The importance and influence of the Bible among Christians and Jews may be explained broadly in both external and internal (31) . The external explanation is the (32) of tradition, custom and creed: Religious groups confess that they are (33) by the Bible. In one (34) the religious cormnunity is the author of Scripture, (35) it, cherished it, used it, and eventually canonized it (that is, developed lists of officially (36) biblical books). The internal explanation, (37) , is what many Christians and Jews continue to experience as the power of the contents of the biblical books themselves. Ancient Israel and the early church knew of many more religious books (38) the ones that constitute the Bible. The biblical books, however, were cherished and used because of what (39) said and how they said it; they were officially canonized because they had come to be used and (40) so widely. The Bible truly is the foundation (41) of Judaism and Christianity. It is commonly known that the Bible, in its (43) of different translations, is the most widely (43) book in human history. Moreover, in all its forms, the Bible has been enormously (44) , and not only among the religious communities that hold it (45) . The literature, art and music of Western culture in particular are deeply (46) to biblical themes, motifs and images. Translations of the Bible, such as the Authorized Version (or King James Version, 1611) and Martin Luther’s (47) of the Bible into German (first completed in 1534) not only influenced literature but also (48) the development of languages. Such effects continue to be felt in (49) nations, where translations of the Bible into the (50) help to shape language traditions.