in just the last 12 months, thomas nelson sold more than a million copies of the kjv.he bible is the best-selling book in history and the king james version of the bible is the best-selling translation of all time. no one knows exactly how many king james bibles have been published ov the centuries, but experts say it's likely in the billions. >> the king james is the most printed book in the history of man. it is an amazing thing. >> reporter: the king james bible emerged out of a tumultuous religious period in english history. for nearly a millennium, the latin vulgate bible had been considered the only sacred text. as latin became less used, ordinary people couldn't understand what they heard when priests read the bible in church. there were calls for an english vernacular bible, but scholars who did the translations were branded heretics in 1401, the english parliament made it a crime punishable by death. enter william tyndale, a renegade 16th century scholar who made the first english translation from hebrew and greek texts. in 1536, even as king henry the eighth