2,000 More to Go: Wycliffe Bible Translators Keeps On Task During the Pandemic

ABOVE:  Watch the CBN News interview with Wycliffe Bible Translators President John Chesnut. 

Wycliffe Bible Translators says the COVID-19 pandemic displaced some of its staff but that the urgent work continues as 1.5 billion people still do not have the full Bible available in their language.

Wycliffe is currently working on 2,700 language projects in 167 countries, with 2,000 more languages that need a Bible translation.

Its goal: start translation on the 2,000 languages that are still lacking the scriptures by 2025.

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President John Chesnut told CBN News that the pandemic has proved to be a slight disruption to its work but has also helped staff get ahead.

"We had about 300 of our staff and their families that had to come back to the U.S. during this season," he explained.

Several projects have been disrupted he said, but others have advanced more quickly than anticipated. 

"We've actually seen an increase in translations primarily because some of the other life distractions have been taken away," Chesnut said, noting that it has helped staff. "They've been able to focus more on keeping after the task."

Since Wycliffe began Bible translation work in 1951, it has provided scriptures for more than 500 languages.

"How can a church be planted, how can disciples be made, how can evangelism take place if scripture is not available in a language or form that people can understand?" said Chesnut.