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Issue Number: 601 – October to December 2012expected to use the Bible and, of course,about those who aspire to undertake thetranslation or revision.We will also need to know the answer tothe very important question: Is there a realneed for a new Bible translation, or couldan older edition of the Bible be revised?If it is determined that a revision wouldbe the more appropriate course of action,what will be the nature of the revision?Are the problems with the editions to berevised wholly of a textual nature; does therevision also need to be made more formalto achieve greater accuracy and closerconformity to the underlying Hebrew andGreek texts? Is the vocabulary employedgenerally correct or will it be necessary toamend the wording of specific terms; if soare there adequate words in the language,or must words be either transliterated orimported? What are the distinctive aspectsin the grammar of the language regardingtenses, pronouns, sentence length, andthe like? Is it thought that the revision ofthe Old Testament will be less extensive, asextensive, or more extensive than that of theNew Testament?At the same time, we need to know aboutthose who are proposing to work on thetranslation or revision. Who are they? Whatdo they believe? What is their history?Whom do they represent? Are the churchesto which they belong theologically sound?Are they in good standing within their owncongregations? Do they come with therecommendations of others? What do theyunderstand of the Society’s position, andwould they be prepared to work strictlywithin the framework of the Society’sprinciples? Do those who may undertakethe work commend themselves as humbleand prayerful Christians, whose lives clearlytestify to the saving power of the Gospel?Do they evidence a Christ-exalting spirit,and a true spiritual burden for the Lord’sglory and the spiritual good of their people?What is their understanding of the doctrinesof the faith? Do they adhere to any creedalor confessional statements? And, veryimportantly, has the Lord qualified thesepeople with the necessary gifts for sucha work? Are they proficient in the literaryform of their own language or the languageinto which they propose to render the HolyScriptures? Most particularly, how proficientare they in Hebrew and Greek, the originallanguages in which the Holy Scriptures weregiven: the languages from which it is mostdesirable (if at all possible) that all revisionsand translations of the Word of God shouldbe made?These are some of the questions that needto be asked. Although a certain amountof information can be acquired throughcorrespondence, telephone and Skypeconversations, nothing compares with thegreat advantage of personal acquaintance,especially when meetings can be arrangedin the actual countries where the peoplewho are expected to use the Bible live.Ideally, there needs to be a true spiritualbond established between the Society’spersonnel and those actually undertakingthe work. Therefore, the more research wecan carry out at this early stage before anywork is actually undertaken, the greater theunderstanding we can gain concerning theproblems likely to face us, and the easier andsmoother will be the actual work of revisionor translation when it is commenced.Humility, wisdom and discernment aresome of the graces needed by those whoare involved in undertaking this importantaspect of the Society’s work. Decisions,recommendations and conclusions resultingfrom the asking and the answering ofthese questions can have very considerableimplications for the Society for many,many years. After all, we are talking abouttranslations and revisions of the HOLYSCRIPTURES. What need there is for prayer!Brethren, pray for us!5