RELEASE: Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21 Version of the Gospels Published

NEWS RELEASE

Abbott ePublishing - Original, affordable electronic books.

http://www.abbottepub.com http://www.abbottepublishing.com

Friday, July 1, 2011

CONTACT: Stephen Abbott, Publisher, Abbott ePublishing, publisher @ abbottepublishing.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Abbott ePublishing announces the publication of the Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21 Version of the New Testament Gospels, an updated, modern English version of the first printed English Gospels translated by William Tyndale in 1526.

Also known as the Abbott ePublishing Version, this is the first part of a proposed full New Testament revision of the New Testament translation made by William Tyndale in 1526.

The electronic book is being sold for $2.99 on the company’s website, www.abbottepub.com/tyndale21gospels.html in Adobe Portable Document format (.pdf.) The eBook contains the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

General editor and Abbott ePublishing principal Stephen Abbott says the new version is not a “translation,” but rather an update of the16th Century text that Tyndale produced.

“It was a remarkable and important text in the history of translations,” said Abbott. “It was the first New Testament printed in English, it laid the foundations and gave much of the familiar wording to the King James Version of 1611, and was the first English Bible to be translated directly from the Greek language.”

All the English Bibles up until that time had been translations from the Latin Vulgate, but Tyndale's New Testament was taken from the compilation of all Greek manuscripts known at that time.

The scholars who created the King James Version of the Bible in 1611 relied heavily on Tyndale's translation. Some estimate that nearly 83 percent of the King James Version New Testament contains Tyndale’s wording.

“His renderings are unique and sometimes more starkly beautiful than many, many versions that have come after, as will be readily seen in this translation,” said Abbott ePublishing

Tyndale’s early 16th Century language is updated in this edition for 21st Century ears.

“The thought, ‘What if William Tyndale’s 1526 version was the only one Christians had used for the last 400 years, and it now needed to be updated into more modern English?’ was constantly considered,” said Abbott. “It was, in fact, the theoretical basis for this revision. Words and phrases that have clearly changed meaning were updated to 21st Century English.

The Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21 Version is not a word-for-word update of Tyndale’s translation, and discretion was used when called for, he said.

“This is neither a ‘thought-for-thought’ nor ‘word-for-word’ rendering of the Gospels from ancient Greek texts,” he said. “It is instead an adaptation of an earlier English translation. Phrases are not deliberately put into over-casual speech. The majesty, dignity and grace of the English of Tyndale’s era remain.”

Sample Scriptures in the Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21Version:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For whoever asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be opened. Is there any man among you who, if his son asks him for bread, would offer him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he gives him a snake?” Matt. 7:7-10

“And he looked around at them angrily, grieved at the blindness of their hearts. And he said to the man: Hold out your hand. And he did. And his hand was restored just as healthy as the other one.” Mark 3:5

“They worship me in vain, teaching doctrines that are nothing but the precepts of men. Because you lay aside the commands of God and instead observe the traditions of men - like baptizing pitchers and cups, and many other kinds of things you do.” Mark 7:7-8

“Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over, will men put into your lap. For the same measurement with which you are measuring, that same will be used to measure you.” Luke 6:38

“And he said to them, Give, then, to Caesar the things which belong to Caesar, and to God the things that which pertain to God.” Luke 20:25

“For God so loved the world, that he has given his only Son, that none who believes in him would die, but would have eternal life.” John 3:16

Abbott ePublishing was launched in 2009 as a New England-based publisher of original, affordable electronic books. They can be found online at abbottepub.com.

###

What’s Your Band’s Logo?

Quick, what’s Rihanna’s logo? What’s Lady Gaga’s logo? What’s Justin Bieber’s? What’s Madonna’s? How about Elvis? The Beatles?

Their “logo” was in fact themselves. Sure, they used various fonts and styles throughout their careers – and some groups, like KISS, have font faces that are easily recognizable, and even the Beatles had (and have) a somewhat recognizable font-based logo - but that’s incidental to a group’s brand, which is composed of their body of work, which was, rightfully, their focus.

Contrast that with many bands (and, incidentally, many small businesses) just starting out. Their obsession is frequently on a “wicked cool” logo, which is usually anything but. Young bands’ logo designs are usually overcomplicated, poorly drawn and have very little to do with the style, influences and general message of the group.

Getting the right style and “look” for a band is obviously important, and it’s something young bands get wrong. But getting the right sound, message and style should be the main focus of a band.

Abbott Public Relations’ music division, Abbott Music, focuses on getting that other stuff right - the logo, the look and the feel of a band, while also guiding a band towards an appropriate style that will actually please the ears of those who hear what’s produced. It’s a different kind of management, for a different kind of group.

Send your logo over and I’ll be happy to discuss it with you, along with other concerns you might have.

Visit Abbott PR for more information.

Oil Rig Company’s “Safety” Bonuses Generate PR Nightmare

By Stephen Abbott, Abbott PR

It read like a late April Fool’s Day joke. The company investigators say bore a great deal of responsibility for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster that resulted in the most horrific oil spill in history awarded its executives BONUSES for their performance in 2010. For having its “BEST YEAR” for SAFETY.

Yes, it was true. According to the company’s annual proxy statement, which was issued April 1, it had given $19.5 million in bonuses for attaining “115% of its target” for safety in 2010.

The story broke internationally on Monday, April 4, and the ramifications were huge. The company was savaged online, in the print media, and on network and cable news channels for their hubris and audacity, equaled only by the Libyan leader’s creation of an annual “Muammar Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights.”

The claim was that, other than that huge oil spill (which the company blames on British Petroleum employees) it had leaked very little oil at all last year.

That’s kind of like saying, “other than that iceberg thing at the end, the trip on the Titanic was very safe!”

The bonuses were even more nonsensical considering that in 2009, the company withheld all executive bonuses after incurring four fatalities that year, "to underscore the company's commitment to safety,” reported the Wall Street Journal.

By the following day, the company announced that some of the bonus money would be put into a fund for the 11 who died on the April 20, 2010 explosion when BP’s Macondo well blew out.

But few were satisfied with this concession.

"Some companies just don't get it," said William Reilly, former co-chair of the presidential commission that investigated the disaster. "I think Transocean just doesn't get it."

THE PR TAKEAWAY:

Sometimes PR people must be the “Jiminy Cricket” of corporate boards, and not only mention what a HORRIFIC PR disaster a move like this would be, but how morally reprehensible it would be, not to mention how inconsistent it would be with past policy.

The continuing failure of corporate America to see public relations as a management function is detrimental, and this is just one more example of that failure.