International (MNN) — Consultants play a vital role in the Bible translation process, yet they aren’t always accessible. unfoldingWord created software called “book packages” to overcome this hurdle.
“They can go where Western missionaries can’t go,” unfoldingWord’s Perry Oakes says.
“A lot of the people using these book packages are in really difficult situations. We know of partners that, you know, bombs are going off while they’re translating the Bible.”
Book packages provide the digital tools translators need to check their work. “We’re putting in their hands what a consultant would do for them,” Oakes says.
“[Book packages contain] a literal translation, a simplified translation, a set of verse-by-verse notes that alert the translator, ‘Okay, here’s some problems that you’re going to encounter in this verse or in this passage,’ and then we also have a dictionary with definitions of difficult words.”
(Photo courtesy unfoldingWord)
Book packages have been completed for 53 of the Bible’s 66 books. Pray for wisdom as unfoldingWord creates software for the remaining 13 books.
“We are getting a lot of feedback from the field on both how useful the book packages are and how they could be delivered better, and so the software that delivers all of these resources is continually being tweaked,” Oakes says.
Ask the Lord to guard Bible translators who are using book packages.
“Pray that they would be protected from governments that don’t want them to be doing this, from wars that are happening around them.”
Consider partnering with unfoldingWord to help the ministry develop additional resources.
Header and story images courtesy of unfoldingWord.
