An organisation that helps people translate the Word of God into their own languages disclosed that Bible translators have also been subjected to intense persecution in some parts of the world.
Wycliffe Associates said when it started its new translation projects this year, many of its Bible translators faced tough challenges particularly in some Muslim-dominated countries.
In India, the group said a Bible translator was dragged from his home in the middle of the night and shot 17 times, Assistnews.net reported.
In the same week, another Bible translator in the Middle East was arrested, jailed, and tortured. Within a week, three more translators were arrested, and since then, more than 12 Bible translators have been jailed, the report said.
The other translators have also reportedly suffered inexplicable challenges, including a leader of a translation workshop in Southeast Asia who mysteriously lost his voice, while a number of participants in the workshop became ill. One young woman translator from the same language group also died in her sleep during the workshop.
Bruce Smith, Wycliffe president and CEO, said what is being experienced by the company's translators is an expected part of spiritual warfare.
He expressed relief that the group was able to survive the adversities and successfully launched 203 translation projects worldwide within the year.
"I was exhilarated to witness God at work like this. We were stymied in our own power—yet when we prayed, when we acknowledged God's power, God opened the door,'' he said.
"If ever there was a time when Psalm 147:15 could be observed in 'real time,' this is it. 'His word runs swiftly' the Scriptures say. I have found myself speechless, time and time again over the past several months, to see the fulfilment of Revelation 7:9—God's Word in every language—now, finally, truly within our reach."
The organisation is currently engaged in a large effort called Vision 2025, a plan to have Bible translation started for every language that needs it by 2025, he said.
The project is a worldwide endeavour that involves national Bible translators, translation consultants, volunteers, and financial donors, according to the report.
