The Living Bible was born out of Taylor's deep desire for his ten children to understand God's Word. He found the King James Version of the Bible -- the most commonly used translation at the time -- especially difficult for his young children to understand.

Taylor began to reword specific passages in simple, conversational language, easy enough for even his youngest child to grasp. He finished his paraphrase of the New Testament epistles in 1962, but could interest no publisher in his project, which he called "Living Letters." Taylor and his wife, Margaret, decided to self-publish 2,000 copies of "Living Letters."

Taylor named his fledgling company Tyndale House ...