Is the Bible copyrighted?

Dear Yahoo!:

Is the Bible copyrighted?

Ron

Asheville, North Carolina

Dear Ron:

There are no original Biblical copyright holders. The Bible was written by roughly 40 or so people over the span of 1,500 years (from around 1450 B.C. until A.D. 100). It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.

Many modern translations of the Bible are copyrighted. While several of these Bible copyright holders offer their translations online and allow people to make attributed quotes, they would probably frown upon someone printing their translation and trying to sell it. Besides, since a Bible quote in English is by definition a translation, it's good practice to attribute the source.

As we quickly discovered, copyright law is a complicated affair. Many books become public domain 70 years after the author's death. Of course, it goes without saying that the Bible isn't your average book, so we suggest you check with the publisher. However, the Bible Gateway notes that many versions are in the public domain including the King James Bible.