Introduction
In introducing the report of the Society’s activities during 1993 we give thanks to the Lord both for the revelation that He has been pleased to give of Himself in the Holy Scriptures and for the provision that He has made for the publication and distribution of His Word during this, the 163rd year of the Society’s existence. Notwithstanding all the powers of darkness and the forces of evil abroad in the earth, it is encouraging to report that the Society has been enabled in the goodness of the Lord to continue in its task during the past year of seeking the glory of God in the sending forth of the Word of Life to our fellow sinners in many different parts of the world.
The work of the Society is essentially spiritual and therefore this report can only be an outline of the practical activities in which we have been engaged. The spiritual record of the effects of His Word upon the minds and hearts of those who have received the Scriptures from the Society is known alone by the One who is the Divine Author and Divine Sower of the seed of the Kingdom. We have, however, the glorious assurance that His Word shall not return unto Him void but that it shall accomplish that which He pleases and prosper in the thing whereto He sent it. Whether the seed of His Word falls by the wayside, upon the rocks, among the thorns or on good ground, we may humbly continue in our work, knowing that our labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Circulation
During the year the Society distributed over 346,000 bibles and over 155,000 New Testaments. In addition, 49,000 Bibles and over 3,300,000 New Testaments were distributed under royalty agreements. The total number of distributed items amounted to more than 7.7 million during the year. These Scriptures were distributed in over 40 languages to more than 130 different countries.
Just under 2 million items of Scripture (including over 55,000 Bibles, 38,000 New Testaments and 1 million Golden Thoughts Calendars) were distributed free of charge. The value of these Scripture grants totalled over £190,000, excluding the costs of administration and distribution. The Golden Thoughts Calendars were funded from the permanent endowment fund established for that purpose. In addition, many thousands of Bibles and other Scriptures were supplied at subsidised prices.
Finance
In the Lord’s goodness, the income of the Society during the year amounted to almost £1.8 million, £683,000 of which came from gifts (including legacies) and from subscriptions of members and friends of the Society in different parts of the world. The Society’s expenditure totalled £1.66 million, of which the cost of Scriptures sold and granted was just over £1.05 million. This resulted in a surplus at the end of the year of £128,786. On 31st December the value of the Scriptures held by the Society was £991,000.
Editorial and Distribution Reports
1. English Scriptures
Although there are new translations of the Bible in the English language
published each year, the Authorised Version is still the most faithful and accurate translation available in the English language. It is for this reason that the Society continues to publish and circulate only this version in English. During the year over 142,000 Bibles and 1.6 million other Scripture items in the Authorised Version were distributed.
Many thousands of copies of the English Scriptures were supplied for distribution in North America, Australasia and in the parts of Africa, the West Indies and the East where English is spoken. It is also encouraging to record the number of openings which exist for the distribution of the Authorised Version within the United Kingdom, notwithstanding the spiritual degeneracy that now pervades the land. Bibles, New Testaments and other items of Scripture are supplied on a regular basis not only to the trade and to many churches but also to schools, prisons, city missions and Christian workers engaged in the sowing of the seed of the Kingdom of God. One of the city missions has entered on a scheme of placing a copy of a New Testament, supplied by the Society at subsidised prices, in every home in the city.
During 1993 the long-awaited four-volume large print edition of the Bible for the use of those with impaired sight was completed. Also, a pulpit Bible with centre-column references was printed. These two Bibles augment the range of Bibles in the Authorised Version available from the Society.
2. European Language Scriptures
During the year the Society has supplied many thousands of copies of the Bible and other Scripture items in a number of European languages for distribution in Europe and other parts of the world where these languages are spoken. These have included 95,000 Russian Bibles, 13,000 Hungarian Bibles, 68,000 French Bibles and 63,000 Spanish Bibles. In addition, many tens of thousands of New Testaments and hundreds of thousands of other Scripture portions in these and other languages were distributed, including over 1,250,000 Gospels of John and other Scripture items in the Russian language.
The year also saw the publication of the Society’s edition of the Welsh Bible. For several years friends of the Society and others in Wales have been concerned that the faithful translation of the Welsh Bible, which under God had been the means of such spiritual prosperity in previous generations, was being replaced by a less accurate modern translation. With the permission of the copyright holders and the financial assistance of friends in Wales, the Society has been able to publish a new edition of the older Bible in order that the present and future generations of Welsh
speakers may have access to the Word of Life which historically had formed the basis of the rich spiritual heritage enjoyed by the Welsh people.
After over twenty years of labour the Committee of Sociedade Biblica by Trinitariana do Brasil, in association with the editorial team at the head office, the work on the revision of the Bible in Portuguese was completed during 1993. At the close of the year the printers were instructed to proceed with the printing of the first edition of 90,000 copies of this Bible for distribution in Brazil, Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking areas of the world. The New Testament portion of the revision had been published a number of years ago and it has been most encouraging to note how many copies have been distributed in Brazil over the years, largely through the use of it by Gideons International. During the past four years alone over 13 million copies of the Society’s Portuguese New Testament have been circulated through their distribution channels. The Society is very encouraged by the widespread interest which exists in the Bible, the first for many years published in Portuguese based wholly on the Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek Received Text. The Associated Society in Brazil has received assistance from the Society’s head office to purchase larger premises in Sao Paulo in order to be able to stock the Bibles and distribute them throughout the land.
3. Scriptures in Non-European Languages
Most of the Scriptures published by the Society are in European languages, although these are, of course, also spoken in countries outside of Europe. However, Bibles, New Testaments and other Scriptures are also available from the Society in a number of languages for the peoples of India, Africa and other parts of the world. Many churches, missions, schools and Christian workers look to the Society for regular supplies of the Word of God in these languages for their own use and for distribution in their localities. One of these languages is Arabic, and whilst the demand for Scriptures in Arabic is comparatively limited it is encouraging to record that several thousand copies of the Arabic Bible and New Testament are despatched each year for distribution among Arabic speakers in countries under the evil influence of Islam.
It was the privilege of the Society to publish the first edition of the Fila New Testament during 1993, a translation undertaken by friends from Australia for the Fila people of Vanuatu. Until recent years the Fila people had lived in heathen darkness but in the goodness of the Lord the light of the Gospel has shone brightly in that place to the conversion of many. We are very thankful to be instrumental in supplying the first printed copies
of the Word of God in their language, which we trust will be the means of the furtherance of the Lord’s work among the Fila people.
4. Editorial Work
There are a number of translation and revision projects in progress. A few of these may be completed during the next few years, while others may take considerably longer. Good progress has been made on the revision of the Romanian New Testament and towards the end of 1993 the Gospel of Mark was prepared for trial publication. Sadly, during 1993 we heard of the death of the chief translator of the Malinaltepec translation, but are assured that others engaged in the work will continue with the project. The prayers of all our supporters are sought for all who are engaged in this most difficult, responsible and exacting aspect of our work.