God, When Will You Speak in My Tongue?

January 26th, 2012 by Hannah

This poem is by James Lokuuda Kadanya, a speaker of the Toposa language of South Sudan. Toposa is still without Scripture.

God, When Will You Speak in My Tongue?

Far and near
It is said that you, God, speak!
How do you do that?
Is it in their tongues?
If it is truly so,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

East and west, north and south,
The Creator speaks, it is said!
Not in the language as of birds;
But in other human tongues I cannot understand!
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

Children and grown-ups of other lands,
With their different tongues,
Know your voice.
In their tongues you speak a special message to them!
If you speak messages in different tongues,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

In the world around, we perceive you,
Yet your language is not clear.
We want to know you personally,
We want to hear you speak to us.
If you know all tongues,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

We search you as a treasure.
Our eyes look on mountains, rivers,
Even in caves, forest and world around us.
Many voices are heard, confused we become,
If your voice is one, as of that of the Creator of all,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

Oh! God, Creator of all people,
You who do not segregate,
Is it possible to hear you speak?
Can you speak in my tongue?
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

When he wrote the poem, James was studying in a linguistics school, and he now works for a mission, spreading God’s good news around the country. As many as half a million people who speak Toposa still only have a few portions of the Bible in their language. Do something so that people like James will hear God speak their tongue.

This poem has been reposted from the blog of a partner organisation, The Seed Company. Read their blog.

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Posted in Africa, Culture, Languages, People | 2 Comments »

Grab on to the Bible

January 24th, 2012 by Hannah

Many churches in the UK focused on getting back to Bible basics last year, as part of the celebrations for the anniversary of the Authorised Version. But in all the excitement, it’s easy to overlook the parts that made it hard to stay in the Bible in the first place.

There are all those genealogies, laws and prophets to get your head around. But that’s just difficult to read because we don’t understand them — sometimes the bits that we do understand are even harder to take in. How do we deal with issues like evolution, or the genocide that God appears to condone?

Last year, Biblefresh ran a series of classes and published a book called Get a Grip, made to tackle these kind of questions. The book is still available from Biblefresh here, and half of the profits go towards Bible translation.

If you missed the classes, you can still experience a bit of that too – videos from some sessions held at Kings College London are available, with experienced scholars and pastors answering some of the hard or ‘I-never-thought-of-that’ questions about the Bible.

Catch the videos here.

You know those parts of the Bible you don’t understand? There are Christians around the world longing to read them who can’t because the Bible isn’t in their language. Help translate the Bible.

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How far would you go?

January 22nd, 2012 by Hannah

One of the stories in our latest magazine was about the astonishing transformation God worked among the Pinai-Hagahai when the word of God came to them. The translated Scriptures were distributed on solar-powered media players. Read what happened when one family’s media player broke…

"Scriptures in my language"

‘What would you be willing to do to hear God’s Word in your language? Would you hike for half a day? Would you cross a rugged mountain? Would you navigate a vine bridge suspended over a raging river?

‘That’s what Wapena Mei did in order to obtain a small solar-powered device that has a recording of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts in the Pinai-Hagahai language. You see, Wapena knew it would be worth the trip because he had already been listening to the oral Scriptures for more than a year. But when his family’s player broke and they learned that 70 more would be distributed in a village across the mountain, his wife gave him the charge, “Go and get us another one of those MegaVoice units.”

‘Wapena was successful in his mission and he and his wife Makome will again be able to listen to the Pinai-Hagahai Scriptures in their small dwelling as they go to sleep at night. Wapena also uses it as a resource to prepare sermons for preaching in area churches.’ Account by Karen Weaver. Read more on thewordislife.net.

You can read more about the initial response to the media players in our magazine, Words for Life.

Pinai-Hagahai is a language of Papua New Guinea, the country with the greatest need for Bible translation in the world. Wapena Mei can hear God’s word in his language, but many more in his country and around the world have never heard even a single verse. Share God’s Story.

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Myles Coverdale (c. 1488 – 20 January 1569)

January 20th, 2012 by Hannah

Myles Coverdale was the translator of the first complete Bible into English, published in 1535. His work followed on from other first mother-tongue translations of Europe – French, German and Dutch – and the work of Tyndale, whose New Testament was published ten years earlier.

Coverdale began his work despite knowing that Tyndale was working on a complete Bible translation. “Why should other nations,” he said, “be more plenteously provided for with the Scriptures in their mother-tongue than we?”

Like Tyndale, his translation was executed and published in Europe, and was smuggled into Britain. In many ways, though, Coverdale’s translation was very different: he was not as proficient a linguist as Tyndale, and knew no Hebrew. Instead he worked from other translations. However, he was a great executor of the English language, and his translation is greatly admired for its literary, as well as spiritual, significance.

Despite his substantial work and impact, Coverdale was not a celebrated man. He was not born to a great family – in fact, the date of his birth is not even known. He never rose to great position in the church of his day, and died aged 81, in relative obscurity – 443 years ago today. Others thought he was humble and unassuming, a ‘very gentle spirit’. And he was phenomenally industrious: his notes suggest that he began his first translation less than a year before its publication, which meant he translated or revised on average 2,400 words a day – a remarkable feat.

He remained adamant in his belief that God used translations effectively. In response to objections to vernacular translations, he said, “The Holy Ghost is as much the author of it in the Hebrew, Greek, French, Dutch, and English, as in Latin… The Word of God is of like worthiness and authority in what language soever the Holy Ghost speaketh it.”

Today, while English-speakers are indeed ‘plenteously provided for’, more than 2,000 languages don’t have any access to God’s word in their mother-tongue. Give the Story.

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Saturday 4th February is ‘The Bible: the Story everybody needs’ day

January 17th, 2012 by Hannah

Wycliffe Bible Translators are spending a whole day (well, from 10:30) telling people all about the marvelous ways God is transforming lives through the work of Bible translation and what accompanies it, including literacy and applying the Bible to art, HIV/AIDS, trauma, church and more.

The free day will be held at Union Baptist Church, in High Wycombe. As well as spending times celebrating, learning, singing and praying, you could find out more about…

  • why a New Testament translation takes an average of more than 10 years
  • how young people can be involved with Bible translation
  • what it’s like to adapt to life on another continent
  • how computers are changing the process of translation
  • the linguistic training that Wycliffe workers undertake
  • how a language would use 26 words for ‘carry’
  • supporting the work of God’s mission overseas from the UK by finding academic journals, keyboarding, sending magazines to workers, or more.

To find out more or to sign up, go to wycliffe.org.uk/conference.

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John Bois: 3 January 1560 – 14 January 1643

January 14th, 2012 by Hannah

John Bois was a British scholar and Bible translator, playing a significant role in the translation of the Authorised Version at the turn of the sixteenth century; his notes from the translation discussions reveal insights into how the decisions for that translation were made. Today marks the anniversary of his death.

As a child, Bois was certainly remarkable. Born to parents renowned for their personal godliness, Bois was the only of their children to live through childhood. His father personally educated him, and very proficiently: by age 5, he could reputedly read the Bible in Hebrew.

When he was just fourteen, he went to study at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he learnt Greek and later taught it. He had originally settled on medicine, but his severe hypochondria meant the studies were too distressing: instead, he studied divinity.

In both his studies and his teaching, he was well-known for his extraordinary diligence, often at early hours in the morning. After marrying, and having to leave his fellowship at St John’s, he continued to return to the college to listen to regular lectures.

He was selected as one of the translators for the second Cambridge group, translating the Apocrypha for the King James Bible. The team finished significantly earlier than others, and after the death of another team leader, he was asked to work with the team translating the books of Chronicles to Song of Songs.

Although his selection was originally questioned – the London translators didn’t think they needed his ‘country’ help – he was also selected to be on the committee for the final checking of the translation. The process took the team of 12 nine months to complete. His notes from the meetings have been found, and made up part of the ‘Manifold Greatness’ exhibition in Oxford, which last year celebrated the anniversary of the King James Bible.

After the translation, Bois continued to be a model of godliness, even to the point of asking to be rebuked if he ever complained during his last illness. He preached regularly, and he would not allow his extensive knowledge of the Bible to obscure the main message of his sermons. He died aged 83 on this day in 1643.

Despite the historical work of Bois and others to ensure that English possessed a clear and accessible Bible translation, today more than 2,000 languages still don’t have any translation. Those languages are spoken by more than 300 million people. Find out what you can do to help them hear God’s word.

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The time is right

January 13th, 2012 by Hannah

John Hamilton, the coordinator of Wycliffe Bible Translators’ work in Northern Ireland, is making exciting plans for a trip abroad:

“Last week I booked flights to return to Ivory Coast. We left there as a family in July 1997 having completed an 8 year Wycliffe assignment at Vavoua International School teaching the children of mission families working in West Africa. Both our children and myself have made separate trips back to Ivory Coast quite a while ago, but for my wife, this will be her first time in Africa for almost 15 years.

“So why are we returning to the land of mangoes? To be part of a belated celebration of the New Testament in the Kouya language. Belated because the Kouya New Testaments arrived in the port of Abidjan in 2002, the day after Wycliffe personnel were evacuated due to the worsening political situation. Belated because that led to ten years of civil unrest and violence. Belated because the civil war battle lines in Ivory Coast were drawn right through Kouya territory. Belated because, for the past decade, the Kouya church leaders have not judged it wise to hold a public celebration of God’s word in their heart language.

“But now they feel the time is right.“ Read more from John’s blog.

As well as praying for John and his family’s trip to Ivory Coast, let’s praise God that the Kouya people have God’s word in their language. 350 million people do not, but you could help to change that.

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The written World

January 10th, 2012 by Ruth

Now’s the time to listen to a recent series on Radio 4 by Melvyn Bragg (BBC Radio 4: In Our Time – Written World), discussing the impact of the written word on the world’s culture and history.  Interesting stuff, and it unfolds the story of the printing press used to produce the Gutenberg Bible in the 15th Century.  Episodes 2-5 of the series are accesible online for the next few days only.

The books that shaped history

The 15th-Century Gutenberg Bible changed the way books were received and read. It was the first real book to be mass-produced using movable type printing techniques – and so could be made in a fraction of the time it had previously taken scribes to write by hand.

The book is one of several influential scripts being investigated by Melvyn Bragg for BBC Radio 4, as he looks at the written world and how it changed our intellectual history.

Here, he takes a look at the Gutenberg Bible at the British Library in London – and then travels to Cambridge to see the student notes of Sir Isaac Newton, and how writing helped make the scientific revolution of the Enlightenment possible.

View the 5 minute presentation of the series here.

Meanwhile today, many languages and cultures remain unwritten, and cut off from a wealth of life-saving information and writings, including God’s word in a language that they can truly understand.  The work of Wycliffe Bible Translators is changing this, preserving cultures and history by enabling these language groups to create writing systems, words, dictionaries, and translated scriptures for themselves.  You can be part of Giving the Story.

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Posted in Culture, Multimedia, Podcasts, UK | 1 Comment »

ETP: The Movie

January 8th, 2012 by Hannah

We often talk about the old missionary ‘heroes’: a man with a substantial beard in a black-and-white picture who got on a boat and sailed off to an unknown place, completely unprepared. Fortunately, missionary workers are no longer expected to go out ill-equipped. Part of working with Wycliffe Bible Translators includes time dedicated to preparation.

In the UK, training is provided on the European Training Programme, or ETP. Students come from across Europe and even further afield to be equipped both in the technical aspects of Bible translation and all it entails, and in adapting to a whole new culture. This video explains more about ETP:

If you are interested in finding out more about the European Training Programme and the courses they offer, go to eurotp.org/uk.

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Posted in Multimedia, Training, UK | 1 Comment »

Cameroon Celebrating 25 years

January 6th, 2012 by Ruth

CABTAL, the Cameroonian Association of Bible Translation and Literacy, celebrates its 25th year of existence this January. Translation work and Cameroonian involvement in the Bible translation task began in earnest as early as the 1970s when translation work in neighbouring Nigeria was closed down, and several Bible translators relocated from there to Cameroon.

CABTAL New Testament dedicationOver the years, passionate Cameroonians have taken their place in leading the work of Bible translation for their country, as CABTAL has gained legal status from the government as an organisation, and a growing influence amongst the Cameroonian churches that it serves.

Here in the UK, Wycliffe Bible Translators are particularly happy to be celebrating with them, as we have close links with several language projects that they oversee. Along with the many other agencies that work shoulder to shoulder with the Cameroonian translation agency, Ann Austin from the InFocus church partnership office in the UK was invited to send greetings:

“We are delighted to send our warmest congratulations on this auspicious occasion, to give thanks and praise to God for His faithfulness and goodness over these 25 years, and to celebrate our friendship and partnership with our brothers and sisters in CABTAL in the work of Bible translation for the peoples of Cameroon…”

Ann speaks on behalf of supporting churches in the UK who have committed to support language projects in Cameroon through prayer and financial giving. In some cases, members of the supporting churches have been able to travel and visit the projects personally, to see firsthand what God is doing in these areas through Bible translation.

Perhaps your church may be interested in fostering a link through an InFocus church partnership?  Find out more.

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