By Lauren Bishop
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Christian teens are turned off by big, serious-looking Bibles in difficult-to-understand translations.

That's what research by Nashville-based Bible publisher Thomas Nelson Inc. turned up, prompting last year's release of Revolve: The Complete New Testament, a repackaging of the Bible in a book that looks more like a fashion magazine, with easy-to-read translations.

Revolve became the best-selling Bible of 2003, prompting youth pastors, parents and male teens to clamor for a guys' version, says Laurie Whaley, brand manager for Thomas Nelson.

The publisher has just released Refuel, featuring a young man playing a guitar on the cover and articles about everything from what girls think to how to make their faith real - in addition to modernized Bible text.

Daryl Hauck, manager of Family Christian Stores' Florence location, says Revolve was continually out of stock over the holidays but he has plenty of copies of Refuel.

Other publishers are making Bibles more appealing to teens, too. Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Zondervan released two new teen Bibles, True Images for girls and Revolution for boys, in November.

Zondervan's Bibles try to help teens sort through potentially harmful messages from music, television and the Internet, says Paul Caminiti, Zondervan's vice president. These Bibles include articles on what real guys and girls think, profiles, quizzes and instant message-style notes.

"We're constantly studying the trends," Caminiti says. "Our sense was that there had been a cultural shift in the world of teens that merited another teen Bible."

Zondervan already has two other teen Bibles, The Student Bible and the Teen Study Bible. Its new Bibles come with a CD of Christian rock music.

There also are Web sites: www.trueimagesbible.com and www.revolutionbible.com.

Unlike Thomas Nelson's Bibles, Zondervan's include the Old and New Testaments and look less like a magazine. They also use the New International Version translation while Refuel and Revolve use the New Century Version, which Whaley says is easier for teens to grasp.

But Caminiti says there's room for both Bibles in the market. "They've far exceeded our forecasting and our expectations," he says.

E-mail lbishop@enquirer.com