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March 2007

A Historic Day!

Friday, 2 March 2007 was a historic day for IBT Russia/CIS – on that day we received from the printing house the very first copies of two New Testaments – in Kumyk and Chechen! Both these people groups are Muslim and live in the Caucasus, and for both peoples it is their first New Testament ever.

There are about 1.3 million Chechens. They live mainly in Chechnya, in northern Caucasus, and have become known to the world because of the tragic war there in the 1990s. Thousands of Chechens and Russians lost their lives and much of the nation still lies in ruin. A Chechen believer expressed her hope for the future: “God’s Word can bring hope to our people. We are living in an extremely difficult situation and need consolation.”

“My life has changed completely due to my involvement in Bible translation. I don’t think that a person can remain the same after he reads or translates the Bible.  This book has the answers to all of life’s problems.  It gives us our bearings in life and teaches us to do deeds that please God,” one of the Chechen Bible translators said.

“Ignorant people spread rumours that it is harmful to translate the Bible and other holy books into other languages,” remarked a famous Kumyk poet, who helped to review the language of the Kumyk New Testament. “On the contrary it is very good that people will have the possibility to become acquainted with the masterpieces of the world’s religious literature. For centuries the Bible has been calling mankind to love and mercy. Bible translation enriches nations and leads to mutual understanding between them.” 

The Kumyks are the fourth largest ethnic group (423,000) in Dagestan, a republic situated on the western shore of the Caspian Sea in southern Russia. In this area more than 30 languages are spoken, and the Kumyk New Testament is the first in a Dagestani language.  There is now a growing tendency to revive the national cultures in Dagestan, and the native languages are included in the school programme. Parents want their children to speak their mother tongue and believe that their people will survive as long as their language does.

“People think they are religious, but most of them know neither Islam nor Christianity,” another member of the translation group commented. “They simply became accustomed to being negative towards Christianity - they perceive it as a Russian religion. When I talk to people about God in their mother tongue, and when they realise that they can communicate with God in their own language it helps them to understand better the meaning of the Bible. When you talk to the people in Russian they reject your words. But when they hear you speaking Kumyk they accept what you tell them.”

Project of the month

Eleven Bible translation projects are in progress in Dagestani languages. Please support them with your gift this month!

Here you can sign for the IBT Russia/CIS monthly English Newsletter

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