Could a missionary’s messy Thai Bible translation notebooks topple Caravaggio’s legendary St. Jerome as the ultimate portrait of a translator? 📢 New article in the Journal of Translation “Portrait of a Translator: Francis Seely and the 1971 Revision of the Thai Bible” by Doug Liao

Nice new playlist of 8 videos on "AI & Bible Translation Innovation: Expert Interviews (2025) #eten www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Denmark says "Post-editing of machine translated books should not be called translation."

Always a cause for celebration when a new issue of The Bible Translator is released. The Bible Translator 76.1 (April 2025) Quality Assurance in Oral Bible Translation map.bloomfire.com/posts/562208...

Why being bilingual is good for your brain What does bilingualism do to the brain? Are there benefits to being bilingual? Turns out there are some surprising upsides. www.bbc.com/videos/cv2gz...

Mainz Cathedral, Germany, is showcasing the world’s largest Bible page in honor of the 625th birthday of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. The 5 x 7.2 meter (16.4ft x 23.6ft) page presents the first page of John’s Gospel with a translation from the Shuckburgh Bible.

How to read the Bible through the eyes of thousands of languages baptistnews.com/article/how-...

Translation Technology: From Data to Drafting Insights and progress from Catapult and Slingshot in 2025 etenlab.substack.com/p/translatio...

Bible Translating as a Loyal Activity by Tobias Houston This book introduces Loyal Bible Translation, inspired by ḥesed, "covenant loyalty" and "steadfast love." Rooted in unswerving commitment, this approach balances loyalty to the source text with loyalty toward the needs of its audience.

Excellent food for thought here: "...focusing on Bible translators as 'agents of reception.' Translators exercise their agency in relation to the previous effective history (Wirkungsgeschichte) of the biblical texts, which they can either affirm or resist." doi.org/10.1515/jbr-...

Can AI be guided by the Holy Spirit? Summit explores intersection of tech, theology Google developer argues AI reach 'exposing the parts of us that were dead already' www.christianpost.com/news/can-ai-...

The Forgotten Meaning of אוֹת doi.org/10.1163/1568... In light of these findings, we recommend updating biblical lexicons to include the meanings “pronouncement, promise, assurance” for the noun אוֹת and “commit” for its corresponding verb.

Ever wonder what Saturday Night Live has to do with the Psalms? please don't destroy אַל תַּשְׁחֵת

“a translation of δοῦλος with slavery terminology can encourage the much-needed postcolonial reflection on the role of church, Bible, and theology in the colonial enterprises of European nations.”

A bit of Anselm on Mothering Sunday: As a mother cradles her child

"...my ­fascination with the KJV’s unicorn has continued beyond my childhood. My training as a biblical scholar explains why KJV says unicorn when it should have been wild ox. But this answer might be just another attempt to exert human control over a mystery." anabaptistworld.org/a-unicorn-in...

Now here's a fascinating article: “Capital-T-truth: Stative Capitalization, Translation, and Comparing Theologies in Religious Studies” by Debra Scoggins Ballentine. In Bible translation studies, we've known for a while that capitalization has its limits (i.e., lost in audio).

Fascinating read: “'You Shall Not Boil a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk' in Saʿadya Gaon’s Translation of the Pentateuch” by Tamar Zewi www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.116...

Hebrew Bible still inspiring pop songs in 2025. Lady Gaga – Garden Of Eden @ladygaga genius.com/Lady-gaga-ga...

Translation is not just about access to information; it's about status, prestige.

“... from the very beginning, Bible translations have depended on theology — not only to justify Bible translation itself, but also to spur new translations from older ones.”

“The Word Increased and Multiplied: Grasping the Complexities of Bible Translation” by Peter Gurry www.desiringgod.org/articles/the...

Once checked a Bible translation in an African language where local translators had put "black but beautiful." They asked why when pointed out some see this as problem. They replied "We weren't 'black' until you told us we were black." Still think about that. ("you"=Westerners? Whites? Colonizers?)

A wonderful event coming up on 11th March with @dhansen.bsky.social of @ulbruxelles.bsky.social, who will join us to talk about translation technology and creative translation. Hosted by @delphinegrass.bsky.social. Find out more and sign up: www.lancaster.ac.uk/global-affai...

“Bible translation is a continual process, requiring frequent revision and evaluation, so for any translation to withstand the test of time, it must be championed by language-speakers who are in it for the long-haul.” etenlab.substack.com/p/cbbt-stage...

Scribes and Language Use in the Graeco-Roman World edition.fi/societasscie... #openaccess Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum Vol. 147 (2024)

From a commentary on a widely debated phrase: “The various translations of the versions do not give us any guidance.” Ummm... still guidance even if not unanimous.

Aristeas weeps... “The most renowned translation of the Bible in general, and of the Hebrew Bible in particular, was made in the early 1600s and published in 1611. This King James Version...”

"Imagine for one moment, reading for the very first time God's word in your heart language. It touches you to the very core. My passion is to make sure that God's word is given to people in the languages they understand best." chvnradio.com/articles/fil...

“Bible translation seems to be ’Hello World’ of machine translation for languages with limited resources.” Takyi et al. 2025. “AfriSign: African Sign Languages Machine Translation.” Discover Artificial Intelligence 5 (1): 6. doi.org/10.1007/s441....

“Liberty in Translation” William Tyndale’s heroic efforts to translate the Bible planted the seeds for a new age of liberty. by Richard Gunderman lawliberty.org/liberty-in-t...

Listening through the KJV Bible this year isn't always easy, but boy is it memorable. For example, Pharoah's “get you unto your burdens.” bible.com/bible/1/exo....

“The beautiful thing with Bible translations is that it reminds us God understands all our languages.” The Bible Society of Malaysia marked its 40th anniversary with a historic launch of three Bibles on Sunday. www.sarawaktribune.com/bible-societ...

Give me oil in my torch! “...the λαμπάδες of Matt 25 are not thesmall hand-held Herodian-period lamps but are instead torches. If that is indeed the emerging consensus of our scholarly field, then it is time for our English translations of the Bible to reflect it.”

Looking forward to checking out this new open access work by Nathan Esala, published by SBL Press: “Biblical Translation as Invasion in Postcolonial Northern Ghana” #BibleTranslation www.sbl-site.org/publications...

Congratulations to @alexichantz.bsky.social for this JSJ publication on divine Εἴδωλα as 'images' not 'idols'! 👏🎉🦆https://brill.com/view/journals/jsj/aop/article-10.1163-15700631-bja10098/article-10.1163-15700631-bja10098.xml

“On the 8th of Tevet, the Torah was written into Greek, and darkness engulfed the world for three days.” (Megilat Ta‘anit Batra) To those who mourn the LXX... as well as to the scholars who celebrate it... may today be a meaningful one!

How NYC Churches Guard Endangered Languages New York isn’t just a haven for Christians from around the world; it’s also a sanctuary for their rare and dying dialects. www.christianitytoday.com/2025/01/how-...

Joss Moorkens in Singapore will speak on AI, sustainability, and translation ethics, online on 10 Jan 2025, 4–6 pm! Zoom: nus-sg.zoom.us/j/8912872590... (Passcode: 551819)

“The language should be melodious and modern, because a Bible translation must keep up with the times.” –Valdis Tēraudkalns, Secretary General of the Latvian Bible Society A new edition of the Bible, the holy book of Christians, has been published in Latvian.

Although accurate, if you can't read it in church, is it really a good translation? Updated edition of Latvian Bible replaces "'mauka' (whore), which was found in previous translations, with the word 'netikle' (hussy)" to be more "appropriate for public reading in church."

The order of Genesis 20:17-18 is swapped and the verses combined in some translations to flow more chronologically/logically. Even though akin to reordering within a verse, translators seem less willing to reorder across verse boundaries. Why is that?

"Alloy"? Sounds like someone used a thesaurus.

Gordon Hay spent 17 years translating the New Testament and then the Old Testament into Doric, the first time the whole text has ever been changed into any variant of the Scots language. www.aberdeenlive.news/news/aberdee...

Join me in listening to the King James Version this year following the Bible Project's "Biblical Storyline" plan. There's a "Talk it Over" feature inside the Bible App for discussion. bible.com/p/71128586/2...

In the Gen Z version, the disciples are “stressin hard” and ask Jesus, “Bruh, you just gonna let the storm cook?” The divine bro responds by saying to the storm, “bro, chill,” and then “the storm said say less and stopped vibing.” 👉 edition.cnn.com/2024/12/24/u...

Just finished listening through the Christian Standard Bible this year via the YouVersion Bible App and Bible Project "Biblical Storyline" (TaNaK order) plan. A really nice translation to listen to. One word I wouldn't have used is "wadi" although I understand the choice. Which translation for 2025?

The Magnificat, traditonally "My soul magnifies the Lord," thus starts, "All that I am to my core celebrates the One in Charge" (Luke 1:46). youtu.be/vOkqm3ZZeUc?...

What if translations of the Bible were designed to be performed and performed from memory? Check out the newly released Spoken English Bible's oral translation of Luke 1:1–2:20, performed from memory: youtu.be/vOkqm3ZZeUc

Ezekielian? www.jstor.org/stable/1517629