Other Bible software supports the NIV, but usually requires an extra payment to cover the license. e.g. The Online Bible at either http://www.onlinebible.net/ or http://www.onlinebible.org/
I don't think there is any problem with making up your own version of the NIV Go Bible, I think there is only a problem distributing it (ie. via the Go Bible website).
If there was a freely available source of the NIV then I could perhaps ship a program which automatically converts that text into a Go Bible application. That way I'm not actually distributing the text. Does anyone know of any publically available electronic copy of the NIV?
There are a couple of programs which are able to retrieve and compile NIV Bibles for eSword from free online sources. Perhaps you could work from there ?
Do a search for either "Bible Import Tool" or "Ben's e-Sword Tool" (not related to me)
Just letting you know, I received a reply back from Zondervan. The NIV costs US$10,000 to license and then US$10 per copy. There is also a rather detailed approval process.
Please visit the site of the Bible League Trust in Gt Britain. http://www.bibleleaguetrust.org/ Alan Macgregor's book, Three Modern Versions - A critical assessment of the NIV, ESV and NKJV. Details in http://www.bibleleaguetrust.org/html/books.html
The NIV may easier to read, but how accurate is it ?
Check out who owns Zondervan. Parent company = HarperCollins. The company is a subsidiary of News Corporation, Global vertically integrated media company founded by Rupert Murdoch, with properties in film, television, cable, magazines, newspapers, publishing,.....
So is it any wonder that they would want $10k for a license?
Compare this with Jolon's own confession, "I couldn't imagine charging for something that helps spread the Gospel."
Not to mention 3 John 7, "Because for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles", and the testimony of St. Paul, 1 Cor. 9:18 "..... Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, ....."
http://www.ibs.org/bibles/termsofuse.php Proper Use Statement, Copyright and Terms of Use Statement for IBS Online Services Includes the following: "1. Copyright. The NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® Text has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and is the property of International Bible Society, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, and is protected by the copyright laws of the United States and worldwide by various copyright and intellectual property laws and treaties. You do not acquire ownership rights to any NIV® Text through the use of this Webste. You agree to abide by any and all additional copyright notices, information, or restrictions contained on the Webste. By accessing and/or using the NIV® Text in any way, you acknowledge the validity and enforceability of IBS’s copyright in the NIV® Text and agree that you will not in any way infringe, either directly or indirectly, IBS's copyrights in the NIV® Text."
They are not intended to be edited! Be it on your own head. The source code for Go Bible Creator has already been made available by Jolon, so really there is not a need to do so. Check the links in my forum profile. (Just click on my initials).
Even so, it is common knowledge that a .jar file has the same structure a .zip file, so if you rename the file extension to .zip, you can explore the contents using WinZip or any other suitable archive tool.
You may have guessed incorrectly who did what. I myself have not done any Java programming ! I am merely an avid user of Go Bible Creator, the developer kit that was published by Jolon Faichney.
i have a NIV verison in pbd format but i have no idea of how to convert it in Go Bible format. I tried the Go Bible Creator but i don't seem to get it as im really not a programmer or someone that's well versed in programming. is there someone out there can convert it for my personal use? Anyone capable and can help out? please email me. freestyle8888@yahoo.com
I don't use NIV much anymore. Maybe Jolon can try getting ESV. e-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net/) has the ESV courtesy of The Good News Publishers (http://www.gnpcb.org/). I used it so much in e-Sword that I got a hardcopy of it as well. Forget NIV.
Ah ... you have already been discussing getting ESV for Go Bible. http://jolon.org/vanillaforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=391&page=1#Item_0 Too technical a discussion for my comprehension :) I hope that you will be successful in getting ESV to okay this. Keep us updated!
The ibsmobile site states, "Get the FULL BIBLE on your mobile now!" If the NIV Mobile Bible is split into four parts, one thing is certain, you cannot as easily search the FULL BIBLE as you can with Go Bible. The website says very little about any features included in the NIV Mobile Bible, so it would be of interest to see the verdict of an independent reviewer.
Hi all am a newbie here I just read all of your discussion regarding NIV version. I have it but for symbian mobile only pm me if anyone want it. I dnt care if I dont abide on a copyright law. the LORD said spread the Gospel, am wondering why they put on copyrighted.
You clearly haven't understood the obligations of all Christian disciples to obey the civil law. Please read Romans 13. If you are still inclined to take a don't care attitude about copyright legislation, then speak to you pastor about the matter.
And btw..... One can spread the Gospel without using the NIV - there are plenty of English Bibles that are in the public domain. And even if you like the NIV, you can always buy lots of printed copies and give them away.
KJV is good but for those of us whose English is their second language, it remains difficult to use.
There is a public domain Updated KJV (http://www.geocities.com/updatedkjv/) I looked at the list of changes that they made and most make sense (I disagree with the change: Adam knew -> Adam had sexual contact with). Crosswire has it as a module (http://www.crosswire.org/sword/modules/ModInfo.jsp?modName=UKJV) If we can get a ThML or OSIS file from them, it would make sense having it as a Go Bible program to offer as an alternative to NIV.
The following note from the person who worked on UKJV may be useful for the discussion:
Why another English translation?
An excellent project that provides free version based on the ASV (http://www.ebible.org/) has given the answer to this question. To Quote Michael Paul Johnson (World English Bible): -
”That is a good question. There are more than 40 English translations of the Holy Bible. Unfortunately, all of them are either (1) archaic (like the KJV and ASV of 1901), or (2) covered by copyright restrictions that prevent unrestricted free posting on the internet or other media (like the NIV and NASB). The Bible in Basic English (BBE) was in the Public Domain in the USA (but not all countries) for a while, but its copyrighted status was restored by GATT. (The BBE used a rather restricted subset of English, anyway, limiting its accuracy and readability.)In other words, there is NO OTHER complete translation of the Holy Bible in normal Modern English that can be freely copied (except for some limited "fair use") without payment of royalties”
Since work on the ASV has already begun and the author of “Translator” prefers the Textus Receptus (text used by the KJV), it is only natural that the renowned KJV be updated to fit today’s generation understanding of words. This version and the author of “translator” do not imply that rebelling against today’s copyright system is a right thing to do. It’s just that as Christians, is it not our responsibility to freely distribute the Word of God? This version is a result of a personal conviction of the author of the “Translator”.
I have just downloaded some of the Updated KJV files. However, the other three download files could not be accessed today. Only the ASCII version.
It should be easy enough to make a Go Bible version from the ASCII file. It will require some preprocessing to get it into proper VPL format, without line wrapping.
NB. There are far too many Java errors if you start with the ThML file output by Diaspora, even after running it through my TextPipe filter. Take my word for this, else you would be wasting time and effort. Moreover, I suspect the Diaspora output is somewhat inaccurate.
An HTML copy of the UKJV is online at http://www.creationism.org/BibleUKJV/
Also worth a look at "The New Authorized Version of the Bible in Present-Day English"
http://www.av7.org/
NB. By oversimplifying both positions, I think they have somewhat inaccurately portrayed the differences between Calvinism & Arminianism in Question 6 of http://www.av7.org/qa/av7qa.htm
DFH: "I have just downloaded some of the Updated KJV files. It would be easy enough to make a Go Bible version from the ASCII file.
However, the other three download files could not be accessed today. Only the ASCII version. "
That's where our discussion about Crosswire's module sources comes into play. UKJV is not copyrighted, and yet I can't find this module's source on their site.
http://b-o-b.homelinux.com/mirrors/updatedkjv/ is a mirror site but, for some reason, the download links refer to the original site (which do not work). So, I had to recreate the links on my own.
I believe that b-o-b.homelinux.com/mirrors/updatedkjv/html/ contains the unpacked UpdatedKJVHTML.zip.