The most popular NIV, NKJV, NASB, all have copyright and have sold "Millions" of copies$$$
It's not a ministry, it's a business, who you kidding
A N D is there something sinful about being paid for one's work?
BTW, the KJV is still held by copyright in the U.K. It will be held until the year 2039 unless it is extended by the Royal Family, in which case it will likely never be out of copyright.
Another KJVO belief decimated. Keep 'em coming. I've done my research and I know when I see a blatant falsehood.
Why are modern translations of the Bible have a copyright? Should versions of the Bible be copyrighted?
www.gotquestions.org
Why do modern translations of the Bible have a copyright?
ANSWER
Many
KJV Only advocates argue that the modern English translations are corrupt due to their being copyrighted, with the King James Version being “pure” because it is not copyrighted. Copyrights, to the KJV Only crowd, “prove” these are man’s words, not God’s. Others dislike the idea of a Bible translation having a copyright as a matter of principle. The purpose of a copyright is to protect one’s property and prevent the making of unwarranted copies. “But the Bible should be available for unlimited use. It is the Word of God, after all!”—so goes the argument. God would not restrict the distribution of His Word.
While it could be that Bible publishers should be more lenient when enforcing their copyrights, having a Bible translation copyrighted is not wrong in and of itself. It is expensive to develop a new translation of the Bible. The translators, scholars, grammarians, proofreaders, etc., all need to be paid. If other companies or individuals took a translation and published it as their own, the original publisher would lose money, and further Bible translation efforts would be hindered. Bible publishers have to make a profit, or they will go out of business.
In regards to the claims of the KJV Only Movement, they are entirely incorrect. The King James Version was copyrighted when first published. In fact, to this day, the KJV is still under copyright protection in the United Kingdom. The existence of a copyright is meaningless in determining the quality of a translation. And, even if the existence of a copyright mattered, the King James Version is, in fact, copyrighted.
The key point is this—the existence of a copyright does not impact the quality of a translation. The fact that a Bible publisher is seeking to make a profit from the sale of a Bible translation does not necessarily mean the translation process was compromised. Whether or not a Bible translation has a copyright should not be the determining factor in whether you use that translation. Please visit the following two articles for more information: