We have noted with astonishment that many tribes and peoples still have to do without a readable Bible translation in their own language. In the past, Bible translation projects were often commissioned as contract work, resulting in an ideological or religious bias in the translation. For instance, a Hindu translating the Bible under contract would inevitably misrepresent the concept of cattle slaughter or sacrifice.
For this reason, it is important to us that committed Christians translate the Word of God into the respective local language, adhering to the criteria of the Arlington Statement. Since the translators generally lack proficiency in Ancient Greek or Hebrew, we use the King James Version as our source text. Admittedly, it is not the most precise English translation; however, the King James Version continues to rely on the Textus Receptus for the New Testament and the Masoretic Text as the basis for the Old Testament.
We are currently working specifically on translating the New Testament into the Santali language and the Dinka Malual dialect of South Sudan. We found it intolerable that more than 12 million Santali people lack a New Testament that is readable and understandable for their ethnic and linguistic group on the Indian subcontinent. The situation is similar for the Dinka people; 1.5 million of them have a New Testament that is barely readable, prompting us to assemble a local team to translate the New Testament into Dinka Malual. The challenges involved include the limited vocabulary of these languages—necessitating frequent circumlocutions—and the low level of formal education among committed Christians.
Please pray for the success of these translation projects!