Wycliffe Associates and its Bible translation work seen in this image on November 13, 2013. | Facebook/Wycliffe Associates
Despite challenges presented by the pandemic, Wycliffe Associates saw the completion of more Bible translations in 2020 than in any other single year.
Wycliffe, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, said that last year, New Testament translations were completed in 141 languages. Now, eight additional languages have completed translations of the Old Testament.
Tim Neu, interim president and CEO of Wycliffe Associates, said that instead of slowing down because of COVID-19, for some national Bible translators, translation has “actually accelerated.”
Wycliffe Bible Translators
The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for Bible translation efforts worldwide, but Wycliffe Bible Translators USA has pressed on with its mission despite the challenges.
For 79 years, Wycliffe has led the effort to translate the Bible into every language. Currently, the group and its partners are at work on over 2,700 translation projects in 167 countries, CEO John Chesnut said. Even so, 1.5 billion people still don’t have a Bible translation in their own language.
Many of the countries in which Wycliffe works have poor healthcare, non-unified governments and limited communication technologies. The pandemic has also impeded Wycliffe’s efforts to work with people who speak languages without a Bible translation.
Wycliffe Bible Translators project in South Sudan, video posted on April 11, 2018. | (Screenshot: YouTube/Wycliffe Bible Translators)
I recently heard a story from Nate and Ivy Cheeseman, Wycliffe Bible Translators USA personnel serving in Mainland Southeast Asia. Several months ago, they started passing out audio Bibles Scriptures translated and recorded in a local language and distributed on MP3 players. A local church asked for a few copies, then returned for five more. Another request came for 40 more, and another request after that, and before they knew it the requests were pouring in!
“God just kept networking us with local Christians in our city who wanted to give these [audio Bibles] to their friends or neighbors,” Ivy said. “It seemed like everywhere we went whether it was our homeschool co-op, a coffee shop or even while on vacation we kept meeting people who wanted to get the Bible out.”