LifeWay Christian Resources: Holman Christian Standard Bible Releases April 15; New Bible Translation First in 30 Years.

Lifestyle Editors/Business Editors

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2004

New Bible translations don't happen very often. In 570 years, only seven pure translations ever made it on paper. The most recent - the Holman Christian Standard Bible - comes out April 15.

"This is a historic event for us, and we pray future generations will see this as a profoundly historical day as well," LifeWay President and CEO Jimmy Draper said as he opened a dedication service for the Holman CSB held April 2 at LifeWay Christian Resources' Nashville headquarters.

Draper joined Broadman & Holman Vice President Ken Stephens, Holman CSB General Editor Dr. Ed Blum and others in announcing the completion of the first major English-language translation of the Bible in more than 30 years.

The Holman CSB, an all-new translation directly from the original biblical languages, is the culmination of a 20-year project that involved an international team of 100 translators, editors and biblical scholars representing 20 denominations and non-denominational churches. The Bible is published by Broadman & Holman, a division of LifeWay.

"Never before in history has there been as much information about the Bible as there is today - from archaeological discoveries to analysis of ancient manuscripts to years of study and statistical research on individual Bible books," Blum said. "Translations made as recently as 10 or 20 years ago do not reflect many of these advances in biblical research."

The Holman CSB team cited four primary reasons for the new translation:

-- To provide a highly readable text that precisely retains the

original and full meaning of Scripture in order to encourage

and enhance Bible study;

-- To provide today's generation with a fresh translation of the

Bible in its own language, keeping in step with the rapidly

changing English language;

-- To take advantage of the latest advances in biblical

scholarship and computer technology that were not available to

previous translators; and

-- To safeguard the Scriptures from trends toward cultural

pluralism, political correctness and drifting ideology.

Attention Editors: Additional information about the Holman CSB, including story suggestions, expert info, downloadable photos, audio, video and more, is available at LifeWay's online newsroom, http://www.lifeway.com/news. The Holman CSB Media Center can be accessed by clicking on its icon located at the right of the screen.