Lesson 7, May 9-15
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Deuteronomy 32:46, 47; 1 Kings 3:6; Numbers 6:24-26; Genesis 1:26, 27; Genesis 2:15-23; 15:1-5.
Memory Text: “Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.” Deuteronomy 31:26
More than 6,000 languages are spoken among the world’s billions. The complete Bible has been translated into more than 600 languages, with the New Testament or some portions translated into more than 2500 other languages, as well. That’s a lot of languages, for sure. But at the same time, it is still less than half of the known languages of the world.
An estimated 1.5 billion people do not have the full Bible translated into their first language. While there is still much work to be done, the efforts of Bible societies have ensured that 6 billion people can read Scripture.
And what a blessing to be among those who do have the Bible in their own language! We often take it for granted, forgetting that not only do many not have the Bible but also that for centuries in Europe, the Bible was purposely kept away from the masses. Thanks to the printing press and the Reformation, that is no longer the case. Those of us who do indeed have the Bible continue to look at how we can, filled with the Spirit, learn to study the Word and come to know the Lord revealed in its pages.
