Croatia (MNN) — The World Bible Translation Center is excited about the introduction of the new Croatian Easy to Read New Testament. It’s a joyous conclusion to the translation work and came just in time for the Advent season.
11,000 copies of the Croatian New Testament were printed and made available at the early-December ceremony, which drew the interest and attention, not just of Christians, but many others as well. There have already been requests for another printing.
This modern-day translation is faithful and accurate to the original languages, yet using updated language more easily understood by readers.
Still recovering from the effects of war and ethnic cleansing, Croatia’s people need to hear that God really cares about them. The Center’s Gary Bishop says the new translation will help bring healing. “It gives them the opportunity to present God’s Word in a relevant context for people so they can really begin to see that God is interested in their world. He’s interested in them personally and what’s happened to them, that He knows about their circumstances both individually and nationally, and that God really cares about them.”
Bishop says national groups were the stimulus for this updated translation. “We actually had the Bible society, we had several church groups and mission groups there, all saying that their particular ministries could be enriched greatly if they had a text that the people could read that they could hand to them.”
However, there are some obstacles in the distribution. The WBTC is unable to import the Bibles, but instead, due to Croatian laws, they must be printed within the country. The challenge is that there is limited competition among printers, which forces the printing costs higher. But Bishop says, “With some level of subsidy to the cost of the Bibles, we’ll be able to get one to almost anybody that needs one.”
If you would like to help contribute to providing Croatian believers with Bibles, contact the World Bible Translation Center directly.
