SE Asia (MNN)–Strong political and religious opposition during the last few years has hampered Scripture translation into many languages of South East Asia.
Translators from seven different languages in the northern region of one SE Asian country are now ready to move forward. However, since people in this region support their families by working primarily as subsistence farmers, they don’t have the financial resources to leave farming and focus on Bible translation.
In spite of this, The Seed Company is making progress in seven translation projects for the Manmal cluster. The national language is promoted by the central government in schools and in the media. However, most people in the country do not use this language as their first language.
Most people speak a local or regional language as their first language. Some people can read the Bible in the national language, but since this is not the language of their hearts, it is seldom read outside of a formal context.
Teams have begun testing early translation work for clarity and ease of reading. Pray that hearing the Scripture in the local tongue during comprehension testing will create a desire to know the Bible once it has been printed.
