Ken looked up from his Bible into the faces of his children, gathered for their family devotions [1]. He’d been reading to them from a puzzling passage, and the circle of glassy eyes betrayed their lack of understanding.
Ken knew the problem; he’d dealt with it himself growing up in the 1920s. The King James Version of 1611, used by most Protestant churches at the time, was difficult for modern generations to comprehend—much less Ken’s children growing up in the 1940s and ‘50s.
He stopped reading and explained the meaning of the confusing verse.
“But Daddy,” said one of his daughters, “if that’s what it means, why doesn’t it say so” [2]?
Why not, indeed, thought Ken. That’s when he decided to rewrite certain Bible stories for his ten children.
Ken’s background provided a strong foundation for such a project. He’d grown up in the home of a pastor father and godly mother, and earned an advanced theology degree.
That training served him well, first as editor for HIS magazine, then at Good News Publishers, and finally as director of Moody Press in Chicago.
Ken’s children loved his stories, and when he shared them with colleagues at Moody, they urged him to publish. (He’d already published two children’s books.) The first collection of scripture-stories, The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes (1956), was followed by several more.
Then came a new God-inspired epiphany. What if he rewrote scripture thought-for-thought instead of word-for-word, but still based on the original Hebrew or Greek? Could he make scripture—even the non-story parts—more understandable for his children?
Ken flipped open his Bible, and his eyes landed on 2 Timothy 2:4.
“No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (KJV).
After careful thought, Ken wrote: “As Christ’s soldier do not let yourself become tied up in worldly affairs, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army [3].”
That night he shared his rewrite with the family. They approved.
Thus began a multi-year commitment of evenings, weekends, and vacations, revising scripture for his family. Ken even worked during the 45-minute commute by train from his home (in Wheaton, Illinois) to Chicago.
Each evening he’d share the results of his efforts with the family.
A few years later another possibility occurred to Ken. Other families might also appreciate a scripture revision in modern-day English. By this time (1962), he’d completed the twenty-one epistles (letters) of the New Testament. He called the book Living Letters.
However, publisher after publisher rejected the manuscript. They doubted people would be interested in a modern version of the epistles so far removed from the familiar King James.
Ken and his wife Margaret decided to finance from their savings a printing of 2000 copies. He then rented half a booth at a Christian book convention and sold 800 copies.
The family helped process the orders at the dining room table. Boxes of books were stored under their beds.
Several months passed before the first orders arrived at their home. Ken dipped into their savings again and printed 5,000 copies. A few months later, 10,000 more.
In 1963 the Billy Graham Association contacted Ken. They wanted to offer Living Letters to anyone who requested a copy. They distributed six hundred thousand copies world-wide.
Considerable proceeds began to accumulate, but Ken and Margaret weren’t interested in upgrading their modest lifestyle. They set up a foundation in order to fund Christian mission projects worldwide [4].
Another prompting from God led Ken to leave Moody Press so he could write full-time and revise more books of the Bible into modern day language.
From 1964 to 1970 Ken added such volumes as The Living Prophecies (1964) and The Living Gospels (1966). Each one included a different portion of the Bible.
By 1965, the dining room no longer sufficed for conducting the business of their company, Tyndale House Publishing [5]. Ken moved the operation to offices nearby. Another move became necessary in 1967 when even more space was required.
By 1972 Ken had completed the revision of the entire scriptures. The Living Bible was released, selling eight million copies by the end of that year.
In 1973, The Living Bible became the best-selling book in America, and Tyndale House Publishing soon became the well-known and highly-respected company it is today.
By the late 1980s Ken had been semi-retired for several years and his son Mark served as CEO. Tyndale House brought together ninety Bible scholars to work on The New Living Translation, which would be “faithful to the ancient texts and eminently readable” [6]. That volume was released in 1996 and has sold more than 50 million copies.
To this day Tyndale House carries on the passion and Living legacy of Kenneth N. Taylor (1917-2005), ministering to “the spiritual needs of people, primarily through literature consistent with biblical principles” [7].
[1] A time of Bible reading and prayer
[2] https://todayschristianliving.org/ken-taylor-making-scripture-clear/
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] William Tyndale translated the Bible into English, and was burned at the stake in 1536 for doing so.
[6] https://www.tyndale.com/about-the-nlt
[7] https://www.tyndale.com/kenneth-n-taylor
Other sources:
https://www.zianet.com/maxey/ver4.htm
https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/6/Tyndale-House-Publishers-Inc.html
From the Inside Out 