“'All' Around The World”

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Know that the Bible HAS NOT been translated into every single language on the earth; there are still thousands of tribes out there that have not heard the gospel and do not have the Bible in their language.

Please be careful when making such assumptions. If you are going to disagree, again, you are simply wrong on this point. I know people right now who are out in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and the Philippines that are translating the Bible into languages that do not have it, RIGHT NOW.

Sincerely, The Linguist

Dear The Linguist,

The statement we made concerning translations can be found in this post. We said, “Now that the New Testament is complete and has spread to every nation and language, there is no need for miracles.” Though it is true that there are literally thousands of dialects that the Bible has not been translated into – the Bible is translated so that over 99% of mankind can read it in a language that they are fluent in. This doesn’t even account for people receiving the gospel message through someone preaching and speaking the Word. We often forget that many people depend on the gospel being spoken to them because they are illiterate. Many of these obscure settlements only have spoken languages – not written ones. The United Bible Society puts the total amount of languages and dialects that the Bible has been translated into at 2,479 as of Dec. 31, 2008.

Places like the Philippines do have pockets of aboriginal people with isolated dialects and cultures, but that notwithstanding, the process of translating the Bible into all the major languages of mankind is considered a resounding success. This fact is not intended to undermine the importance of bringing the Bible to as many of these aboriginal cultures as possible; it is simply to say that using the term ‘all’ is appropriate. When we say the Bible is translated into all languages, we are using the word ‘all’ in a non-technical sense. It is the same as saying, “I cleaned all of my house today” even though I’m sure dust could be found in some unseen corner. The Bible has indeed spread to all nations under heaven. We appreciate your zeal for the topic though.

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