‘Christmas Gift’ for Swedes (Sweden)
Bible Society Attempts to Find Right Language for Minority (Georgia)

“The board of the Bible Society saw the promotion of the new modern-language translation of the Bible as an opportunity to give our organisation a new image,” Hans Bergstrom, Project Manager for Bible 2000.

In fact, churches were a key factor in the promotion of the new Bible translation and it was thanks to their efforts that the Swedish people were made aware of this important event, according to Mr Bergstrom. There followed many advertising projects initiated by the SBS: challenging and sometimes disturbing posters that focused on eternal questions facing humankind. These used quotations from the new translation. There were samples of the new translation presented in new formats and with modern illustrations. There were advertisements in newspapers, a newspaper-format Gospel given out as a flier, and radio broadcasts with readings done by famous actors.

Each program aimed to point at the day when the completed Bible would become available. In this way the Swedish people were constantly reminded of the forthcoming event and the efforts of their Bible Society in preparing for the new translation.

Finally, the Bible was ready for publication in 1999 and no effort was spared in ensuring that the Swedish people would receive their new Bible before Christmas.

Then came the day of the official launch – November 18. At the SBS bookshop in Uppsala the celebrations included a speech by the Archbishop of Uppsala, the Most Rev Karl Gustaf Hammar. There was a recitation from the new Bible by a famous actor, and the Salvation Army musicians provided a special fanfare during the proceedings. Finally, a specially made Bible cake was cut and shared among those present.

Bible 2000 is only the third official translation of the Bible since the middle of the 16th century. It follows the Reformation Bible published in 1541 and the Church Bible of 1917. The work, which has been in hand since 1973 and was completed earlier this year, involved the labour of more than 100 scholars.

In order to make the most of the new translation, the SBS has worked hard over the past five years to involve the churches in promoting the new translation. Churches have been encouraged to set up special Bible study groups, and have been involved in the test samples that were produced as the translation progressed. Feedback from these samples was an important part of the preparation of the completed text.

“And the Bible Commission is consciously targeting this new translation at young people. Many do not currently read the Bible, and it was important to involve schools, libraries and local government organisations to play a part in the preparations,” he added.

Above all, it is also hoped that the new translation will be used and that Christians will rediscover the value of the biblical message in their lives. “The Bible must be used, read and studied.” Some 200-300 staff from churches and their Bible study organisations have been involved with the project for some time and have been meeting regularly at a series of Bible 2000 conferences organised by the SBS.

In the months before the launch, a timely series of articles appeared in one of Sweden’s two main evening newspapers, Expressen, in which theologians, ministers and secular writers gave their responses to a text selected from the new translation. In a co-operative venture between the Expressen, the SBS and publishers Bonnier, the articles have now been republished in book form.

But people are also hungry for the Bible. The United Bible Societies Representation in Georgia (UBSRG) continues to expand its areas of operation, reaching communities and minorities that are often neglected by the state.
 

One such community is the Gypsies living in a sort of ghetto area of the capital. Dominique Donzelot, UBS Publishing Consultant working in this region, accompanied the Executive Secretary of the UBSRG, Malkhaz Songulashvili, on a visit to this community. They took samples of a recently-published Gospel of John in the Balt dialect of the Gypsy language, Rom. Their aim was to find out whether any of the UBS-published Scriptures in Rom dialects would be suitable for their use.

“It may be that they will understand Romanian sufficiently well for us to be able to serve them with Scriptures,” said Mr Donzelot. “When we questioned them about Caucasian Gypsies they told us that the only ones they knew about were three families, and the women worked the markets fortune telling.”

So members of the team set off for the market to find these ‘real’ Gypsies. They were prepared for an aggressive reaction. Not only are Gypsies fiercely independent and often resent any interference, but the state has neglected them over the years, excluding them from all social help programs.

The team members were surprised when they were warmly received by the women. These women could only really converse in Russian, knowing just enough Georgian to get by. But they discovered a setback when they showed the women the Portions in Balt Rom: none of them could read.

Had they come all this way for nothing? Ramaz, one of the Bible Society staff, was determined to try what he could, so he started to read the Portion out loud. He had no knowledge of the Romani language. He could not avoid giving the words a heavy Russian intonation, as he haltingly spoke the unfamiliar sounds.

A crowd had gathered round curious to know what was happening. The Gypsy women listened intently to the words. Then suddenly one of them started to speak. She was translating the words of the reader back into Russian, and it was the text of John’s Gospel, word for word.

Everyone was astounded. And it seemed that for a brief moment the Spirit of the Lord was present there establishing a connection between these forgotten and maligned people and His all-embracing love.

The UBSRG is now convinced that work must be done to find the Caucasus Gypsies and see how they can best be served with Scriptures. Thanks to the UBS shared program of Rom translation work, it is much easier today either to find the appropriate translation or to adapt one that has already been done. In this way even those people who recognise no national boundaries and have no fixed residences can be reached with the Word of God. (WR 348/15 - 02.00)