The Bible Society movement began with the quest of the young Welsh girl, Mary Jones, for a Bible in her own language. Mary was born in Wales in 1784; in a time when Bibles were scarce and expensive. From a young age the little girl longed for a Bible of her own and saved for years to buy one. In 1800, when she was a teenager, she walked about 40 km barefoot to find a Bible.
During a meeting of the Religious Tract Society in 1802, Thomas Charles, the minister from whom she eventually bought a Bible, told Mary’s story. Plans were made to make more Bibles available in Wales when one of the people present at the meeting, Joseph Hughes, exclaimed: "If for Wales, why not for the whole world?"
On 7 March 1804, some 300 people gathered at the London Tavern and the British and Foreign Bible Society was established. The young Bible Society quickly spread its wings and expanded to other countries.
Years later, on 23 August 1820, another group of people gathered; this time at Tuynhuys in Cape Town under the chairmanship of Sir Rufane Donkin, the Acting Governor of the Cape at time. The result? The South African Bible Society was established.
The Bible Society serves everyone by making affordable Bibles available to churches, Christian organisations and individuals. The Bible has already been translated into 10 of our country’s 11 official languages. To ensure the Bible is accessible for all South Africans, the Bible is available in a variety of formats like:
- Large print
- Braille
- Audio
- Internet
- Cellphone
- E-books
In 2011 the Bible Society distributed 1 267 718 complete Bibles – 1 024 383 printed Bibles, 242 600 free cellphone Bibles and 735 e-Bibles. Some 27 231 complete Bibles were also supplied to other Bible Societies in Africa.
