Difficult Process of Bible Translation Worthwhile
A Challenging Language
Sandy West* calls the language she is translating the Bible into “very specific.”
“I always need to know exactly what something looked like, [or] exactly how the action was done,” she said. For instance, she cannot simply write that something was cut; she has to explain how it was cut. The language also requires her to say where in space an action took place. “Was it put down on the ground, on something, hung up, put up high?” she explained.
And it recently got a whole lot harder.
A Big, Complex Task
In 2014 Sandy, her missionary co-worker and her tribal co-worker completed the New Testament translation. Now they’re at work on the Old Testament. That’s roughly four times as long — and that’s not the only issue.
“Sometimes, especially in the Old Testament, it just might not be known exactly what something was like,” she said. “So lots of investigation is needed.”
An Excellent Reason
Sandy and her co-workers press on because it’s vital for the church to have God’s Word. The people “love the Word and want it in their language,” she said, and they were thrilled to receive the New Testament.
They’ve told her that reading God’s Word helps them “go on straightly with God, maturing and growing strong in their ‘soul man.’”
Please pray that Sandy and her co-workers persevere to create an accurate, readable Old Testament translation for this people group.
* The name of the missionary has been changed, and the people group name and location omitted in order to safeguard the ministry and the people involved.