“In French, it’s confusing. But in Ifè, it doesn’t matter how something is said;
when you read it, you understand it.”
– Kokou Amouzou, Ifè pastor in Togo
It connects to their hearts.
As Nelson Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” A translated Bible also redefines your entire relationship with God. He’s not an outsider anymore. He’s not the God of a different language and culture—he’s your God.
“Through this language, I can hear him talking directly to me. Now I am sensing through the language that he is like my close relative.”
– Yurranydjil Dhurrkay, Indigenous Australian translator and advisor
Which Language?
Many people speak three or four languages: One at home. Another at school or church. Another in the city. But they might not truly grasp something until it’s in the language they know best—usually the one they grew up speaking.
Persevering in the Hope for Scripture
On a Sunday morning in remote Democratic Republic of the Congo, a pastor reads the story of blind Bartimaeus in Lingala, a trade language in this region. The crowd listens quietly.
Then another man stands and reads the same passage from Mark 10—this time in Mono, the people’s mother tongue. The listeners sit up. A murmur swells around the room, growing louder. People smile and begin to laugh. They hear this story as though for the first time.
“Most of the time I can read and understand the Portuguese Bible, the English Bible, and even a little of the Greek Bible. But the way I understand it is somehow only on a superficial level. … When I read it in Makhuwa, it’s like I’m naked before God.”
– Bonifácio Paulo, Bible translation consultant-in-training in Mozambique
People gain pride in their identity.
For many minority groups, feeling inferior is common. Outsiders might ignore, mock, or discriminate against them. Their language might feel insignificant, because it isn’t spoken in school, the capital, or even church. But having a written form of their language—and a book as important as the Bible—can help people see how valuable they truly are.
Done Hiding Their Language
For decades, river traders told the Paumarí they were less than human: They spoke an “animal language.” Shame set in. The Paumarí wouldn’t even speak their language in front of outsiders.
But in the 1960s, linguists moved to their little village in northwest Brazil. As the Paumarí learned to read—and then began studying Scriptures—they realized their language was just as good as Portuguese.
“Now, we are just like the French, the Germans, and the Americans. We have an alphabet and a Bible in our language, just like them.”
– Kouya man in Côte d’Ivoire, while holding some of the first Scriptures in his language