A new version of the Bible in the Norwegian language is the nation's top-selling book for 2012, surpassing the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey.

The new edition, Bibelen—Norwegian for Bible—was released in October 2011 by the Norwegian Bible Society (NBS), which replaced a 1978 edition. It has sold at least 160,000 copies in a nation of 5 million, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

For the updated version, NBS' editors used national authors and poets "to make the text sing and resonate for a new generation," AP reported. The editors also changed some of the language, describing Mary, Jesus' mother, as a "young woman" rather than a virgin.

"It's easier to read," Helga Haugland Byfuglien, presiding bishop for the official Lutheran Church of Norway, told the AP. "There is no over-interpretation of the text."

A marketing campaign also helped the updated Bible's profile in the European country, where the formerly official Church of Norway says only 1% of citizens regularly attend church. The new Bible is bound with pink or denim covers for teens and young adults, and with more sophisticated, literary-themed covers for older generations. NBS also "promoted the new translation like a pop fiction novel, stirring anticipation by giving out teasers of biblical stories before its release," AP reported.

The increased interest in the Scriptures even prompted production of a six-hour play titled Bibelen, which had a recent three-month run at one of Oslo's top theaters, drawing some 16,000 people.

Increased immigration to Norway has contributed to the popularity of the Bible, according to NBS Publishing Director Anne Veiteberg. More than 258,000 immigrants, including Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus, have moved to the nation in the last six years, AP reported.

"Now that we're exposed to other faiths, Norwegians have become more interested in their own faith," Veiteberg said.

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