Thanks for praying for the Pacific Wa'a Partnership meetings. Many good plans were made, including plans for a Bible artifact exhibit in 3 places in Papua New Guinea. This will be a good opportunity to promote the Holy Bible in that nation.

Did you know that it is illegal in 191 countries (including the United States of America) to copy, record, or broadcast most modern translations of the Holy Bible without specific written permission from the copyright owner? Did you know that in the case of most of the Bible translations into major languages, copyright owners generally don't give that permission without distribution limits and, in most cases, payment? Of course, that is how many Bible translation agencies finance their operations. That is fine for them, and they do a great deal of good. However, I see more that can be done with the Great Commission by taking full advantage of our capability of copying and sharing files in an age of plentiful computers, smart phones, and digital tablets that are connected with various networks and media. A translation of the Holy Bible that has no legal or technical barriers to copying and sharing can "go viral" in the sense that it is copied from person to person so much that nobody can actually count how many copies there are, let alone censor or stop it.

The short story is that God directed me to translate the Holy Bible into modern English and let people copy it freely. That is how the World English Bible came into existence. (For the long story, see eBible.org/webhistory.htm.)

The World English Bible has gone viral. There are so many copies in existence in so many electronic and print formats that I lost count a long time ago. They are in use world wide. I know this by looking at samples of web server statistics on my own servers, by searching the Internet for references to the World English Bible, by the flood of email I get about the World English Bible, and by talking to people. I regularly get email from people who especially appreciate the legal freedom to freely quote the World English Bible in their own books, songs, artwork, etc., with no royalties, no hassles, and no distribution limits. I also get letters complementing the World English Bible by people who are surprised that a copyright-free Bible could be of such high quality.

Here is an excerpt from a brother who had just invested a great deal of labor and money in using another English Bible translation, but was then denied permission to continue using it for public performances of reciting Scripture from memory and recording and distributing such performances. He cautiously asked if he could really do that with the World English Bible with no royalties, restrictions, or conditions, and when I replied with a resounding, definite "YES", he said: