Living Stream Ministry was founded in 1965 by Witness Lee (1905–1997), a Christian minister and Bible teacher who emigrated from China to the United States only a few years earlier. Lee had attended Christian missionary schools as a child and began his ministry at the age of 19. His understanding of Christianity was influenced by the Chinese minister Watchman Nee (1903–1972). This Bible was completed by Living Stream Ministry between 1974 and 2003. Named the “Recovery Version,” its translators based their work on the original languages in order to recover teachings that they believed had become neglected by modern Christians. It has now been translated into 18 languages.