Why waiting for the bus is nothing like waiting for the Bible...

|PIC1|You know what it's like waiting for a bus... getting frustrated, feeling like you're wasting time, wondering what you're missing out on with the people you were due to meet...

But can you remember the feeling of waiting for a Bible? Probably not, because five minutes at the counter of any bookshop isn't long. Someone had already spent years translating it for you and making it freely available in your country.

Now imagine waiting 2,000 years for a Bible in your own language.

Imagine not being able to read God's Word in a language you can understand and connect with. Imagine what it's like to think that God isn't interested in your community or nation.

But the fact is that this is the reality for millions of people around the world. Out of 6,900 languages, more than half still wait for just one book of the Bible. Only one in seven languages has a complete New Testament. Just 422 languages have a translation of the whole Bible.

At Bible Society, we call this Bible poverty.

And this year we've committed to ending the wait for millions of people by raising money for translation projects. This year, we hope to see new translations born, outdated Scriptures revised to speak today's language and the Bible recorded into audio for millions who can't read.

We believe this is vitally important because at the very heart of the Christian faith is the belief that God became human and lived among us. It was the ultimate translation! It's our challenge now to make the Word of God come alive in different cultures and communities across the world.

You may already do a bit of translation work yourself. If you talk about your faith to neighbours or colleagues who aren't Christians, you probably use words and phrases that are accessible and meaningful for them. You probably present it in a certain format.

At Bible Society, sharing the Good News with people who live here and overseas, in languages and formats that are accessible and meaningful, is part of our mission.
Often, translation is painstaking work. It takes six years to translate the New Testament and around a decade to translate the Old Testament. Teams of local people have to be trained on translation software, must agree on how to refer to common phrases and have to take on the arduous work of translating a book.

|PIC2|They check each other's work and face hurdles of language together. For example, how do you translate the phrase 'white as snow' for people who've never seen snow? How do you talk about the shepherd and his sheep in countries where there are no sheep and no word for them?

But the outcome of this effort can be extraordinary.

You see, language goes right to the core of who we are. It's through language that we express ourselves, make ourselves heard.

So having the Word of God written down in your language not only shows the value and importance of your language, it also speaks deeply to your very identity. In Jamaica, for example, a project is underway to translate the Bible into Patois.

Not only will this put Scripture in the everyday language of millions of Jamaicans, it also says to them that their language is official. It says their language is worthy of carrying the truths and depths of meaning found in the Bible. And that speaks powerfully to their identity and sense of worth.

Bible Societies around the world are involved in up to 550 translations at any one time. Some meet the needs of millions, while others cater for minority and neglected people. A few will support work in countries with highly sensitive political situations that we can't even name.

This work will put Bibles into people's hands for the first time. It will give them access to God's life-changing message. This work will end the wait for millions.


Claire Smith is Head of Communications at Bible Society.

To find out more or to donate to Bible Society's translation work, visit www.biblesociety.org.uk