Why translate the bible

The New Testament, the part of the Bible that comes after the birth of Jesus was probably first written in Greek because Greek was the common language around Eastern Europe and Western Asia at that time.

The Old Testament, the part that comes from the Jewish tradition, was of course written in Hebrew. The Greek bible was quickly translated into Latin and, when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, Latin became the language of the western Christian church. Even after the fall of the Roman empire in the west of Europe, Latin continued to dominate and acted as a lingua franca for educated Europeans.

There is a common misconception that the Roman Catholic Church refused to allow the Bible to be translated into local languages because they wanted to keep power for themselves. There are many examples of Bibles and other religious texts in local languages, including a very old one in the Gothic language.

What the Catholic church did not want to happen was unauthorised translations of the Bible. You see, if you change one or two words you can sometimes drastically change the meaning, and when the meaning is the word of God and how you should act in order to achieve eternal life, then words are important.

There is also another reason why the Bible was rarely translated: education. So by the s, there was a demand for a Bible in English. In , John Wycliff became the first person to translate the whole Bible into English. Wycliffe had studied the Bible at Oxford University and then became a priest. There are a number of ways in which we can reflect on this verse that will help us to explore our responsibilities and also to get to the heart of what Bible translation is all about.

By the time of his ascension, Jesus had eleven close disciples and an indeterminate number of other followers. Jesus invested the best part of three years in the lives of his disciples: this is an amazing commitment of time and energy from the creator of the world. For Bible translators, this implies that their primary responsibility is to equip translators, not simply to translate the Scriptures themselves.

Thinking about this, it is worth noting that even at his ascension after three years of close contact, Jesus did not view his disciples as capable of carrying his work on — he told them that they should wait for the coming of the Spirit.

Likewise, preparing Bible translators is a slow and multifaceted task. Academic training is part of the package, but translators need some sort of wider support structure if they are to be truly equipped to do the job.

There are no short cuts. Serving Christ is a deep privilege, but we must never lose sight of the fact that it is also a life of sacrifice. Everyone involved in Bible translation, be they mission executives, supporters at home, expatriate missionaries or local translators, is called to a life of sacrifice and service.

Some give up time and money, others sacrifice far more even to the point of giving their lives. There is a trend in Western Christianity to see the Christian life as being essentially one of self fulfilment — essentially we are believers for what we can get out of it.

Jesus did not come preaching a typical evangelical Gospel sermon; he came announcing the arrival of the Kingdom of God Mark , Luke , He is a thief and a liar. Bible translation is fundamentally a Kingdom activity. As Lamin Sanneh has shown, Bible translation not only gives people access to the Scriptures, it also gives value to communities and helps poor and marginalized peoples to become more developed.

The process of language development and literacy increases the educational opportunities for minority groups and helps them to move out of the poverty which so often enslaves them.

To do so is to reduce Bible translation to little more than an effective if long-winded method of preaching the Gospel message. Even more significant than what the Bible is, is who the Bible is for—the church. We must translate the Bible for the sake of the church. The translation of the Word is one part of the greater work of establishing His kingdom.

Yet, there is one more reason which is even more important than these first three, because without this final reason, the others would crumble. In Revelation 4, John was taken in a vision to heaven. He sees worship around the throne, with angels, elders, and mysterious creatures continually praising God the Father.

John watches and begins to weep bitterly, because there is no one who can take the scroll. Did he think there would be no more praise around the throne? But then one of the elders told John to stop crying and, instead, look, because the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, had overcome and could take the book! The Lamb took the book from God the Father, and immediately heaven burst into praise! Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. Then a second song springs up from the thousands upon thousands of angels, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Why is the Lamb worthy to open the book and receive such praise? Because He was slain. And by His sacrificial death on the cross, He purchased a people for God and has made them a kingdom and priests to God.

Jesus instructed his disciples to go and make every nation his disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that He taught. Furthermore, He promised to be with His disciples until the end of the age. In other words, He is praised because, through the church, His bride, He accomplished His mission by the power of the Spirit for the glory of the Father.

For the church and for each believer, this is the culmination. This is where all is leading — the redeemed nations worshipping around the throne. And here we find the ultimate reason, the most compelling reason: we translate the Word because the Lamb is worthy!

But in order to do what the Word says, the people have to have a clear understanding of the words and their meaning. This is where translating the Bible into the ethnic language, or heart language, comes in.