Commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers, 130 respected Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay Christians worked for seven years to create a completely new, modern translation of Scripture, yet one that would retain the accuracy, purity and stylistic beauty of the original Authorized Version or King James Version. According to Thomas Nelson, the translators were unyieldingly faithful to the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts, applying the most recent research in archaeology, linguistics, and textual studies.