‘At last, it is like the heart of Christ is open to the Godié people.’
So said Bible translator Jean Dada at the recent launch of the Godié New Testament in Côte d’Ivoire. This is a typical reaction when people get the Scriptures in their own language for the first time: suddenly, they gain a depth of understanding not possible when reading in their second, third or fourth language.
It’s one of the reasons why launch events of New Testaments and Bibles are so joyful, energetic and boisterous. Another reason is the time it takes to do a high-quality translation – for the New Testament, often at least 12 years of dedicated effort by a team of Bible translators. It’s been a long time coming!
‘A mighty river’
Imagine, then, what it must have been like for the Godié people. In their especially challenging circumstances, it’s taken 50 years from the start of the work to translate the New Testament to the launch event. Fifty years! This isn’t typical of most New Testament translations, but it shows the dedication that communities and translation teams need to translate the word of God into their own languages. The Godié had to overcome the comings and goings of translators and years of civil war. But now, 50 years after the work commenced, the Godié have their New Testament.
Inevitably, hardly anyone who began the work is still alive. Truly, this was a translation for the long haul. No wonder the launch event saw constant spontaneous outbursts of joyful singing and dancing.
While 50 years is rare, the fact is that Bible translation takes many years. During that time people are unable to access the word of God fully in the language they understand best – and die without the Scriptures in their language. This is urgent work! As one Godié chief said at the launch: ‘This ceremony is like a creek, which may seem small at first but later becomes a mighty river. One day God’s word in the Godié language will be that mighty river which touches all of the Godié people.’
Getting the word out
The good news, however, is that the work of Bible translation is accelerating!
First, the quantity of translation work being done is accelerating – more languages have work going on than ever before, and the number of Bibles and New Testaments being launched grows exponentially each year.
Second, the time it takes to do the physical translation work is accelerating. Until recently, steps to speed up the translation process without sacrificing quality had been small. But recent technological advances are set to change the work of Bible translation.
Throughout history – from the printing press in the 15th century to smartphone apps in the 21st century – technology has been crucial in getting the word of God into the hands and hearts of more people more quickly.
Incredible impact
Another key technological moment is upon us. While recent technological advances mean teams can now work together on a passage in real time even when they are spread across different continents, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) is set to have an incredible impact on Bible translation. The debates rage about whether AI will have a positive or negative impact on humanity, but it is going to enable local Bible translators to produce high-quality translations faster than ever.
Examples where AI is helping include doing the donkey work on an initial draft while maintaining a high degree of accuracy, and automating tedious parts of the translation process. Mundane tasks are being sped up, and translation teams can focus more on the areas that require their human skill and insight.
As a result, the time taken to translate the Bible is predicted to come down to 12 years – the time it currently takes to translate the New Testament. All without losing any quality! That’s astounding in itself. More importantly, it means many more people will be able to access the good news of Jesus through the Scriptures much sooner.
