With mingled gratitude and pleasure we publish Volume II of The Bible Story. Gratitude comes from the overwhelming and enthusiastic acceptance of Volume I. And it is our very great pleasure now to present the second volume. Those who have read the first volume know already that there has never been a Bible story book like this. It is as unlike the common type of disconnected blood-and-thunder Bible story books for children as day is from night. Such books omit entirely the true meaning, the vital lessons, the important connection, of the incidents dramatized, to the true Gospel, the PURPOSE of life, and the Biblical revelation as a whole. And so there was a serious need. Not only for children, but for adults as well. Most adults read the Bible spasmodically, at random, a verse here, a chapter there, failing properly to connect them. Most do not realize that there is a continuous story — thread running through the whole Bible. Those who do start to read the Bible through, from beginning to end, find the old English difficult to comprehend. And also they find portions such as genealogies an obstacle to hurdle. This book was hot written for children merely, but for adults as well.' Even adults will gain, through interesting reading, an understanding of the WHOLE BIBLE — of its continuous story-thread-minus genealogies and other interruptions — such as they never grasped before. It has proved a new and thrilling experience to numerous thousands, as they have followed it avidly in chapter-by-chapter installments published in The Plain Truth. It is, therefore, intended for people from five to a hundred and five. By way of repetition from the Introduction to Volume I, a brief word about the author. Basil Wolverton is a nationally known artist and writer. He is equipped by natural talent, training, and professional experience, for this very important work. His work has appeared in more than 50 national magazines, including many pages in LIFE, TIME, Pageant, and others. He is famous for his own unique style of art. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Ambassador College, an elder in The Church of God, and a student of the Bible. Mr. Wolverton has written in language of the nine — to twelve-year-old level. But his plain, simple, yet professional style makes it interesting reading for adults of all ages. Afrer all, isn't it a refreshing relief, once in a while, to get away from struggling over multiple-syllable words, used to vaunt the vanity of some writers? However, most children of seven ought to be able to read this book with interest, and even children of four or five can understand the essential sequences when read to them, with a little simplified parental explanation of some portions. Mr. Wolverton has stuck tenaciously to the literal Biblical account. He has taken author's license to portray certain incidents in conversational style, or to fill in, for purposes of clarity and realism, a few "tomatoes on the window sill" Yet he has been zealously careful to avoid adding to, or detracting from, the real and intended meaning of the sacred Scriptures. Volume I is, at the first printing of the present volume, out of print. An initial printing of fifty thousand copies was immediately exhausted, and a second printing of fifty thousand ordered at once. The first printing of the present volume is one hundred thousand. The first volume contained thirteen chapters, as follows: "In the Beginning; Thou Shalt Surely Die; Noah Builds the Ark; And the Flood Came; The Tower of Babel; Abram Journeys to Canaan; Abram Gives Up His Son; Esau Sells Jacob His Birthright; Jacob Falls in Love; Joseph's Adventures in Egypt; Joseph Becomes Ruler of Egypt; I am Joseph; Seven Years of Famine." The present volume picks up the story from there. It is presented to you as a ministry of love, without money and without price; and it is our fervent hope that it will bring to you and your children enlightenment, interesting reading, understanding, and abundant blessings from its original and TRUE AUTHOR, Jesus Christ.