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Japanese Now Available in the Bible App and at YouVersion.com

Thanks to our amazing community of translation volunteers, YouVersion.com and the Bible App’s interface on iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch), Android, and bada are now entirely available in Japanese. (And coming soon: Java devices!) If you already have the Bible App on a supported device, simply set the default language for your device to Japanese. And if you have the latest update of the Bible App for iOS or Android, you can even select Japanese directly in your Bible App Settings!

While we offer Bibles in nearly 300 different languages, Japanese is the fourteenth language YouVersion has launched across several platforms, including Korean, Spanish, Chinese, Brazilian Portuguese, German, and French, among others. For this launch, besides menus and controls, we’ve also added 25 reading plans in Japanese. With a population of around 127 million people, Japan has more than 120 million cell phones and 99 million Internet users, representing a tremendous opportunity to reach people with God’s Word. If you have friends whose preferred language is Japanese, please share this great news with them—and please help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter.

Of course, making Japanese language options available across multiple YouVersion platforms wouldn’t be possible without help from our incredible YouVersion community. It can only happen when people who are passionate about sharing God’s Word share their gifts in translation with the world. And because we’re constantly improving the Bible App—and we’d like to offer even more—there’s always translation to do. If you can volunteer to translate into Japanese, we’d love to hear from you. Please join us. You’ll be helping the world fall in love with God’s Word.

What’s it like to use your gifts to help YouVersion reach the world? We asked one of our key Japanese language volunteers to share some of her thoughts with you:

“As I live away from Japan, I don’t have many opportunities to directly share the Word with people in Japan. But being a part of the Japanese translation team enabled me to take part in spreading God’s word in a very unique way. The Word of God is powerful, as said in Isaiah: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.’”

—Tomomi G., Seattle, WA, U.S.A.

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The Bible App by YouVersion Now Installed on 50 Million Mobile Devices

This time last year, we were pleased to announce that the Bible App™ had been installed on 20 million unique devices. And now, less than one year later, the worldwide YouVersion community has more than doubled…

The Bible App has now been installed more than 50 million times.

We’re thrilled to see so many people joining in community centered around the Bible. We also believe this is just the beginning. Something much greater is happening: a global shift where more and more people are engaging with God’s Word, and with each other.

A truly worldwide community is now equipped to explore almost 300 different versions of the Bible, in 144 languages. With the Bible App on your mobile device, you can read or listen, capture what God’s Spirit is saying to you, highlight your favorite passages, even share your faith with friends on your social networks. Any time. Any place.

Of course, you can do a lot of other things with the Bible App too. So to help us all visualize what’s happening moment by moment across our community, we’ve developed a very special website:

YouVersion.com/now

Now, for the first time ever, you can get a live look at everything that’s happening in the YouVersion community, everywhere in the world.

YouVersion’s simple mission remains the same: To help as many people as possible easily connect with the Bible, no matter where they live or what language they speak. Your passion to spread that vision and share God’s Word with others is the spark that’s igniting a Bible engagement revolution. Every time you share the Bible App, you are literally changing the world. Thank you!

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Listening for God’s Voice in the Bible

We have a listening problem.

We are bombarded by images and headlines and tweets that link us to other tweets. A cacophony of street noise, radio noise and white noise fills the gaps. And even when are getting that rare reprieve, we are busy remembering appointments and checklists and that one thing that will make or break dinner tonight.

But when was the last time you drowned out the noise long enough to wonder, “How am I doing? Am I getting closer to where I want to go?”

God spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:12)

He revealed His power in the wind and earthquake and fire, but His instruction came in a hushed tone. With all the voices and devices clamoring for our attention, it’s no wonder we can feel disconnected from our Creator.

So how do we live the life we always wanted?

We need wisdom. A lot of it. And good habits. Most of all, we need to take our cues from the One who made us—and everything else. (Psalm 24:1)

We need to let His Word wash over us daily. In a confusing world, we need the voice of the God who parted the Red Sea and knocked down Jericho and Goliath. We need the voice that raised Jesus.

And that voice is found in the Bible, the Word of God. YouVersion reading plans here to help you make Scripture a part of your daily life. They are portable, so you can read them on your phone, tablet, computer, or even receive them via email. Some last three days and others go a full 365. Complete a study on joy, a 10-day plan that takes you through the book of John, or any of the hundreds of plans available.

Life is short and full of voices clamoring for our attention. Start a plan today so that His voice, that gentle whisper, is the soundtrack for a life well lived.

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The Bible App and YouVersion.com Add Several New Languages

YouVersion Versions and LanguagesTo help as many people as possible connect with God’s Word, YouVersion offers the Bible App™ and the YouVersion.com website in several languages. But we don’t translate anything… So how could that be possible?

You.

That’s right. YouVersion has an incredible community of passionate volunteers—people just like you—all over the world. And thanks to their vision, their devotion, and their translation work, more people than ever now have the opportunity to easily explore the Bible for themselves…in the language of their choosing! Here’s just some of what these amazing world-changers have been up to recently:

Mobile Updates

The following languages are now available on these mobile platforms:

  • Afrikaans on BlackBerry
  • Brazilian Portuguese on Windows Phone
  • British English on iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch)
  • Chinese (both Simplified and Traditional) on Windows Phone
  • European Portuguese on Android
  • Hungarian on iOS
  • Turkish on iOS and Android

YouVersion.com

Many of these languages are already available on select mobile platforms, and now they’re also available at YouVersion.com:

Finally, you can find this language now at YouVersion.com, even though we don’t offer it (yet) for the Bible App on mobile devices:

Don’t see a language that you wish we had? Could you translate from English into it? Let us know what you can do. And join a very special global team of people who are changing the world together—one language at a time.

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God’s Word Shapes Our Lives

As Christ-followers we recognize how important it is to know—and live—God’s Word. We also recognize how difficult that can be sometimes. Scripture is full of tough commands:

  • Love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31)
  • Take up your cross and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
  • Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
  • Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)

Fortunately, as we study the Bible and begin to internalize it more and more, one of God’s promises comes to life:

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will.”
Romans 12:2

In other words, as we spend time in conversation with God through the study of Scripture, we experience transformation: change that compels us—and equips us—to actually live the words. We’re encouraged to hear how YouVersion is making the Bible more accessible to people across the world, allowing them to connect with God’s Word and experience that transformation.

“Love driving home and being able to just listen to the Bible. It’s refreshing to hear, and it brings new light.”
– Ronnie

“I love my @YouVersion reading plans. I find myself so happy and excited to read. I’ve also found my life to be more calm and understanding.”
– Tiffy

“Thank you for the Bible in 1 Year plan! It got me into a great habit, and it’s strengthening my relationship with God.”
– Emily

“I thank God for this resource. It has allowed me to study and hear The Word more often and more clearly. I am truly growing through using @YouVersion.”
– Ingrid

What about you? Are you working through a YouVersion Reading Plan that’s affecting your worldview? Have people noticed a change in you since you’ve been engaged more with God’s Word? We would love to hear your story!