Consistently, the #1 selling book in print is the Holy Bible. Obviously, people want to read the Scriptures. Obviously, the sales of this book have produced substantial income. So why is it that right now, the KJV is one of only a handful of translations available for free electronically?
In the United States, a work becomes public domain 70 years after the author’s death, or 95 years after publication (it’s more complicated, but that covers the basics). The obvious problem is the legality of public domain, and that only amplifies the seriousness of my question.
In the current age, the premium on information is falling. Even excluding the casual availability of books in public libraries, anyone with a computer and access to the Internet can glean hundreds of thousands of books, legally, at any time. The popularity of electronic readers further enhances the user friendliness of these books.
Are the publishers of other versions so attached to their “best selling” profit margins that they cannot release this, the most important words ever printed, into public domain? What would happen if these versions were made legally available? If the person seeking truh could log into sites like Project Gutenberg and download the NIV, CEV, or RSV Bible, maybe the American public would stop thinking us archaic and stubborn.
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