International
(MNN) — Experts say more than 122,000 people around
the world become Christians every day. Many of
them are in developing nations where poverty is rife, Bibles are rare, and in
some cases, haven't been translated into their language yet.
International
Bible Society-Send The Light's Steve Johnson says that's changing. "We really
believe that Bible translation is the bedrock of leading people to Christ. Effective evangelism really can't happen
unless the Word of God is present in the mother tongue of people around the
world. So right now, we're in the
process of translating up to 50 languages in key parts of the world."
Their
teams recently completed the following translations that have the potential to
impact 290 million people with God's Word: Danish Bible revision, Nepali Old
Testament, Norwegian New Testament revision, Polish New Testament revision,
Romanian Bible, Russian Bible revision, Thai Bible, and Orominya New Testament
for Ethiopia.
The impact of Scripture is usually
felt as people use their translation manuscripts even before widespread
distribution has begun. That was true
for their Romanian translation.
Relating this account
through their website, the ministry writes: IBS-Romania
Director Iosif Ignatoaie used the printer's samples of the Romanian Bible
translation. He read a passage from it aloud for a Bible study group at the
home of a government official. The discussion that followed was unusually
insightful and focused on living the passage.
After the meeting, the host confessed he had never considered the
Bible could be so clear and understandable. The clarity of the Scripture enabled such
meaningful interaction. Ignatoaie gave the New Testament to the government
official who began sharing it with his friends and colleagues.
Annual budgets for individual translation projects like this one range from
$3,000 up to $50,000 depending on the scope of the work and the cost of
qualified labor.
Johnson
is urging believers to get involved. "There are stories in Africa of people who take one Bible, and they tear it up and pass out different portions so that
everybody will have a piece of the Word of God. That's how precious it is in certain parts of the world. I think it's so
important for us in the United States, who can so easily take God's Word for
granted, to understand that there's a desperate need."
Click
here to find out how you can help.
