Published: Sep 4, 2018
Ten years ago this month, back in September 2008, I officially began work on the project that would become the Revised Common Version. I had actually attempted the work two previous times, but was completely unsatisfied with the way they started and I just completely scrapped them and began anew. They say the third time is the charm, and the case was so with the RCV. Fast forward ten years and you have the project as it is today, and I must say that I am quite satisfied with how it has turned out.
I began the work in a single text file that I changed into a series of web pages. Those web pages made it possible for me to easily create the ePub file, the PDF file, and the first RCV website. Then came the challenge of getting the text in print. Admittedly, my first attempt was okay at best. There was a lot I didn't like about it. But that was a necessary failure to challenge me to try again and make it work. Now, the RCV is available in several digital formats (all of which are free to download) and a few print formats as well. This tenth anniversary marks the biggest update and improvement to the RCV text, both digitally and in print.
The greatest digital improvement is with the website. The first website, which I really liked, was hosted by Google. However, it had some technical limitations that made it difficult to maintain and continually improve. This new site is not only smaller in size, but it is much faster. I have been watching the analytics ever since I launched the new site and page load times have significantly decreased. For instance, a page on the old site could take 5-6 seconds to load, whereas the same page on the new site takes 52 milliseconds, that's 0.052 seconds.
Improvements to the print format have been focused on book size. The previous print edition of the RCV was 7x10 inches and 812 pages. It was heavy. The latest improvement has scaled back the pages to 576 at 7x10 inches. Furthermore, I was even able to make a smaller version that is 6x9 inches and 575 pages. That same 6x9 format is now available in both paperback and hardcover.
Over the course of ten years, the RCV has had readership on six of the seven continents (still waiting for Antarctica). I can honestly say that I only expected North America and maybe Europe. I am humbled at how far the RCV has reached across the globe. With that being said, I must thank you, the reader. Without your readership, the RCV project wouldn't be where it is today. Also, thank you to all readers who have provided comments and feedback. I greatly appreciate it. Your words of encouragement have kept me going, your criticism has challenged me, and your feedback has helped me correct errors that I normally would have missed. Finally, I must give a huge thank you to all of you who have either purchased the RCV or have made a monetary contribution. I cannot express it enough: Thank you!
Above all, I must thank our Heavenly Father, our Creator, our Blessed Redeemer. Words cannot express my thankfulness for his manifold blessings. The RCV project is to be an instrument used to glorify God and lead people to His Son, Jesus Christ. To express my thanks to Him, I can only echo the words of Paul in Ephesians 1:3-9.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to the adoption of children to himself by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace in which he has made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, in which he has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he has purposed in himself...
Soli Deo Gloria