Handwritten Bible hits eBay

Publishing powerhouse Zondervan is selling a Bible that contains over 31,000 handwritten verses collected from its cross-country road trip earlier this year.

The road trip, called Bible Across America, was in honour of the 30th anniversary of the New International Version – the most popular modern-English Bible translation. To celebrate the anniversary, the company sponsored a 22,579-mile journey where Americans in 90 cities and 40 states each wrote a verse in the Bible.

It took nine months to write the complete Bible that boasts 2,200 pages.

"Nothing like the Bible Across America tour had been done before, so we weren't entirely sure what to expect when we launched the campaign," said Zondervan CEO Moe Girkins.

"It quickly became evident that people across America love the Bible, love the NIV and were eager to be part of this unique project.

"We are thrilled to be just weeks away from publishing Bible Across America and are launching this auction to help this unique piece of history find a home, and simultaneously support Biblica's life- changing global Bible translation and distribution efforts."

While one copy of the handwritten Scripture will be auctioned on eBay, the other one is to be given to The Smithsonian Institution.

Proceeds from the sale of the eBay copy will go to Biblica, formerly known as the International Bible Society, which translates and distributes Bibles.

Interested people can visit the Bible Across America store on eBay. The auction ends December 1, the day that the published version of the Bible Across America is release for purchase.