At last, a whole Bible of my own

Sabina held the Bible, the ‘Holy Book’ in her hands and gave thanks for the first completed edition of both the Old and New Testaments. Just five years ago in 2004, the OT had been published separately from the NT and made available to Azeri believers. This meant that Sabina had to carry two separate books whenever she went to church or a meeting with other believers. It was very cumbersome. Now she is grateful that she can just carry one single volume containing the whole Bible. There are many believers like Sabina, about twelve years old in their faith, who are grateful that the whole Bible has been made available in their heart language through the prayers and financial support of God’s people.

Permission was granted earlier this year to print 3,500 copies of the Azerbaijani Bible abroad. Half of these were published in the older Cyrillic script and the other half in the newer Latin script. It would be the first Bible ever to be published as a single volume in the Azerbaijani language since independence in 1991. The boxes finally arrived in June but were held up at customs. Believers began to pray and they were eventually released about a month later. Almost immediately they were snapped up like hot cakes. There was such a great demand for the Latin script Bible that the director of the Bible Society says that many more will be published in Latin script as soon as there are enough funds for the reprinting. This will greatly benefit the younger generation of Azeri believers aged 35 years and younger who prefer the newer Latin script to the older Cyrillic one.

Prayer: Praise God for the whole Bible in modern Azerbaijani.
Pray that it will be used for the growth of the church in depth and number.
Pray for funds for reprinting.