A Bible translation vision

Colleague Rob Holmes wrote this article for World magazine published December 1, 2025: "A vision fulfilled: The ambitious plan to start translating the Bible into every language is nearly complete."

He wrote,

“More than almost any other human activity, it is the translation of the Bible that has fueled Christian mission and resulted in the expansion of the Church,” wrote R.J. Sim, a Scottish Bible translator in Ethiopia and longtime professor in Kenya...

One Chadian teammate, who initially worked only in literacy, made a profession of faith when God’s Word in the Psalms penetrated his heart. He buzzed with new motivation and became the key to making the translation sound beautiful and natural—with chette (“pepper”)—as he would say. He and a Chadian female colleague grew in their translation skills and learned Hebrew, becoming more responsible for the text’s accuracy. Their wording made the translation “acceptable” to readers, without obscuring the truth that inevitably causes offence to those without ears to hear. They also began to treat each other differently, in Christ, in a culture where men and women rarely stayed in the same room together....

Last century, sorting data on note cards in shoeboxes gave way to computers, causing an explosion in productivity and pacing. This century, artificial intelligence (AI) is the new game changer. About 500 languages are now using AI for drafting translation.

Before you start worrying that robots are churning out Scripture, consider that AI tools, like Scripture Forge, do some tasks flawlessly and more easily than a translation team. It reduces open quotes, missing or misnumbered verses, or unintended additions in a text. Languages with a New Testament can even use that corpus to produce a machine draft of Old Testament books for humans to glean from and improve their own translation: One Nigerian team I serve as a consultant found that Scripture Forge renderings in Deuteronomy sparked them to express their own wording better. And like a good German, AI gets grammar rules right every time, remembering to use an inclusive pronoun where the team forgot. AI tools still require trained people to ensure exegetical faithfulness....

In August, the official tally from Vision 2025’s (current) alliance of over 100 partner Bible agencies shows only 544 of the world’s 7,396 living languages still need translation work to begin! About 300 of these are sign languages. Many of those that remain will have an Oral Bible Translation. Major Scripture organizations remain committed to making “God’s Word accessible to all people by 2033.”

“Latest statistics suggest there is some form of translation or Scripture Engagement work going on in 4,457 languages,” British linguist Peter Brassington shared recently in a consultant forum.

My own Bible agency’s vision is galvanizing me afresh: ASAP—All Scripture, All People. This year some of us started learning American Sign Language, in hopes of branching out to one day serve deaf translation teams.

Click here to read the whole article.

DRC Ebola Update

6 new cases on August 7 and 2,793 since the outbreak was declared. Survivors now total 810; 1,867 have died. Out of 18,800 contacts, 2,500 are going untraced (86.7%) (Stats based on DRC's Ebola Dashboard). 

The Bobangi people are located just north of the Congo River on the west side of the country, and not far from the cluster of Ebola cases in the northwestern part of the country. Continue to pray for those affected, and for the advancement of the Bible translation movement in the midst of this health crisis. 

Scripture Use: Audio-Visual Training in Africa

A friend of ours made this video about training Bible translation teams and/or other members of the language communities, assisting them in using the translated Word of God.  The 3:11-long video is in French, but anglophones can also benefit greatly from watching Scripture engagement in action in Africa.

Progress of Bible Translation in Africa

Last month, Dr. John Mbiti lectured on "Western Impregnation of Bible Translations in Kiikamba and other African Languages." Toward the beginning of his lecture, he commented on the progress of Bible translation in Africa, for which we praise God:

By 1900 there were Bible translations (in full, New Testament, and Portions) into 113 African languages. International and later national Bible Societies, including the United Bible Societies, Wycliffe Global Alliance, International Bible Society, and Biblica Africa, became the main promoters and sponsors of Bible translation in the twentieth century. There ensued an explosion of translations, and the work is continuing at top speed. Wycliffe Global Alliance gives the figure of 936 African languages in October 2015 that had the Bible. That figure is almost one third (31.9 %) of world translations {cf. Americas 553, Asia 733, Europe 168, and Pacific 542, http://www.wycliffe.net/statistics}. That is a tremendous achievement within one century, for which the Bible Societies and any other translation agencies deserve many thanks and deep appreciation. [emphasis mine]

Dr. Mbiti outlined specific textual examples where Western influence on African Bible translations has produced misunderstandings in the African context, and then he concluded with 12 summarizing remarks. While one may disagree with some of his exegetical comments, his comments are well-stated about translations needing to be more oral-sensitive, more aware of African readers and their context, and better in their orthographies.


Investigating Bible translation in Africa eventually led him to complete his own NT Bible translation (the Mbiti Kiikamba NT) entirely from the Greek rather than working from a European source text and the Greek. He exhorted more Africans to learn the original languages and follow his example. We praise God for you, Dr. Mbiti!

Kwame's Testimony

Kwame is from Ghana and is one of our colleagues in Bible translation. Last year, he passionately testified about how God transformed his life through Bible translation, and about how God has mightily used him over the last few years.

Teaser: The son of a witch doctor encounters God and His Word.

To view his powerful testimony, click here. It's short! Only 17:58 min long!

Great Commissioning To Ezekiel

We are excited to work with translators on the book of Ezekiel. And this translation work on the Old Testament joyfully follows Jesus' commission in Matthew 28:19-20; we argue that translation of Ezekiel is one of the implications of the Great Commission. 

Observe the following:

1. Jesus' disciples are to teach all nations to observe His commands (Matt 28:20).
2. "All nations" do not speak one and the same language; there are about 7,000 languages used in the world today (over 500 in Nigeria alone).
3. Teaching is most effective and best understood in one's own language (e.g., when Jesus taught the 12, He did not speak in a language foreign to them!), so to effectively teach the nations, we should translate Jesus' commands!
4. In Luke 24:44-47, Jesus' similar command to call all nations to turn to Him flows from His Christ-centered reading/teaching of the Old Testament; the Christ is written about "in the Law of Moses and the Prophets [this includes Ezekiel!] and the Psalms."

Conclusion:

To effectively disciple the nations to follow Jesus' commands includes the implication that Jesus' disciples should translate the whole Bible (including Ezekiel and the rest of the OT).

Obama in Addis Ababa This Week

From a USA Today article which helpfully overviews the President's visit:

President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Ethiopia on Sunday...Ethiopia in particular has been undergoing an economic renaissance. The country’s gross domestic product has grown by more than 10% a year during the past decade. The United States is the country’s fourth-largest trading partner. Still, Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and unemployment stands around 17%. To create jobs, the country’s leaders want to expand trade and maintain growth. 

Appointed by Yahweh in Jonah 1:17*

"Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah..."

(Jonah 1:17a)

One significant theme in Jonah is Yahweh’s sovereignty.  The Hebrew verb מנה (“to appoint”) occurs four times to detail some of his dominion. He directed the great fish to deliver and transport Jonah (1:17), a plant to shade him (4:6), a worm to strike the plant (4:7), and the scorching wind with the sun to strike him (4:8). The book of Jonah is about Yahweh (see 4:2)!

In 1:17 (above), Yahweh appointed or directed a great fish, meaning that Yahweh made the fish intervene, assigning it a task. This Hebrew verb thus fundamentally entails the sense “to command or order” (S#1), but given the purpose statement in the verse (“to swallow up Jonah”), the translation of the verb should also entail “to designate or name someone/thing” (to a function) (S#2). Yahweh did not send a large fish without aim, but he authoritatively dispatched it (S#1) to accomplish a certain job (S#2). This important and profound verb highlights the fact that Yahweh, as Master of all things, accomplished his will through the fish.

We pray for great biblical wisdom for our dear brothers translating the Word and using these notes in Cameroon (see some of those translators above to the left), and that the Lord would grant the same for other translation teams with whom we have the privilege of ministering.

*Adapted from Chris' Notes for Cameroonian translators.

God Never Change

In Nigeria, personalization of vehicles is done often by adding slogans somewhere to the exterior.  A book of these slogans could be compiled. Here's one for that book: "Every Problem is a Lesson: God Never Change."

In Jos, one of the most common means of transportation is Nigeria's version of the rickshaw, which is locally called a keke (or keke-marwa), in Hausa. The ekes are ubiquitous in Jos, ever since the ban a couple years ago due to the attacks that were happening from motorcycles.

Pray for Far North, Cameroon

(Reuters) - Two Italian priests and a Canadian nun were kidnapped in northern Cameroon overnight, a bishop and a government source said on Saturday, months after a French priest was seized nearby.

Cameroon's National Holiday

Cameroon celebrated today its 41st annual national holiday: celebrates the unification of Cameroon (Anglophone and Francophone parts) and inauguration of the republic.

Also celebrated in Paris (note the young image of Paul Biya in the background)!

Election of Cameroon's Senators

Election was held Sunday, April 14th for Cameroon's senate which had been called for by the constitution in 1996.  70 senators will be elected by vote and then 30 will be appointed by President Paul Biya to bring the total to 100 senators. The president of the senate will become the #2 person in power (in the event of the president's sudden death or incapacitation, this person becomes president).

According to reports, the election was largely peaceful (at least in Bamenda).

Results are supposed to be posted within 15 days.

Continue to pray for the 7...

Reuters reports on the latest update.

Francophone Week

10 words are chosen each year as part of a week of celebrating the French language. This year, they chose words largely borrowed from the French and used in other languages: bouquet, coup de foudre, vis-à-vis, cachet, savoir faire, unique, atelier, équipe, protéger, voilà.

How many of the 10 do you recognize?  Beware of the faux amis (false friends)!

Some statistics cited in an article about this week include:

• 220 million speakers of French globally
• 80% of them are in Africa
• Speakers of English outnumber speakers of French 20:1

Genesis 17-22: Ça y est!

3 Languages at Genesis 17-22 Workshop
Today was the last day of the 2-week long translation course on Genesis 17-22 for the Matal, Hdi and Muyang languages.  The teams worked hard and did good work.

While I worked in assisting to verify some of the Hdi and Muyang translations, the consultant worked with the Matal, being always ready to help the other 3 additional language groups that were scheduled to come but in the end did not attend.  

Sorry, no pictures for the moment, since I don't have access to my camera's data transfer cable.

Workshopping Genesis 21
Have many anecdotes to share, but I will content myself with sharing one for now.

One of the more difficult texts to translate was Genesis 21:25:

And Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.

A few problems presented themselves for translation, for example: the meaning of the verb "reproved" in the original context, and translating in the respective language "seizing" an impersonal, immovable object.  The word "seize" in at least two of the languages is commonly used for objects that are portable, but not for immovable wells, requiring another, similar verb in the translation. (By the way, these same languages also had difficulties with verses like Genesis 22:2 "Take your son" since their verb for "take" can only be used for objects and not for people.)

Well, this whole idea of seizing, which we discussed it earlier this week, was repeatedly discussed by the translators to the point where today one of the translators said, with a twinkle in his eye as he alluded to this passage, "The other day, I went to the market with my cell phone, and someone seized it. I have not seen it since."

Merry Christmas today...

...to our Ethiopian friends! 

Active OT Consultant in Cameroon: Passed Away

This press release from Wycliffe Canada serves as an obituary. We are saddened to lose such a valuable member of the OT translation family, a friend, mentor, encourager, visionary, and coach in Cameroon. This is the first time in SIL Cameroon's 43-year history that a member has died while in active service in the country.

Wycliffe Bible Translators sadly announces the death of Karl Grebe, a Canadian linguist, translator and consultant who served the people of Cameroon, Central Africa, in Bible translation for more than 40 years. Grebe, 70, died suddenly Dec. 9 in Cameroon. The cause of death has not yet been determined. 

Born in Germany, Grebe immigrated to Canada as a young man. With his first wife, Winnie, he began working with Cameroon’s Nso language group in 1971 to develop a written form of the language. Following the publication of the Lamnso New Testament in 1990, Grebe continued to consult on the translation of the Lamnso Old Testament, as well as several other language projects, in co-operation with the Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy [CABTAL]. 

During their time in Cameroon, the couple developed a regional training centre in the city of Bamenda, where a large number of Cameroonian languages are concentrated. Grebe also served for two years as director of the Cameroon Branch of SIL, Wycliffe’s main partner for training, language research, translation and literacy. He played a key role in founding CABTAL, as well as Wycliffe Canada’s “Partners with Nationals” program—a project-funding organization now known as OneBook. 

In 2003, Winnie’s declining health forced the couple to return to Canada. Grebe continued to consult with Cameroonian translators, reviewing their drafts by email and making periodic trips to Cameroon. Following Winnie’s death from ovarian cancer in 2009, he returned to Cameroon to continue his work as a translation consultant. In 2011, Grebe married Frida Sunjoh, a Cameroonian pediatrician and longtime friend of the couple who once asked them to pray that she would find a Christian husband. 

Grebe is survived by his wife Frida, two sons, Charles Grebe and Jonathan Grebe, and their families. 

More information will be published on our website as it becomes available. To learn more about Karl and Winnie Grebe’s work in Bible translation, see the Fall 2003 issue of Word Alive magazine.

"What gives me greatest satisfaction is to see pastors and laymen teaching and preaching directly from the Scriptures in Lamnso'." - Karl Grebe

Colleagues in Cameroon: WBT President Bob Creson's Letter

This from Wycliffe's President Bob Creson about some colleagues in Cameroon:

SIL translators Dave and Cindy Lux and the team they work with are illustrations of this commitment to change and to a new way of working.  Dave and Cindy worked first with Noni (name of the people group) colleagues in the Northwest Province of Cameroon to complete the New Testament in Nooni (name of the language). They used what is often called the “traditional” or “classic” approach of one expat team living in a village, learning the language, and leading the project while working closely with local colleagues. Now the Luxes and three of the original Noni translation and literacy workers have expanded their focus to include six languages related to Nooni in the Misaje cluster. 

Recognizing the desire of Misaje speakers for God¹s Word as well as their willingness and ability to participate in the translation project, they and some additional SIL personnel are working together to help speakers of the six languages translate the Word for their communities. The team works in partnership with the six local communities, The Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy (CABTAL), SIL and The Seed Company (TSC).  The Nooni New Testament is serving as the starting point to produce Scriptures in the related languages. Dave and Cindy and the other members of their leadership team are still translators, but they are also facilitators, trainers, encouragers, and servants all at the same time.  The impact of the effort poured into the Nooni translation is being multiplied, and the six new translations will be completed accurately, clearly and naturally in a fraction of the time it took to produce the original Nooni translation.  

The day the Luxes received my email about the decreasing number of translation needs, Dave witnessed the first sharing of new Scripture in the six Misaje languages. He later described it in an email to Paul Kimbi, a Kom language speaker and CABTAL translation consultant. Dave wrote, "The Misaje translators yesterday afternoon divided up their newly printed shell books of the parables of Luke for distribution.  It struck me as an historic moment.  It was quite unknown by the world, and equally uncared for by the world, but from God's perspective it was precious to see these men taking steps for the first time for the six language groups to have the printed Scriptures in the hands of the people. Thank you for your part.  You truly helped us out by conducting the Translation Principles Course and the workshop for the Misaje Cluster."  

Paul replied. "Indeed, the world allows the more important issues of life to go unnoticed, like the entrance of the Word of God into those six communities. If it were an important government official coming into the village, the whole village would be mobilized. But here comes the Word of God (Jesus Christ) not to be compared to a government minister or even the president, and He comes relatively in the midst of oblivion. But God is using ‘the foolish things of the world to shame the wise’ and ‘the weak things to shame the strong’ (1 Corinthians 1:27)."  

Cindy forwarded the email exchange to Dallas, with the comment that this event was one small example of the large event that I had written about. Six more communities were hearing the Good News in their mother tongue. Six fewer communities were without any of the Word. Included in the parables that have been translated for the Misaje communities are the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin. In both of these, Jesus illustrates the heart of the Father and the extent to which He will go for one person--God extending His grace and love to the least, the last and the lost.

Technology and Translation, part 1: LPDT

This is the first post in a series on some different ways that technology interfaces with translation.  This post focuses on a software program for translators and exegetes called Le Pupitre du Traducteur (LPDT, translated as "The Translator's Desk").

LPDT
LPDT puts French language tools in the hands (or computers, rather) of French speakers everywhere, but particularly Francophone Africa, where 400-600 languages are yet to have translation or literacy programs begun. Some facts about this tool, include:

• Its use began in 1996
• Used by 160 translation programs right now (incl. Mofu in Cameroon)
• Includes 8 French Bible Versions
• Has several dictionaries, Biblical lexicons, and various articles (all in French)

Use in Exegesis and Translation
I have recently received my copy of LPDT and look forward to using it extensively with our team, as this is the main French language exegetical tool available at this moment.  Nevertheless, LPDT won't be replacing my BibleWorks anytime soon (or Logos, if/or when I get that program).  There are simply fewer exegetical resources available in the French-speaking world than in the English-speaking one.

For francophone translation teams, to be able to compare versions of the Bible and reference articles and some commentary of a few books of the Bible is an invaluable tool for the work.

2 NT Books Checked

4 Weeks of Checking 2 Books
For the last 4 weeks, CABTAL invited a translation consultant to check the work of 2 translation teams, the Ngomba and the Ngombale.  Two weeks time were devoted to each team, which proved sufficient time to do the work. The Ngomba had checked the Gospel of John, and then the Ngombale the Gospel of Mark.

While I was able to take part in the checking of the Ngomba's John, I was not able to for the Ngombale. Nevertheless, we had the opportunity to get to know each other and discuss translation during breaks and prayer times, etc.

A few observations, of these checking sessions of John:

1. Technology Congruency
Updated and congruent technology is important to configure from the outset, between the consultant and the language team. At the outset, two different versions of Paratext were being used at first (and there are significant upgrades made in the recent version!), and this could have caused mayhem! Computer problems can wreak havoc on any translation.

2. Complete Text
Work through the text - the entire biblical text - in order, as well as the chapter headings (if present), and then the book summary at the end (if present).  I can see where spot checks simply do not cut it in this important ministry of checking the accuracy of the translation.

3. Know the Language
Request/find information on basic discourse, orthographic, grammatical and linguistic features of the language before meeting with the team. For example, how many and what kind of verb tenses are used for the future? And do they have inclusive/exclusive pronouns? How do they introduce new characters in a narrative? Etc.

4. Pace Varies
Remember that the pace of checking will vary. The first day of checking always goes slower, as the team and consultant become familiar with each other (if this is the first book/work they are checking together).  Additionally in most books, important translation decisions must be made early (e.g. John's 18 verse prologue) and that requires extra time.

5. Consistent Key Words
There are several constraints on working with key words, but one of them is that they can be translated differently in every place they surface. This gets to be quite challenging, but with the search technology on computers, this task is made easier (though not necessarily automatic!).

6. Prayer and Dependence on God
Start sessions not just with token prayer, but with earnest pleading that the Lord show up. Some consultants like to start the session with biblical meditation, which serves to orient the hearts and minds of people on the reason we are doing this linguistic work: glorifying God by enjoying Him and communing with Him over His Word.

7. Good Back Translation
Having both a good, written back translation before the consultant as well as a skilled, non-translation language group member to give a back translation on-the-spot are preferable. This helps to keep the translation honest, while also afford the consultant the opportunity to ask comprehension questions by virtue of how the back translation was given.