In our last newsletter, we talked about our transition to New Testament translation and to a new software called Render. Since that time, we have begun working through the book of Luke. Render breaks down the Book of Luke into 79 different sections, and we have now drafted 36 of them. It has been a major learning process, especially in using computers (which most of our team have never touched).
Translation is always a difficult task. You probably can imagine some of the more concrete examples, like we have mentioned in the past. The Kwakum do not have a word for: wagon, chariot, desert, grape, fig, bush, wineskin, … I could go on. However, these concrete examples are some of the easier to deal with. What is much harder is communicating abstract concepts: love, mercy, grace. This week I am helping our team translate the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6. Right away we are confronted with Christ’s use of “blessed” and “woe.” These two words are used in contrast, much like what we find in the Old Testament. But what do those words really mean? How would you define them? …more
