IS THE BIBLE READ?

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18533, 18 October 1923, Page 3

IS THE BIBLE READ?

DEMAND AGAIN INCREASES,

SEVEN HUNDRED TRANSLATIONS, 1

■" It, is frequently asserted," - says the London Daily ; Telegraph, " that ': people nowadays do not? read their :'. Bibles as did their forebears." That is not in accordance with the ~ experience of -.the • British' and v Foreign v Bible ;• Society-: = Last year their circulation of Bibles arid Testaments

in English and '[Welshit was;' 317,000 more than in 1921, ■ the total being 1,101,574.

. In each of the first three years after the war the English and Welsh circulation fell below 1,000,000. This decrease; .was re-'

arded as temporary and ; was ;■;. not "un-

expected, for daring the war the numbers j went lup from 1,374,904 in ; 1913? to more ttian 2,000,000 'annually". in 1914,1915, and!: ". 1916, and ;to 1,750,000 in 1917 and V 1918.: .y.

Last year's advance after p; the ftemporary set-back points,, the society states, -," to a revival of Bible-reading in the Homeland." " " '

. v Very significant of the world-wide influence of the Bible "are: the society's figures, of their issues in all {languages/ for the ; . past ( century i; and a quarter. V. The

figures are summaries of totals at intervals of twenty-five yeara, and' include Bibles, ;.y Testaments, and portions of rj the J. Scriptures :—' , 1808—81,157 ■" 1883—2,964,636 18'53—536,841 , 1908—5,688,381 1858—1,602,187 8,679,384. r,. Take, too, the test of translation. | Homer has been rendered ', into 'more than ; ; a score of foreign languages ; and Shakes- ■>■■■■ ■:peare into nearly forty. Both . together, fall;; far short of the v translations of tho:: Bible, for the Gospel has been actually printed in more than -, 700 different forms j of human speech,' and the ;. Bible ; Society,

as their share of this ;: vast;,?, work, 'has helped to , spread t'he "message *in 558 languages and ' dialects. , . 7