In Depth:  Bible translation

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‘Remarkable’ Bible translation progress

‘Remarkable’ Bible translation progress
Wycliffe Bible Translators

Imagine being in rural Kenya last March, where the Upper Pokomo people gathered in eager anticipation. After years of waiting, a joyous procession arrived carrying boxes wrapped like precious gifts. Inside lay something more valuable than gold: the New Testament in the Upper Pokomo language.

As the packages were opened, singing and dancing broke out. Then, for the very first time, God’s word was read aloud in the Upper Pokomo language. The moment was unforgettable. The Scriptures were no longer distant for the Upper Pokomo people, but they could finally hear God speak directly to them in the language they dream in, laugh in, and cry in.

Malawi: Celebrations as Lambya Bible launched

Malawi: Celebrations as Lambya Bible launched
Lydia Houghton
Lydia Houghton

In the northern Malawian town of Chitipa, thousands gathered to celebrate the launch of the first complete Lambya Bible.

The culmination of a 21-year translation effort, the Bible was formally dedicated and presented to the community during a five-hour programme of music, dancing, singers and even acrobats. Attendees were reportedly visibly joyful as many received one of the first 1,000 copies to be distributed.

If you could travel in time...
the Bible in action

If you could travel in time...
Martin Horton
Martin Horton

If you could travel back in time, where would you go? The parting of the Red Sea? Jesus feeding the 5,000? How about the day of Pentecost?

You arrive in Jerusalem – and you can’t understand a word! You reach the upper room just before it happens. The violent rush of wind, the tongues of fire and, in a moment of astonishing lucidity you realise you can hear someone speaking your language.

Bible translation claims are disputed by Wycliffe

Bible translation claims are disputed by Wycliffe
Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver

Claims by the author of The Passion “translation” of the Bible – that he translated a version of the New Testament for an indigenous people in Panama – have been rejected by Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Brian Simmons has, for many years, repeated claims online and in writing that he was a co-translator with Wycliffe in translating the Paya-Kuna New Testament. He has also claimed, in freely available interviews online, to have visited a library in heaven where Jesus promised him an “extra” chapter of the Gospel of John.

Tyndale: 500 years of God's Word in the language of the everyman

Tyndale: 500 years of God's Word in the language of the everyman
Emily Lucas
Emily Lucas

What do you celebrate in life? What milestones and anniversaries make their way onto your family and social calendars?

These tend to be the moments that mark our lives, that testify to the special moments we long to recall and remember; for others to reflect on after our time on Earth is done. The anniversaries and moments that form our life’s legacy in this world.

500 years of William Tyndale and the English Bible

500 years of William Tyndale and the English Bible
Brian H. Edwards

On 30 June 1513, the young king, Henry VIII, arrived in Calais determined to reassert his title as "King of England and France."

His army, together with the flamboyant and hugely expensive royal paraphernalia that accompanied it, spent three months achieving little before returning home to a plague-ridden England, with measles for the King and a miscarriage for Queen Catherine.

‘The deaf shall hear’
the Bible in action

‘The deaf shall hear’
Martin Horton
Martin Horton

When did you last buy a Bible? Was it as a gift or because your well-loved copy was falling apart? How easy was it to choose?

With more than 60 versions of the Bible in English, choosing a new Bible might take a while: you might even suffer from ‘Bible decision fatigue’– a genuine phenomenon, according to Bible Gateway.

Wycliffe shoots for the stars

Wycliffe shoots for the stars
Luke Randall
Luke Randall

Wycliffe Associates are to use Starlink to improve connectivity with isolated Bible translators.

The Bible translation organisation hope that the SpaceX satellite internet provider, which provides broadband to over 100 countries and aims to eventually provide global broadband, will enable their translators to access the internet at high speeds - and transform the capabilities of their work in the world’s remotest locations.

Trinitarian Bible Society grows substantially

Trinitarian Bible Society grows substantially
Luke Randall
Luke Randall

The Trinitarian Bible Society (TBS) sent 3.26 million Scriptures and Scripture items, in 38 languages, to 111 different countries in 2023. This represents a 13% increase in circulation compared to 2022.

A recent newsletter from the Bible-translating organisation, which has prided itself upon distributing accurate, Protestant Scripture since 1831, revealed positive circulation statistics for 2023, a year which saw them distribute 490,181 more copies of Scriptures (Bibles, New Testaments and portions) than in 2022.

Major ‘landmark’ in Bible translation

Major ‘landmark’ in Bible translation
Milla Ling-Davies
Milla Ling-Davies

Thanks to a record increase in the rate of Bible translation, for the first time in history more than half the world’s languages now have some Scripture.

More than 4,000 of the 7,396 known languages are now in translation, according to Wycliffe Bible Translator’s 2024 State of the Bible Report. This significant milestone has been reached due to a rapid growth in the number of Bible or New Testament translations begun this year – two were launched a week, compared to the previous year where one was started every 5.5 days. This is the fastest rate of translation in recent memory.

It’s about transformation, not the translation
the Bible in action

It’s about transformation, not the translation
Martin Horton
Martin Horton

It was an ordinary day in May. People were going about their everyday business, living their lives, and then it struck – a landslide. A wall of mud and earth swept over Mulitaka in the Enga Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG), leaving devastation in its wake, with hundreds killed.

As the Enga people know full well, death can come at any time. Two months later, the Enga New Testament was launched. It was a day of much rejoicing, as Enga is PNG’s most spoken local language.

New Bible translated after 37-year wait

New Bible translated after 37-year wait
Luke Randall
Luke Randall

A people group of 6,000 in Ghana is celebrating its own Bible – which took 37 years to complete.

The Koma translation has now been printed 5,000 times since it was finished in March.

Bible translation: AI and other reasons to be joyful
the Bible in action

Bible translation: AI and other reasons to be joyful
Jeremy Weightman
Jeremy Weightman

‘At last, it is like the heart of Christ is open to the Godié people.’

So said Bible translator Jean Dada at the recent launch of the Godié New Testament in Côte d’Ivoire. This is a typical reaction when people get the Scriptures in their own language for the first time: suddenly, they gain a depth of understanding not possible when reading in their second, third or fourth language.

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