Bible translation helps the global church grow in its understanding of God
God’s revelation through Scripture is like a banquet. Each language group and culture has their unique insight into God’s Word to bring to the table. Just imagine a family dinner without your favorite dish! When we only ingest our own culture’s understanding of the Bible, we are limiting our menu. We miss out on diverse flavours we could savour. When we welcome more people—and more dishes—to the table, the result is an amazing feast. We can make space for the gifts and perspectives of the whole Church. In doing so, everyone can sit together at a more bountiful and satisfying banquet, enjoying God’s Word together.
“Just as each culture brings something new to humanity,” said former Wycliffe UK director Eddie Arthur in a 2013 blog post, “so does every language. Each language is capable of expressing some things better than all other languages . . . and each language has the ability to express itself in ways that other languages can’t quite manage. There are subtleties of meaning and inference that just can’t quite be transferred from one language to another without losing something.
“This is really important, because that means each language can say things about God and is capable of praising God in ways that other languages can’t quite reach.”
Translation enhances understanding
In Tanzania, East Africa, the Rangi language group struggled for some time to translate John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” The translation team kept running into the same problem: the phrase “to remain,” or “to abide” wasn’t clear to Rangi speakers.
As they worked on the passage with their translation consultant, they prayed and sought to understand what exactly it meant to abide in Christ.
“A branch of a vine can’t live in the vine,” says a Rangi translator named Paul. “Instead, it’s attached or connected to the vine. Also, living in a person is an unclear concept to Rangi speakers—and even to me.”
Finally, the team thought of a figure of speech that the Rangi use to describe two very good friends, or a loving couple. The expression, kʉva kɨɨntʉ kɨmwɨ, literally means to be “one thing.”
“When we put this expression in our translation,” remembered Paul, “I pictured my grandfather sitting with his best friend. My eyes were teary because that helped me visualize my relationship with Jesus. When I live in Him, I am ‘one thing’ with Him. I saw how Jesus takes care of me. I could feel His love, and I could see a whole new life with Him.”
The Rangi translation of “abiding” is one that may help believers from any language or culture to deepen their own understanding of John 15. Each culture has a distinctive ability to convey truth about God and His Good News, which cannot be achieved in any other language. That means that every time the Bible is translated into a new language, new insights about the Christian message are made available to all believers.
The Rangi team went on to finish translating the entire New Testament. Their insights into God and His Word are now part of the great “banquet table,” bringing nourishment to the full body of Christ.