Armed for the task with God’s love
India
has no fewer than 1,650 different languages or dialects which may warrant
their own translations of Scripture. So far some 55 have had the complete
Bible translated. The New Testament has been translated into 99 languages
and Selections of the Bible into 172.
Enormous task
Work is continuously being done on this enormous task. Audio tapes of dramatised translations have become increasingly popular, particularly among minority groups whose language exists only in oral form.
The BSI co-operates with several hundred agencies like OM India, Gospel for Asia, and 100 Villages Ministry selling them some 18 million Bibles, New Testaments, Selections and tracts every year, at as low a price as it can. This is traditionally made possible with financial help from sponsors, or the organisations raise money specially to buy them.
Greater boost
Now these efforts are receiving an even greater boost through Opportunity 21 (O-21), the UBS US$90 million ministry expansion project. Over the next three years, O-21 will provide more than US$6 million to the Bible Society in India to make millions more Scriptures available for these outreach ministries – and to the spiritually hungry people of India.