Major language milestone for Bible

The Bible has reached a landmark moment in world mission – it has now been launched in its 800th translated language.

Wycliffe Bible Translators announced the milestone on 1 June, saying around 6.2 billion people in 800 language communities now have the complete Bible in their own language.

The achievement is all the more striking because it took more than 1,900 years for the whole Bible to be translated into 400 languages – but just 28 years for the next 400.

And the pace is speeding up.

Wycliffe says the number of languages with the whole Bible has doubled since 1998, while the 700th full Bible translation was celebrated only six years ago.

Since 2020, the last 100 complete Bible translations have opened up the whole of Scripture to another 500 million people.

For millions of believers, that means no longer relying on a second language, a preacher’s explanation or a partial translation.

It means reading Genesis, the Gospels, Romans, Revelation and the whole sweep of God’s salvation story in the words they speak at home, in church and around the family table.

James Poole, Wycliffe’s executive director, said: “This is an extraordinary time for world mission.

"Over recent decades we have seen remarkable progress, with translation work accelerating in many parts of the world.

"Communities are receiving the Bible far sooner than would have seemed possible only a generation ago."

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