India (MNN) — The Scriptures have
found a unique audience in northeast India.
International Bible Society-Send
The Light's Gary Carr says they recently released a Braj Bible in Uttar Pradesh
State, India. It's an area that has had
sporadic reports of persecution against believers.
Carr says religious leaders of
the area attended the dedication, and what happened next was surprising. Rather than being angry over the introduction of the Gospel, he says, "They were delighted that someone had
paid attention that their language was very important. So the Scriptures were
well-received in that area. That's one
of the things that we find, that when we translate the Scriptures, and
people read them in their heart language, they're just amazed at how clear the
message of the Gospel has become."
This is just one example of where
the Bible is part of community change. IBS-STL
is committed to providing the light of God's Word in contemporary translations.
Worldwide, there are 146 indigenous
translators working with IBS-STL to translate the Bible in 40 languages that don't
have understandable Scriptures.
Carr urges prayer for the
translators "that they would
have wisdom and discernment to translate the Bible accurately and clearly and
in a voice or tone that is natural to the readers so that they would read and
say, 'Oh, my goodness! This is God speaking to me in my heart language!'"
The impact of Scripture is felt
as people use the translation manuscripts even before widespread distribution
has begun. 14 translation projects are due to be finished this year.
In Africa, teams are wrapping up
work on the Revised Bible in Igbo. In
East Asia, work is concluding in Cebuano and Tagalog. In South America, IBS-STL is soon to release
the revision of the Spanish "La Nueva Biblia al Dia."
In Europe, the Norwegian New Testament is nearing completion, and Bible
Study Notes are being translated for the Romanian Bible. The Hebrew New Testament is being cleaned up
for the Middle East. And finally, work
is coming to a close for the Bengali Old Testament, as well as the Study Notes
for the Telugu Bible and the Tamil Bible.
