International (MNN) — In the last 10 to 15 years much progress has been made in translating the Bible into more and more languages. That’s the message being shared by Wycliffe Bible Translators and others involved with that organization at a recent directors meeting in recent days.
Luis Bush, who headed up AD 2,000 and Beyond and now part of World Inquiry, spoke to translators at the headquarters of SIL International. Bush presented his findings of the status of evangelism around the world and the need for Bible translation to help facilitate that. Bush says Bible translation is still a great need. “It looks like we have about 3,000 languages that are still in need of some kind of translation of Scripture. So, there’s still a lot of work to be done, but there’s a great deal that has been accomplished.”
However, according to Bush, translators can’t be singularly focused. They must begin focusing on oral learners. He says even in cultures where education is a priority, many people are quickly becoming oral learners. “They won’t necessarily be picking up and reading a Bible or New Testament. And, how do we communicate effectively through radio, through television and through video and cd and other kinds of media. It becomes an essential question today.”
That doesn’t mean the Bible will be replaced, but it does mean there will be additional tools to communicate the Gospel to those who wouldn’t ordinarily read the Bible. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation and transformation of individuals and communities,” says Bush. So, Wycliffe’s Vision 2025 initiative to see God’s word translated into all the major languages is still a priority. Pray that funding and translators will be available to help accomplish this goal.
