There are over 7,000 languages currently spoken around the globe. While only 10% of those languages currently have a complete Bible, thousands have some Scripture portions completed, or translations in process. That leaves about 2,000 still waiting for translation to begin.
One of the main focuses of the field of bible translation is the distribution of available Scriptures to the people who need them. And due to the wide availability of smart devices and the internet, one of the best ways to get Bibles into the hands of those who need them is online!
Maybe you or someone you know would like a Bible in another language. Maybe you're traveling abroad or support a missionary working in another country and would like to be able to share the Scriptures there. Or you may just be curious what your favorite Bible passage sounds like in another translation! Here are two great online directories of Scripture translations -- and they're free to use!
Sponsored by Wycliffe Canada, ScriptureEarth provides a searchable database of thousands of different languages' bible translations. Users can search by language or country, or browse through a list of countries to find what they're looking for.
ScriptureEarth hosts links to audio/visual resources such as The Jesus Film, oral bible stories, or dramatizations. It also links to more resources on each language as they're available. Another great feature is that the site itself is available in six different languages of wider communication (English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, and German.)
Presented by the Forum of Bible Agencies International (FOBAI) and Digital Bible Society, this database allows users to click on countries from the world map to search through nearly 4,500 Bible versions and over 30,000 biblical resources! This is a collaboration of data from hundreds of bible translation organizations where you can search for Bibles, languages, countries, or even translation partnering organizations.
Translation field workers and missions groups can use Find.Bible to learn about translation status and available resources. Once on a language's profile page, users can download audio/visual files and save right to their phone or computer. While some written Bibles are not available on Find.Bible itself, there are links provided for where they can be accessed.
Other Language Resources
There are a few other informative databases for researching what Scripture material may be available to different language groups. These don't always have specific information on accessing the material, but they can be a good starting point for anyone interested in learning more about the 7,000+ languages in the world!
Once you've learned about a specific language or people group and their access to Scripture (or lack thereof), you may also be interested in learning how to pray for bibleless peoples around the world. Thank you for your prayers!