Bible translations find unique audience in India

The Scriptures have found a unique audience in northeast India, reports MNN.

International Bible Society-Send The Light's Gary Carr says they recently released a Braj Bible in Uttar Pradesh State, India. It's an area that has had sporadic reports of persecution against believers.

Carr says religious leaders of the area attended the dedication, and what happened next was surprising. Rather than being angry over the introduction of the Gospel, he says, "They were delighted that someone had paid attention that their language was very important. So the Scriptures were well-received in that area. That's one of the things that we find, that when we translate the Scriptures, and people read them in their heart language, they're just amazed at how clear the message of the Gospel has become."

This is just one example of where the Bible is part of community change. IBS-STL is committed to providing the light of God's Word in contemporary translations. Worldwide, there are 146 indigenous translators working with IBS-STL to translate the Bible in 40 languages that don't have understandable Scriptures.

Carr urges prayer for the translators "that they would have wisdom and discernment to translate the Bible accurately and clearly and in a voice or tone that is natural to the readers so that they would read and say, 'Oh, my goodness! This is God speaking to me in my heart language!'"

The impact of Scripture is felt as people use the translation manuscripts even before widespread distribution has begun. 14 translation projects are due to be finished this year.

In Africa, teams are wrapping up work on the Revised Bible in Igbo. In East Asia, work is concluding in Cebuano and Tagalog. In South America, IBS-STL is soon to release the revision of the Spanish "La Nueva Biblia al Dia."

In Europe, the Norwegian New Testament is nearing completion, and Bible Study Notes are being translated for the Romanian Bible. The Hebrew New Testament is being cleaned up for the Middle East. And finally, work is coming to a close for the Bengali Old Testament, as well as the Study Notes for the Telugu Bible and the Tamil Bible.

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[03/18/2008]

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