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About the Bible - Translating the Bible
Follow the history of Bible translation from its earliest beginnings to the present day.Find out about the world's most influential translations - and why we still need more.
Translating Bibles
For the past 200 years, Bible Societies across the world have worked to make the Bible available in the languages people need most. As a result, they have been responsible for more than 300 of the 450 languages that now have a translation of the whole Bible. This has made the Scriptures accessible to more than five billion of the world’s population.
However, more than 4,400 languages still wait for even one book of the Bible. This means millions either have no access to the Bible at all or can only encounter it in something other than their ‘heart’ language.
The big picture is that there are 6,912 languages in the world. Of these –
- 451 languages have a translation of the whole Bible.
- 2,479 languages have part of the Bible.
This leaves 4,421 languages still waiting for even one book of the Bible.
Current translation projects
The worldwide Bible Society fellowship is currently working on more than 550 translation projects. These have the potential to impact more than 4 billion people.
Wala speakers ‘walk straight in’
Pio Osifera spent every spare hour for ten years working to translate the Bible for 7,000 Wala speakers in the Solomon Islands. He did so fitting it in between his job and family responsibilities…
What drove him on was knowing what if was like to finally hear God’s voice in his own language. He says, ‘Reading the Bible in English is like climbing into a house built on stilts. Reading it in Wala is like having the house built on the ground and being invited to walk straight in.’
Revising outdated translations
There is also an urgent need for many existing translations of the Bible to be renewed or replaced.
That is because:
- Language changes over time and some existing translations are now somewhat archaic.
- Some early translations were done with enthusiasm and dedication but a lack of scholarship or academic knowledge.
Translation by numbers
6 – the average number of years to translation the New Testament.
10 – the average number of years to translate the Old Testament.
140 – the number of Bible Societies around the world involved in translation.
550 – the number of translation projects Bible Society is involved in at any one time.
Millions – the number of people who will receive the Bible as a result.
The translation process
Translation begins by local church leaders identifying the need for a new Bible translation and approaching Bible Society.
Bible Society works with all church denominations, so translations teams of local people are formed and trained. Some will have studied theology, such as the church leader. Others, perhaps the village storyteller, will be experts in language.
Support is give through Translation Consultants and specialist computer programs.
Celebration for a new translation
When the Munukutuba translation was launched in the Republic of the Congo, a three-hour marked the event – including 10 choirs and a crowd of 5,000, some having travelled 100 miles to join the celebration.
‘God speaks Munukutuba,’ said the translator Larry Robbins, who had been working on the new Bible for 20 years. ‘Are we going to listen to him?’