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The ideal situation may be national translators who know Hebrew and Greek and are thus able to translate straight from the original biblical texts into their own languages. The time saved by this approach is often worth the additional training costs, DeMoss said.

However, only 10 percent of national translators have biblical language skills, as such training remains a luxury due to its expense or to the education level of translators. This number is growing slowly, as programs teaching biblical languages become increasingly available worldwide.

Wycliffe sponsors translation schools in the Philippines, Thailand, Kenya, and Cote d'Ivoire. Word for the World offers a mobile two-year program that in 2005 trained 175 translators from 73 language groups in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and other African countries.

Speed of learning and retention are better when learning Hebrew as a living language, according to Halvor Ronning, founder of the Jerusalem-based Home for Bible Translators. His program has provided advanced biblical language training to 74 translators from 26 countries speaking 44 different languages, and his students have gone on to lead translation efforts in Kenya, Togo, Nigeria, and other nations.

George MacDonald, a translator in Papua New Guinea, said he would always remember the day his Dadibi friends dedicated their complete Bible in 2001. Living in a remote location and considered inferior by trade partners, the Dadibi had long looked down upon themselves. Yet they became one of the few groups worldwide to receive both an Old and New Testament in their own language.

"This indicates that God has certainly not forgotten them, but instead has looked with favor on them," said MacDonald.

Thousands turned out for the dedication ceremony—some walking for up to two days to get there. The national translators held the Dadibi Bibles up for the crowd to see. Thunderous applause arose, and one man let out a high-pitched yell reminiscent of the victory shout used by returning Dadibi warriors in days of old.

Jeremy Weber is a journalist and freelance writer living in Chicago.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More CT articles on Bible translation include:

The Word from Geecheetown | Gullah-speaking slave descendants welcome New Testament translation. (Dec. 19, 2005)

Wycliffe in Overdrive | Freddy Boswell describes the most audacious Bible translation project ever. (Feb. 3, 2005)

God's Own Dictionary | You won't believe the words that didn't exist until the first English translations of the Bible. (Feb. 05, 2003)

A Translation Fit For A King | In the beginning, the King James Version was an attempt to thwart liberty. In the end, it promoted liberty. (Oct. 22, 2001)

Not Your Grandfather's Mission Field | From lighter radios to lightning-fast computers, technology is speeding up ministry and easing the load at Wycliffe Bible Translators. (Feb. 19, 2001)

Meaning-full Translations | The world's most influential Bible translator, Eugene Nida, is weary of 'word worship.' (Sept. 16, 2002)

New Bible translations help to preserve world's disappearing languages | The total number of languages in which the Bible is available in part or in its entirety now stands at 2233. But this is still barely more than one third of the estimated 6500 living languages in the world. (Feb. 28, 2000)

And the Word Was … Debatable | All those who take up the daunting task of Bible translation step into a force field of tension. (May 18, 1998)

'Your Sins Shall Be White as Yucca' (Part 1 of 3) | Wycliffe missionaries Gene and Marie Scott gave nearly 40 years of their lives translating the New Testament for a small tribe in the jungles of Peru. Was it worth it? (Oct. 27, 1997)

Confessions of a Bible Translator | In this article, Daniel Taylor, and English professor at Bethel College in Minnesota, gives us a glimpse into that most daring of undertakings—humans translating God's Word. (Oct. 27, 1997)

More Bible articles are available on our website.

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September 2006, Vol. 50, No. 9