the top 10 most read books in the world. Which book is printed in the most languages answers. No, the bible is not the most read book in the world, and is not the most printed book in the world. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the philosophers stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time. So its wisdom has reached and helped more people than any other publication. On the other hand, free copies of englishlanguage translations of the bible can be found at churches or downloaded from websites. It is one of the great ironies of book collecting that bibles can be among both the most valuable and least expensive of books.
Jan 31, 2008 so bible is the most printed book in history. No other book is as important as the bible and christians need to make an effort to understand it, the rev. Dec 20, 2008 the bible is the most printed book, right. Most people will guess that book of revelation is the least read book in the bible. The top 10 most published books of all time les listes. Aside from the bible, this book was the most printed of. The most widely printed book in history is the christian bible.
Born as johann gensfleisch john gooseflesh, he preferred to be. Most of holmans contributors either graduated from or taught at a southern baptist seminary, and the work is committed to the conservative southern baptist understanding of the bible. The gutenberg bible is probably the most valuable book or type of book in the world. Because of the wealth of resources devoted to the project, it was the most faithful and scholarly translation to date. Aside from the bible, the imitation was the book most often printed in the 16th century. In fact, the very first book printed in english was a translation. In whole or in part, an estimated five billion copies have been printed in more than 2,800 languages. Apr 11, 2007 what are the top 10 most printed books of all time. The gutenberg bible also known as the 42line bible, the mazarin bible or the b42 was among the earliest major books printed using massproduced movable metal type in europe. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks.
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