When Communist rule came to Albania in 1967, religion was totally banned. The country was declared by its rulers to be the first atheist state in the world.
- Clergy went to prison.
- Churches were shut.
- Worship was forbidden.
- Parents were banned from sharing their faith with their children.
The Communist system finally fell in 1990 and missionaries entered the country in large numbers. However, by 2019 no contemporary translation of the Bible was available for Albanian citizens to read.
We have supported Bible Society through a 20 year project designed to produce a modern translation of the Bible in Albanian. That work has now been completed. A fresh translation is now available to all churches in the country. The first 20,000 Bibles have been printed, and the translation is also available in two Bible apps.
We thank God for the team of translators who have faithfully worked on this project since 2001, translating into Albanian out of Hebrew and Greek. We pray that the lives of many Albanians will be touched as they read God’s word.
There will be lots of events in Albania at the launch of the new Bible. Let’s pray that they draw people to rediscover God’s word – or discover it for the first time.