The Most Frequently Asked Questions About  The Bible Society in Northern Ireland 1.  What is the Bible Society in Northern Ireland? A Mission Society engaged in making God's word available to people everywhere who would otherwise never have the opportunity to learn of God's love in Jesus. An organisation working in partnership with the Churches and other agencies who share our Vision. A charity registered with Inland Revenue. One of 142 Bible Societies in the world, working closely with our colleagues and sister Societies in Dublin, Edinburgh and Swindon. 2.  Who is responsible for this work? A Board of Trustees who guide and have oversight of the work, and are drawn from different denominations and spheres of working activity. A team of three full-time staff: John Doherty - General Secretary Campbell Moore - Office Manager Julie Moore - Gift/Project Manager 3.  Who funds BSNI? Individual Church congregations. Individual donors. Bible a Month Club Members. Gifts in response to Special appeals for projects. Gifts from Personal Trusts or Charitable Trust organisations. Bequests or Legacies from individuals who made provision to support this work in their will. 4.  How is translation work progressed? Consultants oversee the painstaking work, producing successive drafts for discussion and amendment. One or more of the Gospels will be tackled first - often it is Mark because it is the shortest. 5 - 6 years or more may be taken to complete the New Testament. The completion of each book is always a cause for celebration. Each translation project is always undertaken 'without note or comment' so that readers from every tradition will find no hindrance to the reading and study of the Scriptures. 5.  Why are Scripture translations still needed? Only 438 languages have a complete Bible. Fewer than 2,500 languages have even part of the Scriptures.  Around 4,400 languages don't have any Scripture verses at all. Countries like India have 1,650 languages and dialects, with 15 official languages alone. 6.  How are these translations projects funded? Bible Societies combine their resources to finance the work over several years with the gifts of donors. Individual churches and organisations can choose to: Learn about countries where there is a Bible deficit; Select a project in which they have a particular interest or a connection perhaps through someone in missionary service; Pray for the people there with the information provided; Follow the progress of the work and share in the joy of God's Word being shared; Support the project through individual gifts, fundraising efforts or a planned series of grants. 7.  How much of the money raised by BSNI actually goes to translation and distribution projects? BSNI is fortunate in being the owner of Bible House and in a position to generate income from rents and interest from investments, some of which have been gifted to the Society. As a result, basic overheads are met and it is possible to 'translate' donor gifts into Scripture products. A full copy of our audited accounts is available on request. 8.  What else does BSNI do? We resource clergy and individuals with Scripture, Bible reading aids, and other resources to encourage Bible awareness. We provide a range of Scriptures for use in Church worship and for distribution as part of church out-reach activity. We provide non-English Scriptures to enable churches to support individuals who are living here, but whose first language is not English. BSNI deals with a wide range of information needs to help people with issues related to Scripture. We contribute to worship, midweek and social events to raise awareness of Bible Society work world-wide - our programme of talks covers Bible study, information and visual presentations. Requests for deputation engagements should be made as early as possible. We contribute to exhibition and other events that help to encourage Bible interest. We work closely in partnership with a number of agencies to encourage access to and understanding of the Scriptures. 9.  In what areas does BSNI need to grow? In our support of the World Service Programme to enable more people to experience the Bible for the first time. In our ability to attract legacies to help fund this work for years to come. In the number of people and organisations that are aware of Bible Society work and willing to offer their prayerful and practical support to it. In challenging attitudes towards the Bible, its place and its use in Northern Ireland. 10.  Is there a question that we have not answered for you? Please ring or E Mail us   details of how to contact us are on our Home Page or use the Enquiries & Comments Link Don't forget that you can make a donation to our work through the E-mail facility on the Support Page.

A Chronology of 24 Bible Translations in the English Language 1568 Bishops' Bible 1611 Authorised (King James) Version 1885 English Revised Version 1901 American Standard Version 1952 Revised Standard Version 1964 Amplified Bible (expanded AV text) 1966 Jerusalem Bible 1970 New English Bible 1971 Living Bible 1971 New American Standard Version 1976 Good News Bible 1979 New International Version 1982 New King James (Authorised) Version 1985 New Jerusalem Bible 1987 New Century Version 1989 New Revised Standard Version 1989 Revised English Bible 1995 Contemporary English Version 1995 God's Word 1996 New Living Translation 1998 New Light Bible (New International Reader's Version) 2001 English Standard Version 2002 The Message (Petersen)   2005 Today's New International Version In addition, a great many additional English translations have been produced of the New Testament or other portions of Scripture. Significant landmarks: C.200BC The (Greek) Septuagint translated from the Hebrew C.400AD  The Vulgate - New Latin version by Jerome 1384 John Wycliffe's First (handwritten) Bible in English 1516 Greek and Latin New Testament by Erasmus 1526 William Tyndale's New Testament 1535 Myles Coverdale's Bible the first printed Bible in English 1539 The Great Bible 1560 Geneva Bible 1568 The Bishop's Bible 1609 The Douai-Reims Bible 1881/85 The English Revised Version