Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Translating the Word of God


Translating the Word of God

For the Word of God is living and active,
Sharper than any two-edged sword…
Hebrews 4:12

Although the Bible is the most translated piece of literature in the world, I was surprised to learn that 2,200 languages remain without a Bible; and about 350 million people, mostly in India, China, sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, speak only these languages.  Why so many languages with no Scriptures?  Because translating the Bible into the dialect of the people is an exhausting task.  Working on this “to-do” list of translations are about 6,600 career and short-term missionaries with training in the Bible and linguistics

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several of these translators have had to step back from their work and use their creative abilities to help the communities around them.  Some of the sign language video teams have switched to recording videos for the Deaf, explaining how to follow their national pandemic guidelines for hand washing, sheltering in place, masks, curfews, etc.

I am grateful for the copies of Scripture that I have at my disposal and have a deep appreciation for the cost in human time, talent and dedication that is necessary for this work. Please pray with me this week for the missionaries in the translation fields who are working to provide the Word of God to all nations, kindred, tongues, and people.

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The B I B L E
yes, that’s the book for me.
I stand alone on the Word of God,
the B I B L E.

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