A Bible society is a non-profit organization, usually ecumenical in makeup, devoted to translating, publishing, distributing the Bible at affordable costs and advocating its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life. Traditionally Bible Society editions contain Scripture, without any notes or commentary; but in recent decades this principle has been relaxed somewhat, and such editions typically have what is generally accepted to be non-sectarian notes on alternate translations of words, or variations in the different available manuscripts.