New textament (Bible in text-message language)

From New Oxford Review ...

Ed. Note: This year marks the tenth anniversary of The News You May Have Missed. In celebration of this milestone, we bring you the “top ten” entries, as determined by the editors, from the first ten years of this column.

10. New txtament (Dec. 2005)

The Bible Society in Australia has translated the Old and New Testaments into text-message language, the form of shorthand communication made popular on the Internet and cell phones. “In da Bginnin God cre8ed da heavens & da earth,” the SMS (short message service) version begins. “Da earth waz barren, wit no 4m of life; it waz unda a roaring ocean cuvred wit dRkness.” A spokesman for the society commented, “The old days when the Bible was available only in a sombre black cover with a cross on it are long gone” (emphasis added) (Telegraph, Oct. 7, 2005).