Konta People and Their Community Pleased with the Konta Bible

Konta Translation, Ethiopia

The Konta Bible translation team has worked hard to provide the Bible in their mother tongue to all.

Found in the Southern part of Ethiopia, the Konta Bible translation team has worked hard to provide the Bible in their mother tongue to all their people.

With the New Testament now in the proofreading stage, soon, God willing, the Konta translation team will have it ready for publication! In addition, they have completed eight book of the Old Testament books, and continue working on the rest of the Old Testament! The goal, as in all TWFTW translations, is to see the whole Word of God in the heart language of this people group! Completion of the New Testament audio recording makes it possible for the Konta community to begin hearing the holy Scriptures in their heart language soon when it becomes widely accessible. The translators also took trainings on how to prepare the “Jesus Film” based on the content narration in the Gospel of Luke.

An evangelist received a Konta translation of the Gospel of Luke for him to read, and he said, ‘I am eager to use it for my Bible study group!’

The translators said that the Bible school students of the area read and memorized the Lord’s Prayer in their language! Some church leaders of the area were in their annual meeting, when they heard about the New Testament being close to publication. It pleased them that the Bible and Jesus Film will be coming soon.

The community and the church members have been responded positively to the Bible translation. They appreciate the translation work and it makes them happy to hear God’s Word in Konta. While the translation team worked with a community review committee, community representatives were excited to read 2 John in their own language and proclaimed, ‘It is like listening to the Gospel preached without a preacher—no explanations needed! The words were clear and understandable. Even uneducated church members feel happy when they hear the Word of God read in their heart language without the help of translator!”

This encouragement from the community serves as a motivation to the team of translators.

Even with community encouragement, the work of Bible translation brings daunting challenges. Financial and material challenges, like reliable transportation making it possible to move from place to place for field testing. Translators must travel to remote locations over hills and mountains, which makes reaching some areas very difficult—especially during rainy seasons.

Bible translation in one’s own language has great power to attract people to God’s mission of turning hearts to Jesus. Konta leaders, evangelists, Bible school students, and the community respond in positive ways after having seen the translated portions. In addition, the believers actively engage in reading and using the translated portions in their Bible study programs. So, we need to pray, support and work hard for the Konta Bible’s publication.