In 1800 sixteen-year-old Mary Jones walked twenty-six miles to Bala in Wales to obtain a Bible from the Rev. Thomas Charles. This thirst for the Word of God constrained the Rev. Charles to form a new Bible Society—the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS, today known as The Bible Society). The work started in the United Kingdom but expanded into Europe and beyond.

Sadly, serious issues arose. Some people wanted to circulate Roman Catholic translations which had been adapted to contain their teachings, and there were  concerns about circulating Bibles containing the Apocrypha (uninspired historical books). People had also become increasingly concerned at the Unitarian influence at the BFBS.

Matters came to a head at the BFBS Annual Meeting held in May 1831, where the Annual Report included a recommendation that oral prayer should not be included at meetings of the Society for fear of offending Unitarians if the name of Christ has used. This caused a great deal of unrest and concern, and the outcome was the formation of a new society, the Trinitarian Bible Society (TBS) on 7 December 1831 in London.

The new Society wasn’t formed from outside the BFBS, but rather from people within the BFBS who desired to conform to the truths of the Bible. The name Trinitarian Bible Society reflects this wish to uphold the Biblical doctrine of the Trinity. At the founding meeting of the TBS the following motion was passed:

That it is the opinion of this Meeting that a Society engaged in circulating the pure word of God, and upon which devolves the responsibility of preparing and issuing new translations of the Holy Scriptures, must be considered decidedly a religious Society, and one that should be conducted on scriptural principles; and that those only who are Protestants and acknowledge the scriptural doctrine of the Holy Trinity, can consistently be admitted Members of such a Society, or be fit agents to conduct or carry on such a work.

The new laws of the Society included the following:

This Society shall circulate the HOLY SCRIPTURES, as comprised in the Canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, WITHOUT NOTE OR COMMENT, to the exclusion of the Apocrypha; the copies in the English language shall be those of the Authorised Version.

Distributing the Scriptures

By the end of 1832 TBS had distributed a total of 4,238 Bibles and New Testaments. One of the first applications for a Bible was received from ‘one of the outcasts of the House of Israel’; this was the beginning of the Society’s involvement in bringing Scriptures to the Jews. The first order to be sent abroad appears to have been one hundred copies of the Bible for the use of ‘British emigrants in the back parts of Upper Canada’.

Since these early beginnings, with the Lord’s provision, the distribution has grown. The 2022 Annual Report stated that 2.9 million Scripture items were distributed in forty languages to 112 countries.

Translating and Publishing the Scriptures

In 1835 it was reported to the TBS Committee that a sum of £100 was offered by a Miss Sayer of Guernsey in aid of a new translation project. The Committee felt that we should become involved in areas of work not covered by other Bible societies. Portuguese was selected by the TBS to be its first language project, and work began on revising Almeida’s translation of the Bible. The New Testament was completed in 1839 and the Old Testament in 1844.

Translation work grew from this, and today, we have over fifty active translation projects. All are based on the Greek Received and Masoretic Texts and translated using formal (word for word) translation principles. We also publish Bibles and Scripture portions in around forty languages, many of which are available on our free online Bible. The Society also began publishing smaller items such as Scripture tracts, children’s material, and calendars.

Upholding the Word of God

One of the most important moments in the history of the TBS came in the late nineteenth century when we refused to accept the Critical Greek Text and the Revised Version of the English Bible of 1881. When TBS was founded in 1831 some editions were being promoted that undermined the traditional Received Text. Yet there was comparatively less danger from varying Greek texts compared with the later momentum to overthrow the Received Text. The end of that century saw the rise of the Critical Text, which the BFBS decided to adopt. In God’s providence, TBS stood against this text and to this day maintains that the providentially preserved true and authentic text is to be found in the Masoretic Hebrew Text of the Old Testament and the Greek Received Text of the New Testament, upholding the Protestant doctrines of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Trinity.

Promoting the Word of God

Auxiliaries and Branches

In the nineteenth century auxiliaries were formed in local areas; these were responsible for raising funds, holding meetings, and distributing Scriptures in their areas. Today we still have active auxiliaries, and some also went on to form the foundation of TBS’s branches.

Today our Headquarters are in London, England, and branches can be found in Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA. The branches are involved in many aspects of our work: distributing Scriptures worldwide, involvement in specific translation projects, and providing important financial support. We also work closely with GBS, our sister society in the Netherlands.

‘Hitherto hath the LORD helped us’

The TBS stands mostly apart among the major Bible societies and Bible translation organisations in a concern that only uncorrupted Scriptures are circulated. We continue to translate from the providentially preserved texts, using formal equivalence translation methods to faithfully and accurately translate without being altering to suit preferences. We also work only with those who profess the Biblical Gospel. Our history has helped us to maintain this distinctive position and we are thankful for partner organisations who join us in this.

The witness of the Society seems to be more needed than ever to-day, and we look to God that it may be used by Him more and more for the circulation of His Word, and as witness to His truth.