Latest News #248 – Australia
June 20, 2003

The Aussie Bible to present the New Testament in the language of the streets

CANBERRA, Australia — A re-telling of the most well-known parts of the New Testament in Australian English, or ‘Strine’, is designed to appeal to “anyone who’s stopped reading the Bible because they think it’s dull,” according to its author, leading Christian broadcaster and journalist Kel Richards.

The Aussie Bible (Well, bits of it anyway!) takes familiar parables and the key events of Jesus' life and presents them in chronological order. Mr Richards, who drew his inspiration from the Cockney Bible in traditional London rhyming slang (see World Report 359/WW1), spent a year re-writing these stories using many words and expressions which are unique to Australian English.

He describes King Herod as being “as jumpy as a wallaby on hot rocks” on hearing the news of the birth of Jesus, for example, while shepherds are referred to as “drovers” and their shelters as “humpies”. Mr Richards has also set the stories in an Australian context, with the disciples being presented as clothed in stockmen’s hats and boots and the Feeding of the Five Thousand involving the sharing of fish and damper, a traditional Australian campfire bread, instead of loaves.

The author of The Aussie Bible acknowledges that “some people may be outraged by it”, but he argues that Australian English is a distinct language which potentially has a valuable role to play in bringing the Scriptures alive for Australians who find conventional Bible translations uninspiring or hard to understand and do not regularly attend church.

Mr Richards’ view is shared by the Anglican Church, and The Aussie Bible will carry a foreword by Peter Jensen, the Archbishop of Sydney. A second foreword has been provided by Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson.