International (MNN) – Many people believe Bible translation could be completed for all languages within our lifetime. However, many of the remaining languages are spoken in tumultuous parts of the world. Be it civil war, poverty, or famine, chaotic circumstances around the globe have driven people abroad at great rates. This means that the distribution process has become much more complicated.
Wade Remer of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA says this is the purpose of their website, ScriptureEarth.org, an index of Scripture resources in different languages.
Remer says, “Wycliffe’s Scriptureearth.org website was started by three computer guys who realized that as the Scriptures were translated and printed and distributed, the distribution happened [in] foreign fields. But as people migrate [to the United States] and to other places around the world, they needed access to those Scriptures.”
When people move to a different country where they are a minority language group, they usually can’t find a physical copy of the Bible in their language. But Scripture Earth has Bible content of various mediums in just under 2,300 languages. Wycliffe has been involved in the Bible translation of many of these languages, but the website also includes translations other organizations have done.
This website has been around for about six years now. Remer, who’s been with Wycliffe for about 30 years, says he and his wife, Joy, have been involved with spreading the word about the website for the last year or so. And Scripture Earth is an eye-catching resource to minority language speakers, even if they weren’t specifically looking for Scripture.
(Photo Courtesy Olga Caprotti via Flickr)
“The only thing online in their language, in many cases, is the Scripture. And the easiest way for a person to find the Scriptures is through the website, Scripture Earth. And so, we do a lot of distribution of a little card we have about Scripture Earth in libraries. We talk to individuals. We look for key people in ministries that are reaching out to the refugee and the immigrant here in the United States,” Remer explains.
True to the heart of Wycliffe’s vision, Scripture Earth is about sharing the Gospel with people in the way they will understand best. Remer says, “God’s Word speaks best through the heart language.”
The usage of this website is growing, and so are the resources offered. Will you ask God to use this website to impact the people who don’t know him yet? Pray for more people to learn about this website so they can study Scriptures in their language.
“God’s Word does God’s work. And you know, if a man, woman, or child want to read the Bible, they shouldn’t have to learn a foreign language. And Scripture Earth … allows people to listen to it, to download the Bible.app in their language. And we’re starting to put more resources like literacy primers and materials like that on the website as well.”
Consider sharing this website with the non-native English speakers in your life and community.
