Pig-sheep and Clear Translation

The Solos people are nearing the completion of the first book of the Bible, the book of Joshua, translated in their own language.

Larry and Christy Doyle updated about the progress of the Solos translation team in their June newsletter.

The process includes many revisions and rechecking of the original draft by villagers and an outside consultant before it is deemed complete. But is such a lengthy process really necessary?

Rachel Greco, in her post titled “Pigs and Sheep” on the blog The PNG Experience, tells about the Kasua people. In their language, every four-legged animal is referred to as a pig. When translating John 1:29, the villagers at first translated John’s words, “Behold, the pig-sheep of God.” In their language, a lamb is called a pig-sheep.

However, when some of the translators saw sheep for the first time, they realized there were key differences between pigs and sheep. Pigs were considered unclean to the Jewish people, and Jesus was unblemished. Pigs squealed before slaughter, while sheep were silent.

They revised their translation from “pig-sheep” to “sheep-animal” to give a clearer understanding of the Bible’s meaning.

Please pray for the Solos translation team and for Larry who oversees their progress. Soon the Solos people will be better able to read and understand the most important Book.

Read the September issue of The Harvest Times.