Poirot actor and living legend David Suchet has fulfilled what he describes as "a 27 year ambition" to make an audio recording of the entire NIV Bible, from Genesis right the way through to Revelation.
To be released this Easter, the 78 hour recording will be the first full-length audio Bible spoken by a single British actor.
Suchet spent over 200 hours in the recording studio while filming the final series of his hit detective TV series.
In a video to promote the new project, Suchet explains that he first became a Christian in 1986 and quickly realised that as an actor he had a particular gift he could use to share his faith.
"I thought 'Well one thing I can do, or I think I can do, is to read', and I've for many, many years felt that I wanted to put my voice to the Bible, and not only bits of the Bible, but the whole thing.
"It will, for me, fulfil what I suppose is a 27 year ambition," he muses.
Suchet also reminds viewers of the Biblical command to "Hear the word of the Lord" which can be found in multiple places within Scripture, including Isaiah 28:14, Ezekiel 27:4 and Acts 13:44.
"It doesn't say 'Read the word of the Lord', it says 'Hear the word of the Lord'," Suchet notes. "It's my prayer that...it will be fresh and [those listening] will think, as I think when I'm reading, 'God, this is fantastic'."
Suchet was once part of a team of British actors who recorded parts of the Bible for Hodder Faith, who again hold the rights for his newest project.
The Guardian reports that Suchet got back in touch with director Ian Metcalfe after receiving a letter from a woman with failing eye-sight, who had been given an old tape of his recording and said it had transformed her life.
Of the new audi -recording, Metcalfe commented: "I am delighted the whole thing came together. It is amazing, just having David Suchet is transformatory.
"It is a labour of love, and so much of a benefit to everyone."
The 65-year-old actor has big dreams for the recording, the fee for which he is donating entirely to charity. "What I hope from a personal point of view, is that whoever wants to will be able to read the Bible at the same time as listen to it, or listen to it without reading it, and that they will want to keep returning to it," he says.
"But in practical terms, I have done it and I must leave it to the far higher being, and let him do what he wants with it."
The audio book will be sold in CD and digital formats. Ebooks enhanced by Suchet's recording will also be available from Hodder Faith.
