The Australian Defence Force (ADF) officially launched a new edition of the New International Version (NIV) Bible, two decades after the previous edition was released in 2005.
The launch ceremony took place on March 13 at Russell Offices, the ADF’s administrative headquarters in Canberra, according to an ADF press release. Tina King of Bible Society Australia presented the new Bible to Major General Sue Graham, who represented the Chief of the Defence Force at the event.
“We acknowledge in the Defence Force how we are continually supported by the public, and the sacrifice from Bible Society volunteers brought forward today is another embodiment of that,” Graham said. “It’s particularly important to have a Bible that is available and relevant to all our soldiers, sailors and aviators.”
The new edition includes content tailored specifically to ADF personnel, such as contextually relevant prayers for those serving in the Navy, Army and Air Force.
“This is not a book for a bookshelf, it is a book to be near. We hope it will be dog-eared, underlined, searched and cherished,” said King.
Bible Society Australia also hosted a historical display at the event, showcasing military Bibles dating back to the Boer War. Among them was a Bible that saved the life of Lance Corporal Phillip Davies during World War I. Davies was digging for telephone cables at Messines Ridge, near Ypres in Belgium, when two bomb shells exploded nearby. Shrapnel struck his arms and legs, killing one colleague and injuring two others.
The location is known to have seen fierce fighting between British and German soldiers vying to control the ridge, considered important at the time for military advancement as it allowed a strategic viewpoint over the Ypres Salient.
The next morning, Davies discovered a piece of shrapnel stuck in the back cover of his Soldier’s Bible, which he had kept in his breast pocket. The shrapnel had been stopped just inches from his heart. The Bible was one of a million donated at the time by Bible Society Australia.
Director General Chaplaincy—Army, Principal Chaplain Kerry Larwill, spoke at the ceremony, noting the continued relevance of spiritual resources in military life.
“About 44 per cent of Australians identified as Christian, and more are interested in spirituality of different varieties,” Larwill said. “For people who serve in Defence, which we know has demands on individuals and their families, it’s a source of light and hope to those who derive their meaning from a Christian perspective or value its wisdom.”
Representatives from the Military Christian Fellowship of Australia (MCF-A) and other chaplaincy networks, such as the Forum of Christian Military Ministries, also attended the launch. The new Bible includes a foreword written by former MCF-A patron and former Governor-General of Australia, General (retired) David Hurley.
