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The Bible for the World

The Bible Society in Australia as a member of the fellowship of the United Bible Societies (UBS) around the world aims to achieve the widest possible, effective and meaningful distribution of the Holy Scriptures and to help people interact with the Word of God. National Bible Societies work together to plan and fund the translation, printing and distribution of God’s throughout the world.

There are now 422 languages world-wide in which the complete Bible is now available. This figure seems small when set against a total of 6500 or more languages spoken across the world and the task remains immense. There are now 1068 languages in which there is a complete New Testament, and 2355 into which at least some part of the Bible has been translated.

In 2005, member Bible Societies of the UBS alone distributed worldwide more than 372.6 million Scriptures, including: 
  •    24.3 Million Bibles
  •    11.2 Million New Testaments
  •    14.1 Million Portions
  •    10.9 Million New Reader Portions
  •  282.1 Million Selections
  •    29.9 Million New Reader Selections
Later statistics are not yet available.

In most countries, these publications were either sold at subsidized prices or given free of charge.

For a more detailed breakdown of the figures, please see the UBS Scripture Distribution figures 2005.

The challenge to reach the people of the world, including here in Australia , with the Word of God remains as strong as ever before. We hope that these resource materials for the Bible Celebration will encourage you in reading and sharing the wonderful message of the Bible.

There are many ways that you can be involved in the work of Bible Society. For more information, please contact the Bible Society in your state. The Bible Society is also a great source of Bibles in both English and Languages-Other-Than-English.