The United Bible Societies ( UBS ) is a global fellowship of around 150 Bible societies operating in more than 240 countries and territories. It has working hubs in England, Singapore and Nairobi. The headquarters are located in Swindon, England.
25-455: The organization was founded in 1948 with representatives from national Biblical societies . In 2008, it had 100 member societies. In 2013, it had 145 member societies in more than 200 countries. In 2019, it had translated the entire bible with her partners in 694 languages. As of 2024, United Bible Societies is a Fellowship of around 150 Bible Societies working in more than 240 countries and territories. The mission of United Bible Societies
50-564: A critical role in funding and supporting institutions that sought to educate Native Americans, including the Harvard Indian College and later Dartmouth College . The first president of the Society was the eminent Anglo-Irish scientist Robert Boyle (1627–1691). Boyle, who had no direct descendants, stated in his will that his legacy should be dedicated to "the Advance or Propagation of
75-602: Is a British charitable organization created to promote Christian missionary activity among the Native American peoples of New England and other parts of North America under British control. The company's current website states that "the New England Company can lay claim to being the oldest missionary society still active in Britain." The records of the New England Company, now held at London Metropolitan Archives , tell
100-590: Is currently being jointly maintained and developed with SIL Global . The Bible Translator is a refereed journal, published since 1950, dedicated to articles about the theory and practice of Bible translation. It appears in two series – Technical Papers in January and July, and Practical Papers in April and October. Bible society A Bible society is a non-profit organization, usually nondenominational in makeup, devoted to translating , publishing, and distributing
125-515: Is indexed to the Biblical texts enabling powerful searching and checking from the very beginning of a translation effort. Paratext has many other cutting-edge features including collaboration tools that allow for translators to work from many different locations. Paratext is also integrated with the Digital Bible Library which allows for easy archiving and publishing of biblical texts. Paratext
150-463: Is to make the Bible available and accessible to everyone who wants it, and to help people engage with its message in meaningful and relevant ways. Bible societies are also active in areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention, trauma healing and literacy. Bible societies carry out their work in partnership with all Christian Churches and many international non-governmental organisations. It has an observer status with
175-525: The Bible at affordable prices. In recent years they also are increasingly involved in advocating its credibility and trustworthiness in contemporary cultural life. Traditionally Bible society editions contain scripture, without any doctrinal notes or comments, although they may include non-sectarian notes on alternate translations of words, or variations in the different available manuscripts. The production and distribution of bibles are issues that have engaged
200-697: The National Association of State and Regional Bible Societies . The oldest Bible society in the United States is the Pennsylvania Bible Society , it was founded in 1808. The Bible society movement spread west as far as Chicago where the Chicago Bible Society was founded in 1840, making it only five years younger than the city itself. The United Bible Societies (UBS) is a worldwide association of Bible societies. As of September 2019
225-732: The Protestant Reformation , there was a marked increase in interest in the scriptures . Notwithstanding the oppositional attitude adopted by the Roman Catholic Church at and after the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the translation and circulation of the Bible were undertaken with greater zeal, and in a more systematic fashion. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England
250-528: The Trinitarian Bible Society was founded in 1831. Pope Gregory XVI in his 1844 encyclical letter Inter praecipuas condemned both Bible societies and "the publication, dissemination, reading, and possession of vernacular translations of Sacred Scriptures" which did not abide by the general rules and decrees of the Catholic Church, and subsequently Catholics did not officially participate in
275-531: The World Council of Churches and collaborates with the Catholic Biblical Federation as well as with several church organisations. UBS developed Paratext, the most important and widely used software for Bible translation. It performs many functions unique to the Bible translation task, and to the process of translating into a language whose writing system is still being developed. The text editor
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#1732852538616300-677: The Society continued to operate only in Canada and the British West Indies . The Society supported the early efforts of John Eliot in Massachusetts , culminating in the first printed translation of the Christian Bible into a Native American language. The corresponding book, known as the " Eliot Indian Bible ", was published in 1663 in the Massachusett language . The Society also played
325-536: The Society. The British and Foreign Bible Society extended its work to England, India, Europe and beyond. Auxiliary branches were set up all over the world which later became Bible societies in their own right. Today the United Bible Societies co-ordinates the work of these separate Bible societies. Each Bible society is a non-denominational Christian network which works to translate, revise, print, and distribute affordable Bibles in their own land, according to
350-625: The UBS has 148 member or associated Bible societies, working in more than 200 countries and territories. They include: Attribution: Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England (also known as the New England Company or Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America )
375-582: The attention of Christian leaders for centuries. In an extant letter, dated 331, Emperor Constantine requested Eusebius , bishop of Caesarea , to provide him with fifty copies of the Old and New Testaments for use in the principal churches in Constantinople. In 797, Charlemagne commissioned Alcuin to prepare an emended text of the Vulgate ; multiple copies of this text were created, not always accurately, in
400-475: The demands of all the churches in that land. Nowadays Bible societies print Bibles according to the canons of the countries they are in e.g. Protestant , Catholic or Orthodox , and inter-confessional versions. Bible societies work with other Christian agencies and Bible translations are done on an ecumenical basis, through the Forum of Bible Agencies International. In the United States, Bible societies flourished in
425-677: The famous writing schools at Tours . The first book printed in Europe was the Latin Bible, and Copinger estimates that 124 editions of the Vulgate had been issued by the end of the 15th century. The Italian Bible was printed a dozen times before 1500, and eighteen editions of the German Bible had already been published before Martin Luther 's version appeared. From medieval time and then again accompanying
450-622: The first half of the 19th century. In addition to the American Bible Society and the International Bible Society (now "Biblica"), a number of state and regional Bible societies were established prior to the American Civil War and to this day, they have remained active, they distribute Bibles and other works of religious literature to prisons, hospitals and shelters. Most of these regional societies are affiliated with
475-686: The first versions of the Bible in Tamil and Telugu, made by the Danish Lutheran missionaries whom it then supported in south India. The earliest New Testament published in 1767, and Old Testament 1801 in Scots Gaelic were published by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) founded in 1709. In 1710, the Canstein Bible Institute for the mass production of affordable Bibles
500-628: The foundation of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804 when a group of Christians sought to address the problem of a lack of affordable Bibles in Welsh for Welsh-speaking Christians. Although perceived as Protestant, from the early days the British and Foreign Bible Society was officially ecumenical, and allowed inclusion of the Apocrypha . As a reaction to the occasional inclusion of these books and other issues,
525-543: The heathen natives in or near New England and parts adjacent in America". The Society was engaged in protestantism and colonization in Restoration politics. The Society operated within the territory of what is now the United States from 1649 to 1786, sending both missionaries and teachers to New England and later also to Virginia and New York . Due to the independence of the United States from Great Britain, after 1786
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#1732852538616550-551: The history of colonial America and its Indigenous peoples. It was founded by the Act for the promoting and propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ in New England , passed by Oliver Cromwell 's Parliament on 27 July 1649. That Act set up a Corporation in England, consisting of a President, a Treasurer, and fourteen people to assist them. This corporation had the power to collect money in England for missionary purposes in New England. This money
575-637: Was founded in Halle , Brandenburg-Prussia , by Karl Hildebrand, Count of Canstein . The first organisation called "The Bible Society" was formed in 1779 to distribute Bibles to soldiers and seamen, which became the Naval and Military Bible Society in 1804. The French Bible Society, instituted in 1792, came to an end in 1803, owing to the Napoleonic Revolution. Leftover funds were given to Bible production in Welsh. The modern Bible society movement dates back to
600-631: Was incorporated by an ordinance of parliament in 1649, and reincorporated in 1661, after the Restoration . The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) was founded 1698. It published the King James Version of the English Bible, and translated and published editions of the Bible in other British languages such as Welsh and Manx. Early in the 18th century it printed editions in Arabic, and promoted
625-614: Was received by the Commissioners of the United Colonies of New England and dispersed for missionary purposes. The official name of the corporation was "The President and Society for the propagation of the Gospel in New England". Following the restoration of the English monarchy , the Society was granted a Royal Charter by Charles II in 1662. That charter provided for the promotion and propagation of "the Gospel of Christ unto and amongst
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