New Bible translated after 37-year wait

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.

Wycliffe Bible Translators revealed that the project was led by Koma Bible Project Manager, Konlan Kpeebi.

The Koma people, numberering about 6,000, are located in Ghana, within the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc, and their native language is Konni. Until recently, they were regarded as an unreached people group, possibly because of the location of their villages; all of the major paths leading to the Koma villages cross over rivers, which become unusable during wet conditions.

The day which marked the Koma Bible launch saw scenes of great celebration involving singing, dancing and lots of food, as well as a sermon preached in Konni.

Kpeebi said: ‘We owe Wycliffe Bible Translators an unspeakable debt of gratitude for being there at the start of the Koma Literacy and Bible Translation Project, through the dedication of the Koma New Testament in 2006, and now to the completion of the whole Bible in Konni, the language spoken by the Koma people. GILLBT (the Bible translation organisation in Ghana) and the Koma people say thank you for a job well done.

‘The next stage of the Koma Literacy and Bible Translation Project will focus on running workshops to ensure that the Koma people engage with the word of God in their own language, so that more lives and communities will be changed.’

Musah Kpana, who purchased two copies of the Koma Bible the evening after the dedication event said: ‘The Word of God is now closer to me than ever. We do not have a resident priest in this village. The priest visits once in a while to share the Word of God with us.

‘Now that we have the Koma Bible, I have come to buy two copies because though I cannot read, two of my children know how to read. Instead of waiting for weeks to hear from the priest, my children will now be reading the Koma Bible to me during our family devotions. The Word of God is truly closer to us than ever before.’