Two Bibles Launched Every Week in the Past Year

Monday September 30 2024

A Kwamashi woman holds her Kwamashi New Testament at the launch in Zambia on August 10. Photo: Mubi Mebelo

Two Bibles or New Testaments have been launched every week in the past year, and for the first time at least some of the Christian scriptures are available in more than half the world’s languages.

These are some of the highlights revealed in this year’s State of the Bible report, which is released today (September 30) by Wycliffe Bible Translators. It also reveals that the number of people who have access to the Bible in their own language has broken the six billion mark, while a third of all languages have the Bible or New Testament.

James Poole, Executive Director of Wycliffe, said: “This year has been a landmark for the ministry of Bible translation. We’ve seen remarkable progress as more people than ever before have the Scriptures in their own language, with entire communities being transformed as they encounter the word of God for the first time.

“In the past 12 months, millions have gained access to the Bible or New Testament, and countless others are now on the path to having it. For the first time in history, over half of the world’s languages have at least some Scripture – a milestone that brings us closer to the vision we share at Wycliffe: a world where everyone can know Jesus through the Bible.’

The report reveals the work is taking place in more than 4000 languages, an increase of 270 since the 2023 report.

Among the projects mentioned in the report are the Mark Road, an initiative to translate the Gospel of Mark into 40 languages in Nigeria. None of these languages have previously been written down at all, so the translation work on each starts from scratch.

Among the new Bibles released were the Koma Bible, launched in June in Ghana, and a New Testament in Enga, the most spoken local language in Papua New Guinea.

However, the report states that there are still one in five people with no Bible in their language, and 985 languages with no scriptures or work in progress. James Poole said: “Reflecting on another year of incredible progress, we are filled with hope for the future. Within the next 10–20 years, we could reach a landmark moment where 95% of people have the complete Bible in their own language, and almost everyone has the New Testament. This would be a monumental achievement in world history.”

Read the full report here (pdf).

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