International (MNN) — The full Arabic Bible will be released this May in two Middle Eastern cities by the World Bible Translation Center.
The New Testament is already available in Arabic and making headway in the Middle East. The Old Testament has been highly anticipated by many and will finally mark the completion of the Bible in Arabic, the primary language of over 280 million people.
People seem to be fairly open to the Bible in the Middle East, especially among the younger generation. "They're eager to know more about what we believe; and they're open to understand things that maybe older generations in the past were not ready to understand or to accept," says Arabic Editor of the Bible translation, Salah Abbasi.
If the Word of God catches on among youth, this could mean great things for future generations in the region. "We think that the only hope for the Arab world and these multiple crises is to have the Word of God available," expresses Abbasi.
Among older generations, there remains some fear, implanted by teachings of Islam, to read the Bible. "They sometimes to feel they are not even allowed to touch that book because it is a corrupt book; it's an unclean book for them," says Abbassi. With continued prayer for courage against these fears, however, Abbasi says he thinks "that this translation will have a great influence all over the Arab world."
Please pray for courage of the distributors and for those who endeavor to read this Arabic Bible. Pray that the release of the full Bible in May will be even more widely received than the New Testament alone.
To help the World Bible Translation Center continue translating God's Word, click here.
