We owe a huge debt of gratitude to such people who dedicated their life’s work (and in some cases lost their lives) in order to make the Bible accessible to all who want to read it and we have never had it so good. Bible translation is currently happening in 3,283 languages in 167 countries! English language Bibles range from the John Wycliffe produced a complete translation of the Bible into English in 1382, shortly before he died. He was denounced as a heretic for this work by the Roman Catholic Church. By the mid 1500’s other men such as William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale had also completed English translations. Tyndale was hounded by the Roman Catholic Church for this and burned at the stake in 1536.

William Morgan, a Welshman who studied languages in Cambridge University alongside Tyndale and Coverdale, dedicated himself to the huge task of producing a Welsh Bible from the original Hebrew and Greek. By 1587 he had completed this work and presented a copy of the Welsh Bible to Queen Elizabeth I. He wrote in his dedication to
the Queen “Unless religion is taught in the common tongue it will remain hidden and unknown”.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to such people who dedicated their life’s work and in some cases lost their lives) in order to make the Bible accessible to all who want to read it and we have never had it so good. Bible translation is
currently happening in 3,283 languages in 167 countries!

English language Bibles range from the traditional 1611 King James Version (KJV) through to more modern English versions such as the English Standard Version (ESV) and New International Version (NIV) – and many more, including the convenience of free online accessibility.

And thanks to the work of William Morgan, there have been over 12 translations of the whole Bible into Welsh, including colloquial Welsh.

There is no excuse for not trying to read the Bible; some parts of the Bible can still be a difficult book to read and understand. However, it offers the hope of everlasting life in God’s Kingdom when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this Earth.

We will be starting “Learn to read the Bible Effectively”, weekly seminars, for 6 weeks from Tuesday, 22 October 2024, God willing. They will be at 7pm, at our hall (110 Pontardulais Road Gorseinon SA4 4FQ). Please come along if you are interested.