Archive for the ‘Bible Translation Thoughts’ Category
Posted on September 1, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
Wycliffe Bible Translators - UK 50th Anniversary
I’m delighted to read the following press release from Wycliffe Bible Translators. Praise God for 50 years of faithful, Christ-exalting service. Do take the time to visit their website at www.wycliffe.org.uk
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Posted on August 8, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
The Seed Company Issues ‘The Blank Bible Challenge’ to U.S. Pastors
The following is a press release from The Seed Company, an offshoot of Wycliffe Bible Translators US, concerning a challenge to open the Bible. For those who have never heard of The Seed Company, it was launched in 1993 with a mandate to accelerate Bible translation efforts. It has now reached 600 language groups and much support is needed to continue their efforts. You can read their mission statement here. The Seed Company is based in America; for British readers of this blog, check out the efforts of Wycliffe UK at www.wycliffe.org.uk. (A great place for useful information is their blog) (more…)
Posted on July 20, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
Linguistics for Biblical Studies Students
I sometimes think it’s a shame that Linguistics isn’t taught more widely and this is especially true with Biblical Studies where it can be a valuable subject when taught in association with Greek/Hebrew and Hermeneutics/Exegesis. A number of seminaries run Master’s degrees in Linguistics and Biblical Exegesis but for those interested in small-scale personal study, there are a couple of books worth reading. A student recently asked me for some book recommendations on the subject and I suggested the following:
Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek by David Alan Black. (There’s a full review available here)
Linguistics and Biblical Interpretation by Peter Cotterell and Max Turner.
Dr Black’s book is highly recommended: readable, scholarly and useful. (One of my professors once told me that usefulness is a much forgotten factor in academic books!) Later this summer, we will have an interview with Dr Black on our Talks With Scholars page.
Andy
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For accredited, online and distance learning courses in Theology and Biblical Studies visit the King’s Evangelical Divinity School website.
Posted on July 11, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
Free book online: J. I. Packer, Truth & Power: The Place of Scripture in the Christian Life
J. I. Packer, Truth & Power: The Place of Scripture in the Christian Life, Harold Shaw Publishers, Wheaton, IL: 1996.
A friend once asked me where my interest in Bible translation originates and my answer was that it stems from the doctrine of Scripture. A great place to understand the place of the Bible is Packer’s excellent little book, which is now available for free online at http://www.ccel.us/packer.toc.html
Here is the blurb on the back cover:
In the face of theological upheavals and trendy philosophies, J.I. Packer boldly challenges the church to keep the Bible and keep to the Bible. Through centuries of use, abuse and disuse, the Bible remains the foundational document of the Christian faith.
In this book the author offers a masterful overview of the doctrine of Scripture. Beginning with the authority of the Bible, he then considers how it has been challenged through church history. In addition he examines the unity of the Bible, methods of interpreting it and the role the Bible must play in preaching. Through all of this Packer demonstrates how the Bible offers each Christian the spiritual essentials of life, health and peace.
Here is a careful and colorful restatement of the grand truths about God’s Word and the church.
Dr Packer is Professor of Theology at Regents College in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Posted on July 1, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
Joy over Braille translation of Bible in Welsh
The Wales Online website reports the completion of a recent project to create a Welsh Braille version of the Bible.
The project was co-ordinated by the Bible Society on behalf of an appeal committee, with the Royal National Institute of Blind People taking care of printing.
The Union of Welsh Independents also backed the campaign, saying blind people had the right to read the Bible in their own language. Alun Lenny, secretary of the appeal committee, said: “The response was amazing. Following substantial contributions by the Bible Society and religious denominations in Wales, money poured in from chapels and churches, schools and individuals.
“Some £15,000 was raised in less than four months, enabling the work to be given the go-ahead.” The project was completed in six months.
See the full story here
Andy Cheung
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King’s Evangelical Divinity School.
Posted on May 6, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
No NET Bible update in 2010
One of our students recently pointed out that Bible.org has announced that the once-projected 2010 update of the New English Translation (NET) is no longer going ahead. In the 2005 first edition of the NET, the following statement was made in the preface, “The NET BIBLE text (notes excluded) has now been frozen for at least 5 years. The next set of upgrades and improvements is planned for release in 2010.” But now, the makers of the translation have decided that there will be no text revisions in 2010 or the near future. On reflection, I think this is perhaps wise: the translation as it stands is already outstanding and as Bible.org indicate, “a 2nd edition would generate a lot of turmoil with print providers and software publishers who use the NET Bible.” See the full announcement at http://bible.org/net-bible-update-2010
BTW I briefly reviewed the NET Bible a couple of years ago here
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Andy Cheung is a lecturer in New Testament at King’s Evangelical Divinity School, a distance learning Bible college and Seminary in the UK.
Posted on April 12, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
The Bible in Every Tongue: Amber and Terrill Schrock in Uganda
Here’s a great story about two Wycliffe missionaries that demonstrates the important, practical, God-Sized mission of Bible translation. I’ve never met Amber and Terrill so I’m glad that CBN made this little report. See the short five-minute video or read the article here
The husband and wife work for Wycliffe Bible Translators, the world’s largest Bible translation organization. Several years ago, Wycliffe launched a project to reach an estimated 200 million people around the world with a Bible written in their own language. Wycliffe USA president Bob Creson describes the campaign as “God-sized.” “We knew humanly speaking that it was going to be impossible unless God was a part of it,” he said.
Posted on April 3, 2010 - by Andy Cheung
Share your NET Bible story
Those of us who are regular and happy users of the NET Bible will be interested to see the following post on Michael Burer’s blog. If you haven’t come across this translation yet, I warmly commend it. It’s a fresh and original translation and its extensive footnotes are particularly helpful for pastors or students undertaking exegetical study. I hope to write a full review of the forthcoming version 2.0 when it comes out. (See my review a while ago of version 1). (more…)