American Bible Society

The American Bible Society (ABS) is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded in 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible.

In collaboration with Barna, American Bible Society conducts annual research about The State of the Bible in America. Findings include statistics about:

• Americans’ beliefs about the Bible,
• The Bible’s role in society,
• The Bible’s presence in U.S. homes,
• Number of Bible's per household,
• Translation preferences,
• And more…

American Bible Society is probably best known for its Good News Translation of the Bible, with its contemporary vernacular and unique line drawings of Bible events with a snippet of text interspersed throughout the book. The line drawings were done by Annie Vallotton, a Swiss religious artist. They also publish the Contemporary English Version.

The stated mission of the ABS is to make the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so all people may experience its life-changing message.

ABS is headquartered in New York City. Its headquarters building at 1865 Broadway houses an extensive museum of religious art and a 45,000 volume collection of Scriptures, making it the largest Bible museum in the western hemisphere and second largest in the world behind the Vatican.