Title:  The Bible in my language

Francois Sieberhagen

Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path.  Psalm 119:105

One of the biggest challenges that Bible Societies face is to publish quality and accurate translations based on the source text.  It is the mission of the Bible Societies all over the world to translate the Bible into people’s heart languages.  But it is not only about translation, it is also about ensuring that these translations are read.

With the start of the Southern Ndebele translation project many photos were taken.  We could tell the story of a translation team that came together in a tiny office at the University of Pretoria and worked long hours behind computers, with different Bibles and dictionaries in use.

Only many years later could we capture the final work session.  We still had the same people in the team.  The only difference was their grey hair that seemed to be more visible.  What didn’t change was their passion and commitment which they started with in the beginning a few years back.  Peter Mabena and David Mahlangu still had the same love for their language.  Prof. Andries Breytenbach was pleased that he could use the language that he learned as a child in the service of the Lord.

The New Testament has been available in Southern Ndebele for some years.  Later this year they will have the entire Bible in their mother tongue.  They will be able to say that the Lord’s Word is the light on their path, showing them the way.

Unfortunately there are still 1314 languages in Africa that do not have any part of the Bible translated into those languages.  These are the heart languages of people who currently rely on a second or third language in order to read and understand the Word of God.  There is a huge need.

There are many projects on the go to address this need.  The fact is that it can take between ten and twenty years to translate the Bible and it costs thousands of Rands to keep such a project going.  The challenge is thus quite big.  Isn’t that reason enough to cherish your Bible?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for being able to read the Bible in my heart language.  Amen.