September 30 marks the annual celebration of International Bible Translation Day. Today is the Sunday closest to September 30, so today we want to celebrate Bible Translation Day.

Of the 7,102 languages in the world, only 531 have full Bible translations. About 1200 have the NT in their language. Various agencies are hard at work providing translations of the Bible in those languages that do not have one. They are doing so because they know that “faith cometh by hearing …” (Rom 10:17). People become believers in Christ when they hear the Gospel message, and it’s best if they can hear that in their own language.

Bible translation agencies continue to translate the Bible because they believe in the biblical doctrine of preservation. The Bible has been preserved for us so that the copy that you and I hold in our hands, and the translations that they are making for these other language groups, are the Word of God.