Ned Beall got quite a workout when he recently trained to help check Bible translations.
Linda Krieg, an experienced translation checker, is the only NTM missionary in Papua New Guinea who can train new checkers such as Ned. Since she is trying to finish a translation for the Siawi tribe herself, a limited amount of time was available for training.
The time constraints — but the determination to get the job done well — are clear in the account Lisa Kappeler wrote about Ned and Linda’s time helping her with the translation for the Uriai people of Papua New Guinea.
The three of them started about 7:30 a.m., going over pre-check questions before Lisa’s Uriai translation co-workers joined them for the comprehension check.
"I would read passages to the two guys in Uriai and they would have to retell that passage back," Lisa wrote. "If they could give the story back, then they obviously understood it.
"Then Linda and Ned … would ask questions to jog their memory on the smaller details they may have forgotten. Or they’d ask them to describe a term we were using to make sure it carried the meaning of the word we were matching from the Hebrew or Greek, like angel, temple or Holy Spirit."
"Spirit" posed a problem, they discovered. "The word … for spirit was only used in the village for shadow — not exactly how we want the Holy Spirit to be understood, as a holy shadow," Lisa wrote.
Checking details like that, "we worked through a lot of Old Testament portions — not entire chapters all the time but the section from a chapter here and there that was necessary to build the foundation for the Uriai people when they hear [evangelistic Bible] teaching."
The bits and pieces were harder to check than the New Testament stories they would check on the final day, and it was harder still because many of the passages dealt with prophecies about Christ.
But the final day was still trying. They needed to complete the check on Saturday, so they worked form 8 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.
"Nothing like 44 hours of work done in four days," Lisa wrote. "But we have more Scripture ready to give to the Uriai people!"
And you’re part of the work among the Uriai too.Because of the article I wrote on the NTM website, thousands of people are praying for the ongoing translation work. And I couldn’t have done it without people like you who pray for us and give to our ministry. Thanks!
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