by Obianuju Mbah, Christian Today
The global movement to make the Bible available in every language is gaining remarkable momentum, with new figures showing historic progress in translation efforts.
Released on United Nations’ International Translation Day, September 30, the latest statistics from Wycliffe Bible Translators highlight how one of the greatest barriers to Christian mission—the absence of Scripture in people’s native languages—is rapidly being overcome.
In the past year alone, 118 new Bible and New Testament translations have been released — an average of one every three days.
Of these, 23 were full Bibles and 95 were New Testaments, marking the highest annual total to date.
The advances are bringing the day nearer when every community can access God’s word in their own language.
Just 12 months earlier, 985 languages were identified as suitable for translation, though no portion of the Bible had been started in them.
That number has now fallen dramatically by 44% to 550.
In 2021, the figure stood at 1,892.
“For centuries, billions of people have lived without a single verse of the Bible in their language,” stated the executive director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, James Poole. “The absence of God’s word in people’s own language is one of the greatest barriers to the good news reaching all people. But that story is changing.
“In recent years we have seen an extraordinary surge in Bible translation. Progress is happening at a pace and scale not witnessed before, and whole communities are beginning to receive the Scriptures far sooner than we could once have imagined.
“This is a remarkable moment in world mission. God is at work, and we have the privilege of being part of it.”