Bible translators suspend 30 projects because of pandemic, terrorism, economic concerns

Nigerian Bible translators with one of the world's leading translation organizations have suspended Bible translation projects in 30 languages and are requesting help.

Bible translation has been halted in the African nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, terrorism, and economic collapse, reports Worthy News.

In Nigeria, more than 500 languages are spoken. Mother-tongue Bible translators in the area say they have had to stop work on their current projects.

Wycliffe Associates currently facilitates 796 Bible translations worldwide.

"This year, as COVID-19 ravaged Nigeria, they have suffered in tragic new ways, says Wycliffe Associates president and CEO Bruce Smith.

Smith says the government lockdown in Nigeria due to COVID-19 has resulted in significant losses of income for residents.

"In areas of serious poverty, national Bible translators and their families found themselves facing hardship and hunger, more painful than anything they had ever known," he says.

Wycliffe Associates says terrorism has also contributed to the halt on translation work.

Jihadist Fulani herdsmen have led attacks against Christians during the pandemic. 18 people were killed in the town of Miango in a single month, and 25 were killed in the local government area of Kajuru.

In early September, two communities in southern Kaduna state were attacked. A 45-year-old pastor and two other men were killed while seven others were abducted.

Smith calls the situation a "living nightmare for so many families, as agents of evil have abducted more than 1,000 children in recent years.

"They’ve attacked Bible translators directly, too — burning workplaces and destroying equipment."

Wycliffe Association hopes to relocate their national translators to a safe location by the organization and provided with technology and equipment to resume their work on Bible translations.

"In their world of danger and deprivation, [Nigerian Christians] cling to the Scriptures,” Smith says. “There is nothing else solid, no other place of comfort, of strength, of refuge."