Lost for lack of translation

Elizabeth, a Masai woman in Kenya, waited 22 years after coming to faith before hearing the Bible in her own language.

She told the Scottish Bible Society recently: "Now the Bible is available in Masai on tape, I hear God speak to me in my own tongue.

"The Bible is part of me and my life - and I meditate on God's Word while I tend the goats and make the food."

Elizabeth is one of the lucky ones. More than 2,200 minority languages (spoken by 3% of the world's population) still need translation. That means 196 million people across the world still do not have the opportunity to hear God's word in their own language.

Dorothy Kafuliza is a 54-year-old widow in Malawi. After three of her children died, she found solace in the Bible. She began memorising passages - even whole chapters - to help comfort others in grief.

What makes her response more remarkable is that Dorothy had to use the Scriptures in her second language, Chichewa, as there is no usable version in her native Yao.

Dorothy is impatient for the day when, thanks to a current translation project, she can read and share the Bible message in the words she understands best.

Says Elaine Duncan, Chief Executive of the Scottish Bible Society: "People like Dorothy have spoken to me about the joy of reading the Bible in their own 'heart' language - their mother tongue in which God's message is clear and accessible."

To translate the Bible into 'heart' languages all over the world, the Bible Society supports translators in more than 500 projects, many of them working in the most remote corners of the globe.

All the translators have made huge personal sacrifices to carry out the translation work God has gifted and called them to do, says Elaine.

"This vital work is intensive and laborious - on average it takes six years to translate the New Testament and 10 years to translate the Old Testament," she says.

"It is crucial and urgent work and we would ask our supporters to help us raise our target of £120,000 to translate the Bible into the 'heart' languages of people like Elizabeth and Dorothy and give them the same access to Scripture that we take for granted."

£12 could translate a few verses (such as the angels' song in Luke 2)

£25 could cover the translation of a short passage - say the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8) or the story of the lost coin (Luke 15)

£60 could help play for one day's training covering the latest guidelines on translation

£200 could cover the salary of a local translator for a week or month depending on the country



On the web: www.scottishbiblesociety.org/translation