The field of Bible translation is filled with theories, principles, frames and frameworks. When it comes to the relevance of the Scriptures themselves for the task of translation, little is heard beyond references to the Great Commission. I present here ten affirmations about Bible translation drawn in large part from the Scriptures with the conviction …
Bible Translation
What Happens to Christians Without a Bible?
High in the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea, Luke Ketenu wrote a letter requesting a wokman ‘worker’ come to his community, referring to a missionary who could translate God's Word and then teach his people. Luke wrote his letter on May 28, 2004; he had written before, and he will no doubt continue writing. Far too often people groups receive …
Toward a Theology of Translation, Part 3
In this series on a theology of Bible translation, we are setting forth foundational propositions about God, the Scriptures, and the languages of the world. In the first and second blog posts, we discussed four propositions derived from Scripture. We will briefly summarize these propositions below and then turn to the fifth and final proposition. As we …
Toward a Theology of Translation, Part 2
In this brief series on a theology of Bible translation, we are stepping away from the most common questions about translation. In their place, we are exploring the foundational questions about God and His Word in the language of the nations. In the first blog post, we considered two propositions derived from the Scriptures. First, God reigns. Second, God …
An Open Letter on Behalf of the Bibleless
For several years I lived in northern Cameroon. In this region, I knew people from various ethnic groups and of various religious backgrounds. However, these diverse peoples had in common the fact that they were all, in one degree or another, Bibleless. Most of my neighbors did not have Scriptures in their language. A few had heard that portions or a New …