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Daily Scripture
 
"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."

Psalm 37:5

WHAT'S IT MEAN TO BE ROMAN?

Bill with two of his co-translators.

July 24, 2008

by Brian Johnson

Translating the Bible into a tribal language isn't as easy as it looks. And it looks really hard.

That's what Bill Davis and his Palawano co-workers in the Philippines have found as they work to translate the New Testament.

They recently completed printing Acts and gave the Palawanos their own copies of the book earlier this month. It was a great moment for the church, but there is much more to translate.

As the work continues, there are many obstacles to overcome.

Thankfully, Bill has seven Palawano men that help him. They range in age from 26-45. These men are believers and are highly motivated to see God's Word in the hands of the Palawano church.

The differences in age helps bring a variety of perspectives. Arnel is 26 and teaches the youth group. He lets the others know how certain words and renderings might (or might not) be understood by the younger generation.

Here are a few words they've worked on recently: tabernacle, temple and synagogue.

"Can you explain the difference (without checking your study bible)?" wrote Bill. "Sure -- probably. But such terms … present a challenge for a language whose speakers have no tents or canvas, do not tan hides and have no buildings made of stone. Not only that, but Palawanos have no 'temples' (or churches), even in their traditional animistic religion."

The translation team also had a problem with priests. The only religious practitioner that Palawanos have known in their history is the shaman, who is a spirit medium. That's not exactly a Biblical "priest."

The believers feel very strongly that shamanism, along with the animism they have left behind is not something they want to validate by using the word belian (shaman).
The translators can make up a word that conveys what "priests" are or what they do but which aspect do you focus on? Offering sacrifices? Prayer? Mediator? Chosen by God?

Or how about this: Rome is a city. But it's also an empire which rules over several countries. But not all the people under Rome are Romans (i.e. Roman citizens.)
Paul is a Jew, but he's a Roman citizen. However, the Roman soldier (the captain of those who arrested Paul) had to buy the right to be a Roman.

So a Jew is born a Roman, but a Roman has to pay to be a Roman? And other Romans aren't Romans at all.

And what does it mean to be a Roman citizen and how is that different from being someone who lives in the Roman Empire? The Palawano language has no concept or word for citizen other than person from a certain country.

As Bill and his Palawano co-workers have learned, translation is a really big job.

Pray for wisdom for the team as they continue the translation work. Pray that the words they use will convey what was intended in the original language.