Bible translation has made remarkable progress around the world, but a new report says the work of getting God’s Word to people does not end when the translation is finished.
“The Bible in 2026 is available in more translations and formats than ever: printed editions, audio, video, and mobile apps,” the Bible Access List 2026 said. “That progress is significant and worth celebrating.”
But the report highlights significant remaining challenges to getting the Bible into the hands of those who want it. “A finished translation is not a delivered Bible,” the report said.
Examining barriers
Published by the Bible Access Initiative, the report noted the barriers that remain between the availability of Scripture and a person’s ability to obtain and use it.
“The translation movement is one of the great achievements of the modern Church,” the report said, but completing a translation “does not by itself make Scripture accessible.”
Printed Bibles still have to be produced and distributed. Audio and digital versions depend on electricity and suitable devices. Online Scripture requires internet access, and in some countries, believers face considerable risk simply for accessing it.
In some smaller language communities, even a completed print translation may no longer be readily available.
The report says some translations were completed decades ago, but printed copies have since gone out of circulation. Because the number of potential readers may be relatively small, producing another printing can be expensive.
Digitizing Scripture may solve some distribution problems, but several practical barriers remain.
The Bible Access List estimated that more than 400 million Christians in 42 countries live without internet access. For them, having a Bible online does not make it available in practice.
Internet access also depends on electricity, a device, and the ability to pay for connectivity.
Ethiopia and Cuba
In Ethiopia, the report said electricity reaches about 55% of the population and internet access about 17%. In Cuba, power failures and disruptions to internet service can keep believers from consistently accessing Scripture on a phone or shared device.
In other countries, getting online is possible, but doing so may not be safe.
The report identifies 48 countries where the online environment for Scripture is unsafe, restricted, or monitored, affecting an estimated 277 million Christians.
Somalia
Somalia is an example of a country where several of those barriers can come together.
The full Bible is available in a major national language and is also available digitally. But the report said government monitoring makes online access dangerous, while extremist groups watch for Bible use and distribution.
“The translation exists. The digital Bible exists. Safe access does not.”
In some countries, persecution may not be a significant factor, yet other barriers can keep a translated Bible from reaching a believer.
Democratic Republic of Congo and more
The Democratic Republic of Congo has no law restricting access to Scripture, but fewer than one in three believers owns a Bible, according to the report. Poor roads make remote communities difficult to reach, and only about one in five people has electricity.
In Sierra Leone, many rural households spend nearly all of their income on food, making a printed Bible unaffordable. In Côte d’Ivoire, a Bible sold in the country’s largest city may remain beyond the reach of a rural family because of poor roads, seasonal income, and cost. The report said a Bible there can cost the equivalent of a week’s food for an entire family.
The Bible Access Initiative noted its research is intended to help churches, ministries, funders and prayer networks see those differences and respond where the need is greatest. Knowing that Scripture exists in a language is only the beginning. The next step is understanding and addressing what stands between that Bible and the person who wants to read it.
In some places, the answer may be helping fund another print run or making Bibles affordable for families that cannot buy them. Elsewhere, it may mean supporting distribution into remote communities, expanding access to digital Scripture, or finding safer ways to get God’s Word to believers living under surveillance or persecution.
The goal should not be simply to translate the Bible, publish it, or place it online. It should be to ensure that people can actually receive and use it.
The report made it clear that for millions of people around the world, having a Bible translation in their own language does not guarantee access.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Henry Durand and originally published by The Christian Index.
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