Hope remains despite incredibly challenging circumstances. The economy is nonexistent; more than half of the population relies on international aid to survive. Last week, an earthquake near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border killed over 1,100 people.

Dari Bible
(Photo courtesy of Heart4Iran)

Afghans tell Heart4Iran that God has forgotten them. But Heart4Iran and Biblica are teaming up to prove it’s not true. Working together, they’re finding ways to smuggle Dari New Testaments to Christians inside Afghanistan.

Listen to the entire conversation here on Heart4Iran’s new podcast, Impact32.

The ministries use a fascinating approach. “It’s called the ‘reverse rat tail.’ The ‘rat tail’ [describes] how illegal goods move back and forth across borders. It’s a weedy, dodgy way to get through,” Morin says.

“We call it the ‘reverse rat tail’ because I don’t want to bring people into destruction. I want to bring them hope. I want to bring them into redemption.”

Pray the Lord will give leaders wisdom and creativity as they plan delivery routes and methods. Help support the project financially here.

“We can’t just walk up to the border and say, ‘we’d like to bring in this big box of Bibles,’” Morin says.

“[We will use] whatever means necessary to get the hope of the Gospel to places where it would not be allowed. On the back of a mule, hidden inside a suitcase, sometimes you can shuttle alongside some cargo that’s moving other ways.”

Header and story images courtesy of Heart4Iran.

Tom Watkins of TWR explains When Your Whole World Changes, one of the primary programs on which they partner with Biblica. It’s a 30-day devotional designed to help people who have suffered natural disasters. “Wars, pandemics, tsunamis, hunger, tidal waves, you name it. Anything that really devastates people’s lives. They’re searching for answers, saying, ‘This is what my life used to be. And this is what it is now.’ And they have an openness to spiritual content at that particular point of their lives.”

TWR used this program to respond to disasters like the 2010 Haiti Earthquake and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The USNS Comfort arrives in Manhatten on March 30, during a severe COVID-19 outbreak. The virus has killed at least 1.5 million globally. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

Watkins says these disasters often spawn a whirlwind of relief aid to affected areas. But support doesn’t last. “Quite often, a few months pass, and things stabilize a little bit. Then [relief groups] are called off to another country. But people are still left with the long-term fallout of what happened: PTSD, being displaced, losing everything they have, and that any kind of security in life. They’ve lost loved ones. So how do they cope with this long term?”

Dealing with pandemics

TWR has been working with When Your Whole World Changes for over 15 years, taking the devotional booklets and broadcasting them in a number of different languages around the world.

But now, Biblica has revised the program to more effectively deal with pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic has killed at least 1.5 million around the world and crushed global economies. However, it won’t be the last pandemic, and the creators of the program want to prepare for future plagues.

Watkins says pandemics offer a unique challenge as a natural disaster: information literacy. “TWR, particularly in places like Africa for instance, is a very, very important source of credible information that people turn to in times of need.”

Watkins says TWR has created a lot of unique COVID-19 programs as well. Pray this programming will provide help and good information to many people in the months ahead. And pray the love and hope of Jesus will reach many disaster victims through this renewed partnership with Biblica.

Header image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay.

“It’s a massive movement to Christ throughout the country and through the diaspora that’s scattered in Turkey, Armenia, and other neighboring countries in Europe,” David Reeves, CEO of unfoldingWord, says.

“There’s a large number of unreached people groups in the midst of that [movement]; languages that have no Scripture translation.”

More Iran headlines here.

Speaking hope to Iran

Iran’s official language is Farsi, but people use 80 other languages throughout the country as well. See a list of Iran’s languages here. unfoldingWord is teaming up with like-minded ministries and Iranian believers to get God’s Word into these minority languages. It’s part of a larger project called Whole Bibles for the Whole Nation, Reeves explains.

(Photo by Amir Ahmadi on Unsplash)

“When it’s done, there’ll be no language [speaker] left in Iran that wants a Bible that will not have a whole Bible in their language.”

These translations will fuel other Kingdom-building initiatives, he adds. “When you start getting into these minority language communities, they need scriptures in order to be effective in discipleship and church planting,” Reeves explains.

“Because we’re working on a model called church-centric Bible translation, we’re able to mobilize these large-scale church planting networks at scales that dwarf efforts that have been done in the past.”

Learn more about unfoldingWord’s approach here.

How to help

Making Christ known in Iran is a collaborative effort. unfoldingWord partners with 222 Ministries and Biblica to update the existing Farsi translation and begin new Bible translation work in minority languages.

“This church network has already got three languages with a team formed, ready to start Bible translation, and working on a fourth. So, it’ll easily be 10 [translations] that will start here in the next year,” Reeves says.

Become a financial partner here. Most importantly, pray. “Radical Islam has tentacles all over the place, so there’ll be a lot of spiritual opposition,” Reeves says.

“Pray for covering [and] protection over these church planting networks in the midst of all this.”

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Kiwihug via Unsplash.

(Photo courtesy of Biblica)

For example, people in Iraq often speak Iraqi Arabic and Egyptian Arabic in Egypt, while those in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine speak Levantine Arabic. See a list of common Arabic dialects here. Furthermore, the vast majority of people in these countries are Muslim.

Senior Vice President of Global Ministry, Laura Fisher, says Biblica is teaming up with believers throughout the Middle East to reach people in their heart language – whatever version of Arabic it may be.

“[In] some of these minority language groups the translations will be done in a church-centric focus. So, it’s local churches that are going to be doing translation work,” Fisher says.

“The whole goal is so that people can read God’s Word in a language that they understand in their heart and mind.”

The pros and cons of Creative Commons

Bible translation is hard work in places resistant to the Gospel. Getting licensing and legal requirements isn’t always feasible. “There’s always copyrights involved in every translation that’s done,” Fisher explains.

“What we really want to do is remove the roadblocks for people that were trying to follow the rules and yet couldn’t afford [a license], or were afraid of what [obtaining] a license might entail.”

Fisher says by releasing their Arabic Bible under a Creative Commons license, Biblica provides believers with the tools they need to start translation work.  See the resources available on Biblica’s Open.Bible website.

“God freely gave us His Word and we would like to, where we can, freely give it as well.”

Right now, two partners – unnamed for security purposes – are translating God’s Word into Arabic dialects. “One is going to take the Arabic (source text) and translate it into 30 different dialects,” Fisher says. “Another group is going to start with 64 (dialects).”

When possible, Biblica wants to provide Bible translation teams with another critical tool. “We’ve also talked about [providing] our Translators’ Notes so that they can understand why a certain word was chosen,” Fisher explains.

“That helps them, if [a] word is not existing in their language, to understand a better word that could be utilized.”

Innovation is not without some level of risk. Releasing biblical text on an open-source platform means publishers could change what God’s Word says and release a new “Bible” with unbiblical wording. However, “under the Creative Commons licensing, it requires that you indicate if there is a change,” Fisher says.

“We’ll try to monitor as best we can but the biggest benefit is the exponential growth and acceleration of the translation of minority languages that has grabbed our hearts in our imaginations.”

Next steps

Now that you know, how will you respond? Prayer is of utmost importance. “Prayer would be hugely beneficial. Some (translators) are in very, very, very difficult, dark, dangerous situations,” Fisher says.

“Even possessing biblical text is against the law; it could endanger their life. Praying for their protection as they go about translation work is enormous.”

(Photo courtesy of Biblica)

Funding is a critical need, too. Locally-based and church-centric work lowers but doesn’t remove the costs of translating God’s Word. Support Bible translation work in the Middle East here.

“These teams, they still need financial support to do this work,” Fisher says. “It does add up when you start talking about 100 languages and, typically, you’re going to have a translation team of anywhere from five to 10 members.”

Header image courtesy of Biblica via Facebook.

“The ten largest Bible translation organizations in the world are now gathered together and meet on a regular basis to connect and to communicate. [They] have a common plan, a common platform where all these scriptures now live and become available for ministry. A common approach for how you do Bible translations, so you can share the resources necessary so, collaboration can actually happen,” Biblica’s CEO Geof Morin explains.

Sharing Good News

As Bible translation organizations join forces, Morin says the translation work has been accelerating. Biblica, which has been a part of Every Tribe Every Nation since the beginning, has played a role in the acceleration process.

How?

By working with what Biblica calls gateway translations.

(Photo courtesy of Biblica)

“These are the majority language, the larger population language translations, and these exist for a couple of reasons. One is, of course, we want to have these languages available for people that represent five million, ten million and many sometimes even hundreds of millions of people on planet earth,” Morin says.

“But there is a second sense in which they exist. They exist as source materials for other translation projects–meaning for the smaller languages that exist–and that’s where a lot of the Bibleless people are now.”

Biblica ensures these contemporary translations are available for the ripple effect. This means minority language translators, in combination with the scriptures in their original languages, can use a finished contemporary translation as a translation resource.

“We do more than that. We want to make available the notes for these translation projects because no matter what the language there is just some tough passages,” Morin says.

God’s Word in a Digital Library

Through Every Tribe Every Nation, Biblica is also working through a common digital platform and approach. Morin says this means translation organizations can upload what is called peritext, which is a tool the alliance uses for translation.

“Now there’s one place in what’s called the digital Bible library that has over 1,200 versions of the Bible translated there. If you’re a ministry and you become a library card holder, you now have access at your fingertips [to] all of this; these scripture resources for all kinds of great ministries all over the world. So, the other important piece of the acceleration is, acceleration of…these eternal remarkable assets of God’s Word for the work of ministry,” Morin says.

(Photo courtesy of Biblica)

Will you come alongside Biblica and support their work?

A great way to start is through prayer. Pray for Biblica’s work in translation. Ask God to protect those involved in translating His Word and the projects, too. Pray the Scriptures would be translated into every living language by 2033 or sooner.

Another way to get involved is through the illumiNations movement. Learn more about the illumiNations movement here.

Finally, it takes financial resources to translate God’s Word. Will you support Biblica’s work by partnering with the ministry financially?

Become a financial partner with Biblica here.

“I think this has the potential to be in that great line up of things that God did to accomplish His purposes across all of history. That’s a big statement. But I think the things that I’m seeing are the makings of a kind of category breaking movement for the Church,” Morin says.

Learn more about the illumiNations movement here.

Biblica’s CEO Geof Morin describes this moment in Bible translation as a radical opportunity for every language group to have God’s World in their living language.

“In the next 15 years, between where we sit today, talking in 2033, there is a path set whereby every living language on the planet, that it represents Bibleless people groups, Bibleless language communities. These are people who speak a language that doesn’t have sufficient scripture, between now and 2033, every one of those, what we call Bible poverty for those language groups, will be eradicated,” Morin explains.

Reaching the Nations

(Photo courtesy of Biblica via Facebook)

Every Tribe Every Nation was born in 2010. Biblica was one of the original anchor ministries to set the groundwork for the alliance. The organization contributes through providing Bible translation, access, and engagement by working with and through ministry partners across the globe.

Since 2010, the ten largest Bible translation organizations have partnered together for this 2033 deadline. Through illumiNations, individuals and churches can play a part in reaching the nations with God’s Word.

“I just see a movement of God in this work. I never want to use those words too cavalierly. But, I think you can see the fingerprints of God moving in the shaping of this…Right now churches and local organizations and individuals, we’re inviting even further expansion to come for the direct investment or just the, to come close and see what God’s doing in this work,” Morin says.

Join the illumiNations Movement

Individuals and churches can help sponsor the translation of parts of scripture. Through the illumiNations site, people can explore over 200 pages of various languages that still have a need for a translated Bible.

“I would love for people to know about this and to be celebrating…this first in all of human history opportunity that His Word would be available for all people and every living language across planet earth,” Morin says.

Another way to get involved is through prayer. Pray for God’s Word to be made available in every living language by 2033, if not sooner. Ask God to use His Church to make His love and Word known. Pray against potential roadblocks and for the ability for both illumiNations and Every Tribe Every Nation to overcome challenges in their work. Finally, ask God how you can be a part of this incredible opportunity to finally see the Scriptures translated into every living language. Pray this incredible feat would happen in your lifetime, too.

Join illumiNations here!

Check back tomorrow when we dig into the details of Biblica’s role in making God’s Word available for all.

Header photo courtesy of Olga Caprotti.

Translation Needs

“Biblica focuses on strategic languages, meaning languages which are very critical in the sub-continent of India. Particularly [those] languages which are majority languages, official languages of states. Languages which have a million or more speakers, all languages which have demands from the people, from the church particularly, for new translations.”

(Photo courtesy of Biblica)

Varghese says that in India, there is a definitive need for Bible translation in forty-eight languages and dialects, with potential for more. Biblica’s work is to provide contemporary Bibles in strategic languages.

“There are languages without even a Gospel available in that language, and there are languages which though they may have Bibles, most of them are very old, a hundred plus years old. So, we need to have a fresh look at those languages again. That’s the situation in India now,” Varghese says.

Since languages continue to evolve, a 100-year-old translation is no longer relevant. New translations and revisions are both necessary, and Varghese says there’s a need for an accessible Bible translation which can be understood by youth and non-Christians, too.

Linguistic Divisions

India has many geographical state divisions based on the language in the region. For this reason, when Chhattisgarh was founded as a new state in India on November 1, 2000, a new Bible translation was needed for the language of Chhattisgarhi. Varghese says the language was previously considered a dialect of Hindi.

“Once the government has recognized the existence of a language, [the] government had to give into the demand for a new state,” Varghese says.

To finish these translations, Biblica will use incremental publishing. This means as books of the Bible are translated, Biblica releases them to the public. Biblica is also working on audio Bibles to put in the hands of people who learn through hearing.

Please, come alongside Biblica’s translation projects by praying. Pray for God’s hand in Bible translation in India and for His Word to be made manifest to all. Also, pray for everyone who is involved with the Bible translation process and their protection. Finally, pray for the finances necessary for Biblica’s translation projects in India.

Donate to Biblica’s translation work here!

Translation With Morphing Languages

“Language is essentially dynamic because it is determined by a number of speakers. Sometimes…millions of speakers who speak a language and while we have bodies that govern or regulate the use of language, ultimately the use of language is determined by people speaking that language. So, language changes over time,” Combrink says.

“We all recognize that today’s younger generations speak language that we didn’t speak growing up. They have different idioms, different phrases that they use, different conventions of language that they use. You can well imagine that a language like English has changed quite a bit since the days of the King James translation more than 400 years ago”

(Photo courtesy of Biblica)

Translation is essentially communicating from one medium to another. It only works well when a message can be understood and is accurate in the new medium; or in this case, a different language.

“That includes language, but it also includes culture and worldview and all of that. So, we have to ensure that the communication of God’s Word in that context remains relevant,” Combrink says.

This is why translation revisions need to happen every few decades. Combrink says because of how long Bible translation takes and how quickly revisions are necessary, once a translation is published, it is not long before it is time to start on the revisions. A good revision process can take an entire decade.

Combrink says “in some sense Bible translation never stops”. Part of the translation process also includes feedback from readers like preachers, theological instructors, and individuals who use the translation for evangelism or ministry in a variety of socio-economical areas. This feedback provides valuable input that can be used in future translation revisions.

God’s Word Unchanging, Inerrant

However, ever-changing language combined with God’s unchanging Word and the rather frequent need for translation revisions prompts a tension. Combrink reminds us that there is no original copy of the Bible. Rather, the Bible is a unit of 66 books written at various times across the centuries. There was a formation process to God’s Word. But, despite the flaws of humans, God’s hand has always been in the process.

“God’s work went through a process of formation of more than a thousand years where people faithfully heard God’s Word. They heard God speak. They saw God act and they wrote that down. After a period of oral transmission of God’s Word…we had people being led by the Holy Spirit faithfully authoring God’s work and that became transmitted over centuries,” Combrink explains.

What we do have are authentic manuscripts and copies of original documents. Combrink says we can say with certainty that these manuscripts corroborate their message and text.

God’s Word Inscribed

“We do have to recognize that there are some variations because humans were involved in the process of copying and translating scrolls and fragments over the centuries. Some of these humans made errors, but we have people who are specialists in the fields of textual criticism who painstakingly pours over all these manuscripts and fragments and put together source texts for the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. Those are the manuscripts that we use when we translate the Bible. Those are our source texts,” Combrink says.

“As Christians we believe that those source texts embody the Word of God. They are the Word inscribed. They are the Word made scripture, just as Jesus was the logos, the Word of God who became flesh. He became ‘sarx’ as the Greek says in the prologue to John’s Gospel.

“In the same way that Jesus is the Word of God, the eternal Word of God became flesh, became human, and lived here on earth, so God’s Word also was written down. God chose to use fragile humanity both through the incarnation of Jesus as the son of God who became man, but also through His Word that was written down by humans who could make errors and who made scribal omissions or additions, and yet through all of that God had his hand on that process. We have the privilege of having received, throughout the years and the ages, God’s Word in a wonderfully authentic way.”

Tension Between Language and God’s Word

(Photo courtesy of Biblica)

It is important to understand the relationship between God’s Word and our own changing language so we can accurately translate and understand the Bible. For example, words previously used in the Bible, such as “ass,” “gay,” “thong,” or even “ankle chains” (ornaments of the legs) have very different meanings today than when they were chosen to be used in the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. An example of this can be found in the King James Version of James 2:2, Judges 16:7, and Isaiah 3:20.

These examples continue to show how dynamic language is and the need to revise translations over time to communicate the correct and accurate Word of God. It also reflects how although God’s Word is inerrant, personal interpretation is reliant on the quality and accuracy of a translation.

Biblica’s Translation Work

Biblica works in Bible Translation with the top 100 languages of the world. This means the organization works with languages which have 7 million or more speakers. These are also called the strategic language groups because working in these languages can potentially impact up to 80 percent of the world’s translations. That is around 5.5-6 billion people. To put that in perspective, there are almost 7 thousand languages in the world, some which only have 30,000; 50,000; or even just 100,000 speakers.

“Biblica cannot do all of the work. Our place in the translation community is to focus on the top hundred strategic languages of the world and do those well, so that they could be used as models or reference translations by others working to serve the minority languages community of this world with an adequate and meaningful translation of God’s Word. So, that all people eventually may hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a language that serves them well. A language that speaks to their heart so that people and their communities may be transformed for the glory of God,” Combrink says.

Pray for Biblica’s work in Bible translation. Ask God to protect and guide translators and that His Word would be communicated accurately and effectively. Pray for the necessary resources to continue Bible translation both for Biblica and the minority language translators.

Learn more about Biblica’s work in Bible translation here!

Click here to financially support Biblica’s work!

Header photo courtesy of Olga Caprotti.

Physical and Digital Compared

One of the concepts that keeps print Bibles relevant today is the way our minds seem to interact with words on a page. When reading a print book, it is often easier to remember the location of a quote by its position on a page, like the top right corner of the page spread. This memory tool typically disappears with a digital Bible.

(Header photo and photo courtesy of Biblica)

“When you just keep scrolling on a page on a computer or device, it’s again really hard to anchor the text there. It removes maybe one level of memory capability,” Biblica’s John Dunham explains.

“You suddenly have almost an exponentially increased number of phrases sitting at the same spot on the screen. There are so few words on a phone screen, you just have to keep constantly swiping, and it can become difficult to remember the things that you’re reading.”

Plus, God created a physical world for His creations to interact with through our many senses. People can engage with a print Bible by holding it and feeling the texture of its pages. A person can even enjoy the distinct smell of the book, like the leather-bound outside or freshly printed inside. Digital words remove the touch and smell of physical interaction with Scripture.

“There’s the phrase from the Bible that talks about to taste and see that the Lord is good…We’re not just meant to see words or hear words, and then process them only with our minds. We’re meant to experience God’s Word within [a] community. It’s definitely a physical experience,” Dunham says.

Distracted From God

It’s also hard to find uninterrupted alone time with the Scriptures if one doesn’t have a physical Bible. While it is possible to get physically away from people to read the Bible from an app, there are still the never-ending notifications which pop up on phones, iPads, and computers.

This constant stream of messaging is a distraction. It unexpectedly interrupts the thought process and the intimacy of independently studying God’s Word. In the end, solely studying digital Scriptures has the potential to steal away our ability to sit with God and experience peace in His Word.

(Photo courtesy Olga Caprotti via Flickr)

“We need to read our Bibles big. So many times, we get caught with…reading the verse of the day or just reading really short snippets and they’re out of context. They can encourage us, they can remind us of things, and that’s really wonderful. But really, what God intends for us with His Word is for us to engage the whole story, to understand what God is doing in the world, and to find our part in that,” Dunham shares.

Reading a physical Bible often makes this easier. The physical Scriptures also help reduce the temptation to distract oneself with a quick Facebook update or a scroll through Instagram, unlike the digital Bible on our phones. Dunham encourages folks to form the discipline of spending quiet time in God’s Word. Find a few minutes a day to have uninterrupted time with God and the Scriptures. Make it a priority.

Balance and Prayer

Does this mean people should never use a digital Bible? No.

Dunham says there are things he celebrates about the digital Bible world. Many organizations are using digital Bibles to increase Bible engagement. Technology can serve a lot of purposes. However, when using a digital Bible, be careful not to use it to replace physical Scriptures. Instead, the digital Bible, with all its splendor, should be used as a side to the main course, an appetizer, but not the main dish. So, keep your Bible app, but don’t ditch the richness of a physical Bible.

If you would, pray for yourself, friends, family, and the Church as a whole to build a healthy relationship with technology and with both digital and physical Bibles. Ask God to reveal how we can best use digital Bibles alongside the physical Scriptures. Pray for God to removed distractions from our lives, too. Finally, ask God to help people engage with His Word in robust ways that in doing so people would find peace and healing in Him.

Need a copy of a Bible? Click here!

(Enjoy this article by the Huffington Post which lists reasons why print books are often preferred to digital.)

New Contemporary Translation

According to Biblica’s Hans Combrink, Biblica inherited the Living Bible in Indonesian. It was translated in the 1970s and early 1980s. While portions of this bible were translated well, there were sections which needed some help. Now, it’s time for an update.

“Language changes, culture changes, and there have been advances in Biblical scholarship and research…so, you know, from a translation and a communication point of view, we need to revise the Bible for every generation,” Combrink explains.

The current full Bible translation in Indonesia is mainly used by the Church. But for someone not immersed in a congregation, understanding the translation can be difficult. Biblica is taking the dated Living Bible translation in Indonesian, and translating it to a contemporary version using modern idiomatic Indonesian. By doing this, God’s Word will be better communicated.

“Our goal with the contemporary Indonesian version is that this will be a translation that communicates to young people, to people outside of the Church who may be seeking. [It is] a translation that could be used for discipleship, and evangelism, and outreach,” Combrink says.

Setting the GroundWork

Biblica has been working on research and development for this translation for roughly two years. The process has included raising the funds for the project, prayer, and talking with people on the ground to determine the need for the translation project. And while Indonesia being a majority Muslim nation, the contemporary Bible translation will be available for both Biblica’s partners and for the public.

(Header and photo courtesy of Biblica)

“We already have talked to a publisher in Indonesia. So, I would imagine that this translation would be available in bookstores in Indonesia,” Combrink shares. “But, initially our primary focus of making this available will be through ministry partners. And Biblica has a lot of compelling resources that we can use together with the text of the Bible.”

Biblica will be doing incremental translations of the new contemporary Bible. Once portions are translated, Biblica will make them available for ministry products.

“We envision and trust that the text of this new contemporary version will be well received and used by ministry organizations who can then use it for outreach purposes, for discipleship, and for evangelism,” Combrink explains.

Be Prayerful, Be Active

Ask God to use this translation to transform hearts and reveal himself to those yearning for Him. Pray for God to prepare the right team, consultants, and the right reviewers to finish this project. Also, pray for God to provide the finances necessary for completion.

“Pray for the impact of God’s Word, that His Word would go forth and would not return to him void, but achieve all its purposes and everything that He has intended for it in the country of Indonesia,” Combrink shares.

To give to this project, click here!

[CORRECTION: The broadcast states the Bible translation will be available in October. This is inaccurate. It is the hope the translation process can START in October.]