Bible translation

Catholic Church and Bible Societies working together on Bible translation

Ngyemboon New Testament | Gari Bible | Guaraní | Kekchí | Kpelle First Bible

Luganda New Bible | Turkana First Bible | Kono First NT | Tupuri First Bible

Afar First Bible | Gwarayú | Kpelle First Bible | Sranan Tongo Gospels | Italian CEI Rev.

Dutch New Bible Translation | Varisi NT | Palauan OT

These are just a few of the Bible translation projects with joint involvement of the Catholic Church and the Bible Societies.

You can download a list of over a hundred Bible translation projects, either completed or in preparation.

Bible translation at work

Bible translation has been at the heart of Bible Society work since the formation of the very first Bible Society more than 200 years ago. Over the years, through careful academic research on the original texts and the publishing of scholarly editions, and through the recruitment of highly qualified Translation Consultants and comprehensive translator training programs, the Bible Society movement has become the world’s foremost Bible translation and distribution agency. And partnering with all Churches to produce accurate translations of the Bible is one of the driving principles of Bible Society mission.

One example is The Vietnamese Common Language Bible, which is widely used by Vietnam’s six million Catholics. It is the result of a collaborative process that began at an interconfessional translation workshop organised by the Bible Society in Vietnam in 1974. “That first encounter with the Bible Societies was providential,” says Father Pascal Nguyen Ngoc Tinh, one of the translators. Shortly after the workshop, Vietnam was forcibly reunified under a Communist government and the Bible Society was closed. While many people fled the country, Fr Tinh and the other Catholic translators remained and translated the Bible in secret. “That workshop equipped us with essential knowledge,” he says. “Our team adopted those Bible Society translation principles as we laboured to communicate God’s Word to people using everyday language that they are familiar with.”

Translating the Bible in Africa

In Africa, too, the Churches are enthusiastic about Bible translation. “People in Africa are absolutely passionate about having Scriptures in their own languages and that’s all they talk to us about at Church leader symposiums!” comments Dr Margaret Muthwii, who oversees Bible Society translation projects across Africa. “We are working with the Churches on hundreds of translation projects and there are many wonderful examples of interconfessional co-operation. The translators of the Revised Kalenjin Bible represent three different Churches – the Catholic Church, the Reformed Church of East Africa and the African Gospel Church – and they are an excellent team. They work, discuss, agree and disagree in such beautiful ways! All respect one another’s perspectives and draw on each other’s strengths.”

Training and equipping Bible translators is a key component of Bible Society translation work, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Africa. As well as being trained to use advanced software tools and reference materials, translators in Africa are also offered in-depth workshops focusing on specific topics such as how to translate the books of the Deuterocanon and improving competence in biblical Hebrew.