Bible Translations
On this page you’ll find all of our investigative reporting on the Bible Translation industry.
Spoken Worldwide Launches 20 Oral Bible Translation Projects
Ministry expects first four New Testament projects to be completed in 2026.
As of March 2024, all of the 20 languages have been chosen and the translation projects started, according to Ed Weaver, president and CEO of Spoken Worldwide.
Official Associated With Bible Society of India Arrested for Financial Corruption
Despite troubles, United Bible Societies remains confident in BSI’s finances
Anglican Bishop P.C. Singh, former president of the Bible Society of India, was arrested for criminal breach of trust, cheating, forging documents, and criminal conspiracy while transferring government land given on lease to the Church of North India.
Ep. 385: Al Fadi on the Hijazi Bible Translation Project
Today I welcome back to the program Al Fadi, with the Strategic Resource Group, an organization that funds projects to reach unreached people groups in the Middle East and North Africa, the so-called MENA region of the world. Al has been on the program before to discuss a bible translation project for Hejazi speaking people. This is an Arabic language spoken by more than 11 million people. More than three years ago, I started reporting…
Tyndale House’s Book Donation, Refuge for Women’s New Director, and Wycliffe Bible Translation Completion
Reach the Forgotten, Refuge for Women, and a completed Bible translation
Ministries Making a Difference: Reach the Forgotten, Refuge for Women, and a completed Bible translation
Wycliffe Associates Asks for Donor Support but Provides Few Details
The large Bible translation group encourages giving to efforts in dangerous areas of the world, but provides little information about its timeline or accomplishments.
Wycliffe Associates, one of the most recognized Bible translation groups, recently sent a fundraising letter urging donors to “move quickly” to share the Scriptures with “multitudes of lost people in the heart of the Middle East.”
USC Researchers Use AI to Help Translate Bible Into Very Rare Languages
Their goal is to target ‘very low-resource languages that are not even in the top 500.’
Two scientists are looking to new advancements in artificial intelligence to help close the gap in the number of languages into which the Bible has been translated. Out of the 7,100 languages that exist, the Bible has been translated into more than 700.
Facebook Parent Company Meta Uses Bible Translations to Train Artificial Intelligence in Speech Recognition
Meta tapped text-based research and audio recordings of people reading the New Testament in 1,100 languages.
The artificial intelligence arm of Meta is using widely translated religious texts like the Bible to provide data for its Massively Multilingual Speech (MMS) project, which aims to expand text-to-speech and speech-to-text technology to underserved languages.
Bible Translation Work in Chad Results in Muslim Converts
The unconventional approach taken by unfoldingWord uses unbelieving translators.
A recent Bible translation project in the African country of Chad has resulted in the conversion of Muslims to Christianity.
Spoken/Seed Partnership on Track
Year 3 will meet goal of 20 new oral Bible translation projects
A partnership between Dallas-based Spoken Worldwide and Seed Company to create 20 Bible translation projects for language groups that are primarily oral, not written, in their communication, is on track as it enters year three.
MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: Wycliffe Associates
Wycliffe Associates began in 1967 to accelerate the work of Bible translation around the world.
Ministry Spotlight: SIL International: Empowering Global Language Communities Since 1983
SIL International
MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: SIL International
Partnership of Spoken Worldwide and Seed Company Working on Five Oral Bible Translations
Mid-way through their three-year partnership, Dallas ministries Spoken Worldwide and Seed Company have launched five new Bible oral translation projects and announced more projects they will tackle in year three.
Sagamore Institute Study Attempts To Quantify The Cost of Bible Translation
Bible translation organizations in the United States receive more than $500-million in donations per year. So how many Bibles actually get translated? And how much does a Bible translation cost?
Wycliffe Collaborates on Project in Southeast Asia, Details Lacking
Recently Wycliffe USA announced it would be joining with eight other groups to work on a bible translation effort in Southeast Asia. The project involves seven of the region’s language communities.
Outsourcing Bible Translation?
Using Translation Service Providers To Speed The Bible Translation Process
SRG has embarked on an experiment to see if a secular company – a Translation Service Providers, or TSPs – can translate the Bible.
Ministry Spotlight: American Bible Society: Translating Scriptures for All Languages by 2026
American Bible Society
American Bible Society (ABS) began in 1816 with a mission “to make the Bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so all people may experience its life-changing message.”
Just How Broken Is the Bible Translation Industry?
Big numbers, simple math, unavoidable conclusions
“It depends” has become part of the culture of the Bible translation industry. It has helped produce a lack of transparency and accountability that should be a giant red flag to the tens of thousands of donors who give hundreds of millions of dollars to Bible translation organizations every year.
To understand just how big a red flag, we will have to do a little math.
Wycliffe Associates Claims To Help Spoken-Only Language Groups Gain Access to Scriptures
Wycliffe Associates, a Florida-based Bible translation organization, continues to make claims about its work around the world while providing little or no evidence of the progress or success of that work.
Translation Service Providers Could Be Paradigm-Changing For Bible Translation Industry
Why are translations so expensive? Why do they take so long? Why is it so difficult to get progress reports on specific projects?
Wycliffe Associates Says It Will Use Radio To Reach Isolated Language Groups
But details of new initiative are few
Wycliffe Associates, an Orlando-based Bible translation organization that MinistryWatch has been investigating because of concerns about transparency and accountability, continues to make claims about its Bible translation activities.
Details Few in Spoken Worldwide’s Partnership with Seed Company
Dallas-based Spoken Worldwide announced July 1 that it had launched a three-year joint project with Seed Company in April to provide 20 Bible translation projects for language groups whose primary means of communication is oral, not written.
Missionaries Often Spend Own Support Funds To Raise More Support
Mission Society Fundraising Expense Reports May Not Account For These Costs
Your favorite Christian ministry reports spending only a small percentage of its income on fundraising. Compelling stewardship it appears—but if the ministry is a foreign missions organization, does that number account for the time and money individual missionaries spend on raising support?
We asked these questions of some of the largest foreign mission organizations in the country, and the answers we received suggest that individual missionary fundraising often isn’t clearly included in an organization’s overall fundraising budget.
Biblica Income Rising after Long Decline
Biblica’s annual income dropped from $26 million (in 1992, 1995, 2005) to $13.5 million in 2017, but has picked up under its new president, Geof Morin, rising to $13.9 million in 2018, $15.8 million in 2019, and $16.8 million last year.
Wycliffe Associates Claims 30 New Bible Translation Projects Underway In Indonesia
Wycliffe Associates, a Bible translation organization that has been the subject of scrutiny from MinistryWatch for making unsubstantiated claims about its Bible translation process, now claims to be starting 30 new Bible translation projects in Indonesia.
MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: Unfolding Word
Founded in 2004, ministry uses open sourced, cutting edge technologies in Bible translation process
Unfolding Word began in 2004 focused on Bible translation; however it has adapted a different approach than traditional translation models, by using open sourced, cutting-edge technology resources so that people around the world can quickly and reliably translate the Bible into their own language.
MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: American Bible Society
American Bible Society
American Bible Society (ABS) began in 1816 to reach people in the United States and around the world who might not otherwise have access to a Bible.
Bible Translation Organizations Form Alliance
illumiNations hopes to cut through complicated structures and a lack of transparency in Bible translation industry
An alliance of Bible translation organizations, called illumiNations, unveiled its “I Want to Know” campaign last month, part of its effort to translate the Bible into the remaining untranslated languages by 2033.
Largest Foreign Missions and Bible Translation Organizations in the U.S. – Latest Rankings & Financial Insights
50 Largest Missions and Bible Translation Organizations
Below is a list of the largest foreign missions and Bible translation organizations in the country. The MinistryWatch database has a number of categories that include foreign missions organizations. We have therefore included Bible translation organizations, missionary organizations, and some evangelism and support organizations. Unlike most of our other lists, we have included a column for the segment so you can make an apples-to-apples comparsion of these various ministries. Also, MinistryWatch has identified a growing…
Ministry Spotlight: Wycliffe Bible Translators: Translating God’s Word into Every Language by 2025
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT) began in 1942 as an interdenominational missionary organization with the goal of forwarding, in every way possible, the translation of the Word of God into all languages of the world.
Women’s Conference Attendees Pledge More Than $1.5 Million to Bible Translation Effort
But where is the money actually going?
However, while this money may be put to good use, it also shines a light on the lack of transparency and convoluting funding structures of the Bible translation industry.
Ministry Spotlight: SIL International: Developing Language Solutions for Global Communities Since 1934 – MinistryWatch Profile
SIL International (Summer Institute of Linguistics)
SIL International (formerly known as Summer Institute of Linguistics) began in 1934 as a summer training program in Arkansas with two students, with the enrollment of these summer classes growing each subsequent year.
Wycliffe Associates Sees Revenue Decline
The Bible translation organization Wycliffe Associates saw a 6 percent revenue decline for the year ending Sept. 30, 2020, according to its recently released 2020 annual report.
Bruce Smith Out As President/CEO of Wycliffe Associates
Bruce Smith announced on Facebook yesterday that he is no longer the President/CEO of Wycliffe Associates, the Bible translation organization that in fiscal year 2019, reported about $49-million in revenue.
Key Executives Depart Wycliffe Associates
A number of key leaders have recently left Wycliffe Associates. The departures have come in the wake of Wycliffe Associates’ resignation from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, as well as increased scrutiny of one of its key translation initiatives, Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation, or MAST.
The Bible Translation Industry Is At A Crossroads
Wycliffe Associates recently resigned from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability while under review for its fundraising practices. I wrote a short article about the resignation, thinking that would be it.
Boy, was I ever wrong.
When Is A Bible Translation Not A Bible Translation?
Controversy Surrounding Wycliffe Associates’ MAST Program Raises Tough Questions for Bible Translation Community
Controversy Surrounding Wycliffe Associates’ MAST Program Raises Tough Questions for Bible Translation Community
Wycliffe Associates Touts MAST and “Print On Demand” Program
But New Fund-Raising Initiative Draws Attention To Controversial Translation Process
Wycliffe has been very successful in raising funds for these programs. The problem is: the evidence to support Wycliffe’s claims is thin. And when asked to substantiate the advertised cost for POD and MAST, Wycliffe has so far failed to produce documentation.
What Would Wycliffe Fly?
Editor’s Note: Though Wycliffe Associates and Wycliffe Bible Translators have similar names and were one time related organizations, they are today separate organizations. John Wycliffe, who famously translated the Bible into English, was one of the seminal figures of the Reformation. But he was more than a translator. He was an outspoken critic of clergy opulence. He wrote tracts condemning the luxurious lifestyles of many church leaders. One wonders what Wycliffe would say about…
ECFA Charter Member, Wycliffe Associates, Resigns Membership While Under Review
Wycliffe Associates, one of the charter members of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), voluntarily resigned on Feb, 21, 2020, “while under review of compliance with Standards 7.1 and 7.2.” Standard 7.1 says: In securing charitable gifts, all representations of fact, descriptions of the financial condition of the organization, or narratives about events must be current, complete, and accurate. References to past activities or events must be appropriately dated. There must be no material…