In da Bginnin: Bible is translated for text message generation
By Kathy Marks in Sydney
Published: 07 October 2005

The Bible has already been translated into more languages than any other book. Now, thanks to Australian evangelists, it is available in text message form, enabling uplifting verses to be sent by mobile phone.

In the excruciatingly abbreviated version, the first line of Genesis is rendered as: "In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth". The verse 1 John 4.19 becomes "We luv coz God luvd us 1st".

The project, called "SMSBible", was launched yesterday, accompanied by a press release headed: "It's your Bible calling".

All 31,173 verses are available in text form, and can be downloaded from the website of the Bible Society in Australia direct to mobile phones. Its spokesman, Michael Chant, said the idea was to make it possible to spread the word of God to family and friends by mobile. the rest