This 12 months marks 700 years because the birth of John Wycliffe, whose translation of the Bible would allow English speakers to read God’s words of their native tongue for the primary time. However, the celebration of this historical event may also serve to attract attention to the fact that a fifth of the world still lacks access to the Bible of their first language.
While there was much progress in worldwide Bible translation, there remains to be an excellent deal of labor to be done. Around 1.5 billion people speaking over 6,000 languages are yet to have seen a Bible that’s written of their most familiar tongue, but Wycliffe Bible Translators is working to make sure all people have access to the Bible.
Thought to have been born in 1324 in Hipswell, Yorkshire, Wycliffe was a theologian, scholar, and reformer. He stays a key historical figure today, and the impact of his legacy remains to be felt within the lives of countless people in the current day.
His conviction that everybody should have the opportunity to read the Word of God for themselves, relatively than depend on the church’s messaging, saw him stand firm against the complete authority of the church in his mission to translate the Bible from Latin into English.
After his death, the ‘Morning Star of the Reformation’ was declared a heretic, his bones were dug up and burnt, and his ashes were scattered in Leicestershire’s River Swift. However, there was no way of putting out the hearth he had lit, and it soon spread the world over, inspiring others to do their very own translations, including Martin Luther, the daddy of the Reformation, who translated the Scriptures into German.
“John Wycliffe argued that the Bible must be accessible to all, no matter social status or education. His courage and vision proceed to encourage our work today. There is now more Bible translation work in progress than ever before,” James Poole, Wycliffe Bible Translators’ Executive Director, said.
“We have a historic opportunity to catch up with to the vision of everyone having the ability to know Jesus through the Bible.”
The past 12 months has seen record-breaking rates of Bible translation. A latest Bible was launched at a rate of 1 monthly and a New Testament at one per week. Translation work in a latest language was began at a rate of 1 per day.
One modern-day John Wycliffe is Komi Sena, a translator of Ifè, a Niger–Congo language. The Ifè New Testament has been accomplished despite quite a lot of setbacks, and has led to a surge in local churches.
“Translating the Bible is so necessary because many individuals don’t understand French, in order that they usually are not capable of read and understand the Scriptures. And it doesn’t change their lives after they don’t understand it,” Komi said.
“Translation of the Bible also enables nonbelievers to listen to the excellent news of their language.”
