Translation project overview
After our last Beans’talk a friend asked for some history. It’s worth reviewing and thanking God for his help all along the way.
WHEN did we start this Old Testament project? Answer: 2004. The first workshop was held in June of that year. We started preparing for it December of 2003.
HOW MANY languages have been involved? Answer: 5 + 2.
Most of our work is with five Quechua languages named at the bottom of the letter.
Additionally two other languages have been involved on a limited scale. A Yanahuanca Quechua team worked with us on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers 1– 18. Men from Chiquian Quechua were with us for Genesis and Deuteronomy.
WHO all is involved? Answer: There are two men from each language group. This year we rotated a couple men out and some new men in. Together they represent both evangelical and Catholic traditions.
WHICH is the hardest book you’ve translated? Answer: Mark would say whichever book he is working on at the moment!
Really, there are all kinds of translation problems Sometimes a verse seems so straightforward and simple, you wouldn’t expect to have any difficulty translating until you sit down to try.
WHEN do you plan to finish? Answer: That is the big question! The Seed Company, which supplies funds for the Quechua men who work with us, expects us to be finished by October of 2012. With God’s help all five Old Testaments will be translated by then. BUT, the five Old Testaments will still need to go through final revision, consistency checks and all sorts of other checks before they are ready to publish.
And, their respective New Testaments need to be revised before being put together with the Old Testament. If all these revisions take at least three years after October 2012, we’ve got five years or more to go.
Kidneys & Heart—is this a recipe?
In Hebrew, Jeremiah 20:12 starts off saying:
O Yahweh of hosts, who examines the righteous, who sees kidneys and heart…
You’d be hard pressed to find an English translation that keeps the kidneys in that verse. Most English versions render that as heart(s) and mind(s). At least one version tries to clarify by adding the deepest thoughts of heart and mind. And yet another skips the body parts to say God examines the deepest thoughts and secrets. What about Quechua? God sees the lungs, for the lungs are where your thoughts and emotions are.
Cultural interest: parents
In verses 14–17 of Jeremiah 20, Jeremiah is depressed and angry. He wishes he had never been born. He curses the man who told his father of his birth.
For us today, it seems kind of extreme. It wasn’t that poor man’s fault that Jeremiah was born! We imagine that if Jeremiah had grown up in U.S. society, he would have blamed his parents for the fact that he was alive, not the bystander who only announced he was born.
So why did Jeremiah take it out on the one who announced his birth? For a culture steeped in the Ten Commandments, honoring and respecting one’s parents is bedrock—it was impossible for Jeremiah to speak against his parents. Thus he spoke against the obvious choice: the first man on the scene.
Praises & Prayer Requests
• Praise for the Lord sparing Saturnino, one of our co-workers. He arrived in Huánuco with a ruptured appendix and perforated intestines. He was in very sad shape! Thankfully, a visiting doctor from Lima participating in a medical campaign recognized the seriousness of his situation and operated immediately. Saturnino is now at home recuperating and doing well.
• September 24–26 is the annual Quechua women’s convention in the Margos area. Pray that Wilmer’s messages build up, challenge and encourage. Pray for more people to delve into God’s word.
• The week of October 18–22 Mark will be sent to Dallas to attend a seminar for translation consultants on the book of Genesis. He is busy trying to squeeze in all the reading he’s supposed to get done first while continuing to meet his daily goals translating the book of Jeremiah.
Thankful for such meaningful work. Prayerful that people will make the effort to use it.
Mark & Patti
