OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (WordNews.org) 2012 – Three major Bible ministries announced today they are joining together on an initiative called Every Tribe Every Nation (ETEN) created to “eradicate Bible poverty.”

Wycliff Bible Translators USA, American Bible Society and Biblica are joining together, along with leading Christian philanthropists, to launch ETEN and provide Bible access to more than 6 billion people around the globe. ETEN will leverage the leading-edge technologies of The Digital Bible Library, which includes hundreds of Scripture translations. More than 1,000 additional language translations will be ready for digital deployment in the next year and will reach over 2,000 in the next five years.

The partnership was formed to target the more than 1.2 billion people worldwide who have no access to the Bible in their heart language. There are currently 2,000 languages that have no Scripture translation efforts underway.

Biblica, Wycliffe Bible Translators USA and American Bible Society account for 90 percent of the Bible translations in the world. The centerpiece of ETEN’s effort is the mobilization of The Digital Bible Library, operated by the United Bible Societies, which will serve as the world’s definitive digital Scripture repository. Through The Digital Bible Library, Scripture texts are standardized, digitized, centralized and accredited.

ETEN will be drawing texts into one easy-to-access location, The Digital Bible Library will make Scriptures readily accessible to Christian organizations, ministries and missionaries, enabling them to share God’s Word with those they serve in languages and formats these communities can engage. The Digital Bible Library will provide licensees the ability to access content from their mobile devices in a variety of formats, including audio, video, apps, websites, and print on demand.

“The Digital Bible Library will unleash God’s Word for millions of believers, making it accessible on a multitude of digital platforms,” said Bob Creson, Wycliff president and CEO. He invited other Bible ministries to join the effort and make their texts available.

“Just as Gutenberg’s printing press ushered in a whole new era for Bible distribution in the 1400s, Every Tribe Every Nation is on the cusp of another ‘Gutenberg moment,'” he said.