In Acts 27-28, the apostle Paul sails for Italy and encounters trouble at sea. The two Burunge (Tanzania) translators had done an excellent job of translating this passage, but when the translation consultant asked them to describe the scenes in their own words it became apparent that maritime terms-lifeboats, running aground, taking soundings-were foreign. But so were more ‘common' concepts like ocean (a body of water too big to see across), island, or harbor. Thanks to some creative drawings on the white board and internet photos, the concepts became understandable to the translators. As a result, a clear explanation and a few supporting illustrations should help the Burunge readers better understand this part of Paul's journey.

In a world that often assumes that everyone has access to the Bible, the Zinza people of Tanzania have only just begun. They recently received and dedicated Echitabu cho Kubanza "The Book of the Beginning," or the book of Genesis.  And they celebrated! 

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To give a good idea of some of the issues that can come up when checking a Bible translation, here are some examples of what a translation consultant (Patrick) experienced while checking Luke 1-2 in both the Zanaki and Ikizu languages. The translators are Tanzanians working full-time as mother tongue Bible translators, and a Wycliffe missionary (Michelle) is the translation advisor.

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Earlier this week the Mara Cluster Project conducted a Bible translation consultant check of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22 in the Simbiti language. Nothing unusual, right? Well, not really. The consultant was in Holland and the translation team in a small town in Tanzania.  Read more...

The Mara Cluster project recently published the Christmas Story in nine languages--a welcome Christmas gift for the two million people of the Mara Region. Pastor Waynse is a Simbiti Bible translator and he shared this testimony about the distribution of the Christmas story (Luke 1-2).

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