Wycliffe Bible Translators

At Wycliffe, we believe in universal access for all. We want everyone to have the chance to engage with the message of Jesus – in the language that speaks to them best.

For over 60 years, we’ve been pioneering and innovating, working alongside little-known communities, creating partnerships, and training local people to translate the Bible. 1.5 billion people are still waiting. One in five people worldwide still doesn’t have a Bible in their own language. 

Why does Wycliffe Bible Translators exist? Perhaps the answer is obvious: to translate the Bible into every language? But in fact our concern goes deeper than translation alone. Our passion is to enable all peoples to engage with the Bible for themselves. At least 1.5 billion people do not have access to the story of God's love for his people - the story of the Bible - in the language that they understand the best. Of the 7,097 languages in the world today, only 636 have a complete Bible.

Wycliffe exists because we care about people. We long to see individuals from every ‘tribe and language and people and nation’ engaging with the Bible for themselves. That is why translations are needed. We are not an organisation primarily motivated by linguistics, translation, or literacy. We care deeply about those things because we care about people.

We are well known for translating the Bible and teaching people to read, but those are our methods, not our ultimate goal. Our goal in Bible translation is to see lives transformed as people engage with what God is saying in the Scriptures.

It’s not right that some of us have free access to the Bible, while others have none. That’s why we work with urgency, for the long term.