Africa (MNN) — Translating the Bible into Swahili will make the Word available to many more people in the eastern part of Africa. They just need translators.
In February we reported that World Bible Translation Center will begin translating the New Testament into Swahili in the first part of 2007. In order for this project to
continue on the time grid that they have established, they still need more people to help with translation.
"We plan to have a Swahili New Testament within 2 years and a complete Bible a few years later. This is a challenging goal since we feel very strongly that we CANNOT sacrifice accuracy and readability to meet some deadline we have set for ourselves," said David Stringham, WBTC's Director for Translations in Africa.
They will be creating their Easy-to-Read version, which is translated for a third-grade reading level. This means that those with the most basic reading skills and those who are new Christians will be able to understand.
Swahili is the one of the most widely-spoken languages in eastern sub-Saharan Africa. This translation will be able to reach people in their heart language. Though WBTC is
already distributing the Easy-to-Read English Bible, the Swahili version will reach more people. It is important that Christians everywhere receive the Word as nourishment for their spirit just as they need nourishment for their bodies.
"This will require thousands of hours of work by scholars who know Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, as well as theological readers and church leaders who will do field testing to verify the quality of style and content," said Stringham. Please pray. The total cost of this project between three countries is $820,000. If you would like to donate, click here.
