Female-voiced Bible first

The first female-voiced audio NIV Bible was launched on International Women’s Day 2023, with the release of the four Gospels and Revelation. The entire New Testament has been recorded and the rest of the NT will be released on a monthly basis.

Between 700-800 audio Bible have been recorded across the world and only 8 have so far been recorded in women's voices. Her Audio Bible UK will be the first New International Version translation - they have chosen the Anglicised 2011 NIV version because of how it flows when read aloud.

The project is run by a small group of volunteers in the UK. There are a range of readers, including Revd Sonia Hicks, Rupa Jayaraj (Doctor) and Sarah McCullough (teacher).

Those behind the project said: ‘Listening to a woman’s voice can be particularly helpful for those who have experienced harm such as domestic abuse, and those for whom hearing a male voice can be triggering.’

Encouraging diversity

Her Audio Bible UK is the first project of newly registered charity Open Word UK. The aim of Open Word UK is to create Christian resources that are representative of the diversity of people living in the UK in terms of women, ethnic minorities and a diversity of socio-economic backgrounds.

On the website heraudiobible.org.uk, where the project can be heard, it is explained: ‘The UK is rich in its diversity, and so we wanted to represent, as much as possible, something of the range of backgrounds and voices of women in the UK.’

Trustee of Open Word UK, Jo Swinney, says:

'For most of its existence, the Bible would have been heard rather than read - and heard in familiar voices echoing the speech patterns and inflections of the listeners. Her Audio Bible UK offers British women the chance to hear these words of life spoken in a way we can most easily hear and absorb their significance to us, here and now.'

A similar US-based project, Her.Bible, have helped mentor and inspire the UK team in their work.