‘Today is a great day! For so long, the Bible has not been accessible for [us]. Finally, we can have access to the Bible in our own language, and we can fully understand.’ Nick
It’s a wonderful thing for someone to say. People all around the world are excitedly receiving God’s word in their own language for the first time because of Bible translations. What might surprise you about Nick’s quote, though, is that his mother-tongue language is indigenous to the UK and has been used in Britain for more than 300 years.
Nick is a Deaf Christian. He is one of between 50,000 and 70,000 BSL* users, all of whom have access to only small portions of the Bible in the language of their heart. And the problem is not exclusive to BSL. Not one of the more than 250 sign languages used around the world have a complete Bible translation; only one – American Sign Language – has access to the whole New Testament.
As part of the celebrations across the UK for the Year of the Bible, the BSL Bible Translation Project have been focusing on making the Gospel of Mark available for Deaf people in the UK. Nick’s reaction is to the release of a pilot DVD of Mark 1:1 to 3:6.
The BSL Bible Translation Project are continuing to work on the rest of Mark. You can find out about the project and how you can support them on their website, bslbible.org.uk. Read more about sign language translation in our previous Words for Life magazine.
Nick’s situation is not unusual: more than 300 million people have never accessed any Scripture in their own language because it doesn’t yet exist. Find out more about the need for Bible translations and what Wycliffe Bible Translators are doing to help.
*British Sign Language.
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Tags: Bible translation, BSL, Sign languages
