It’s not uncommon to hear today that all Bible translations have value and should be accepted and even used by everyone. Some even claim it is divisive to say otherwise. What does it mean for every English version to have value? In short, every translation offers something of value to the readers, especially something that one can’t get in another …
Bible Translation
10 Unanswered Questions About Muslim Idiom Translations of the Bible
I recently purchased a New Testament, newly translated for a people with no Scriptures in their language. It was exciting to see the culmination of so many years of work. My heart sank, though, when I turned to the Gospel of John and saw that it was the Gospel of Yaaya. Who is Yaaya? Could this be yet another Muslim Idiom Translation? 1. What is a …
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Who is the ‘audience’ in Bible translation?
Who is the Bible for? Who are the intended readers of a Bible translation? To use a more technical term, who is the ‘audience’ in translation? For centuries, it was generally believed that one translation was sufficient and that the translation was for the entire church and, by extension, even for an entire Christian nation. However, today, we have …
10 Affirmations About Bible Translation
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 …
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 …