Next week, translators from around the world will join us in Jerusalem for an intensive season of biblical Hebrew training. They will be among the first to pioneer a new approach to Bible translation, bringing together biblical Hebrew and translation assistance technology that works directly from the biblical text.

Bible translation is changing rapidly. Around the world, translation teams are increasingly using Assisted Translation Technology (or Artificial Intelligence tools) to help increase the efficiency and speed of translation. These tools have enormous potential to help bring Scripture to languages that still need it. But they also raise an important question: What happens if AI translations are not grounded in the original biblical languages?

There is a movement taking place that is rapidly accelerating God’s plan for His Word to all nations. Local leaders even in remote areas are learning to translate the Bible into their own languages and communities.

The Bible translation movement recently celebrated a remarkable milestone: the completion of the 800th full Bible translation. The first 400 full Bible translations took nearly two thousand years. The next 400 have been completed in just a few decades.

As we approach Shavuot and Pentecost Sunday, we remember both the giving of the Word in the wilderness and the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost, when the apostles were empowered to proclaim God’s Word in many languages.

God is making a straight path for the whole Word to reach Bibleless people, leading into a broad place of growth, local leadership, and the light of His love.