Bible translation accelerates as tens of millions receive Scripture in their very own language

The global movement to make the Bible available in every language is gaining remarkable momentum, with recent figures showing historic progress in translation efforts.

Released on United Nations’ International Translation Day, September 30, the most recent statistics from Wycliffe Bible Translators highlight how considered one of the best barriers to Christian mission—the absence of Scripture in people’s native languages—is rapidly being overcome.

In the past 12 months alone, 118 recent Bible and New Testament translations have been released — a mean of 1 every three days.

Of these, 23 were full Bibles and 95 were New Testaments, marking the very best annual total to this point.

The advances are bringing the day nearer when every community can access God’s word in their very own language.

Just 12 months earlier, 985 languages were identified as suitable for translation, though no portion of the Bible had been began in them.

That number has now fallen dramatically by 44% to 550.

In 2021, the figure stood at 1,892.

“For centuries, billions of individuals have lived with no single verse of the Bible of their language,” stated the chief director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, James Poole. “The absence of God’s word in people’s own language is considered one of the best barriers to the excellent news reaching all people. But that story is changing.

“In recent years we have now seen a unprecedented surge in Bible translation. Progress is occurring at a pace and scale not witnessed before, and whole communities are starting to receive the Scriptures far prior to we could once have imagined.

“This is a remarkable moment in world mission. God is at work, and we have now the privilege of being a part of it.”

This 12 months’s progress implies that for the primary time, 197 million people now have your complete Bible available of their heart language – a number similar to the population of Brazil. An additional 54 million people received access to the New Testament.

Translation programmes have also commenced in 461 recent languages, averaging one recent getting underway every 19 hours.

Wycliffe notes that Scripture portions were published for the primary time in 174 languages, meaning whole communities are actually encountering God’s word in their very own tongue.

For many communities, the arrival of Scripture has been transformative.

In Togo and Benin, the late Kaleb Edoh, who headed the Ifè translation project, explained the importance of the Old Testament to his people: “There are many stories within the Old Testament which help us understand the New Testament. The sacrifices written about within the Old Testament are very just like the animist sacrifices done in traditional Ifè life.

“Reading what Leviticus has to say about sacrifices will help our people to grasp what they were before coming to Christ, and the way they’ve modified since.

“So it is rather necessary for our people to have all the Bible translated into Ifè.”

In Papua New Guinea, the Nobonob people marked the launch of their full Bible in June, many years after receiving the New Testament in 1990.

Ulys, a translator, described the dedication: “In 1990 the Nobonob New Testament was dedicated, however the Nobonob leaders wanted your complete Bible. But all that was not only so it could actually be said, ‘The Bible is translated into the Nobonob language.’

“No, it was done so the Nobonob people, and others who can read it, get its meaning and follow it. God’s word isn’t for us to see casually. No, it’s to provide us guidance.”

Translation efforts have also had unexpected ripple effects. In some cases, Bible translation has preserved languages that were liable to disappearing.

The Label people of Papua New Guinea once faced the extinction of their language, but a determined group of believers insisted on translating Scripture into it.

Two many years later, not only is the language thriving in written form, however the community also has the New Testament in Label.

In Uganda, translation has been the inspiration for education and literacy. Through the “Let’s Read Together” programme, people learned to read using Scripture of their mother tongue. As a result, communities reported improvements in behaviour, hygiene, and faculty performance alongside deeper engagement with faith.

Poole emphasised the lasting impact of those developments: “As people come to grasp clearly the depth of God’s love and the greatness of Christ’s work for them, lives and communities shall be transformed. What a privilege it’s to see this happening in our lifetime.”

Despite the rapid progress, Wycliffe reports that around 1 in 5 people worldwide—some 1.5 billion individuals—still lack the Bible of their language. The organisation is urging continued support until all languages are covered.