Bible Translation

Work with mother-tongue translators to help translate God’s message of love into languages and lives.

The process of translation itself is a team effort involving both local people and expatriates. Team members can find themselves being challenged intellectually, physically, emotionally and spiritually as they seek to bring God’s Word to those who have never read, heard or understood it.

Everyone hoping to work in a translation role needs to have the following characteristics:

• Service-oriented with a training and mentoring focus
• Comfortable living and working in multi-cultural team settings
• Learner attitude
• Skilled at work/life balance in situations with limited support structures
• Spiritually resilient in situations with limited local spiritual resources

In some countries expatriate translation advisors and mother tongue speakers of one language work together on a translation project. In this situation expatriates are required to have:

• A good knowledge of the local language and culture
• A commitment to identifying gifted mother-tongue translators and training them to participate fully in the task
• A thorough understanding of the Scriptures, so that the original message can be communicated clearly in the local language
• Careful checking of the translation work to make sure it communicates accurately, clearly and naturally
• Time invested in helping members of the language community to read and apply the translated Scriptures for themselves
• Interaction with church leaders and government officials to encourage ongoing support for the project

In other situations expatriates work as facilitators and/or project managers helping local people with resources and training so that they can translate the Bible into their own language. Expatriates working in situations like these are required to have:

• Project management skills
• Ability to lead or participate in a team with tact and diplomacy
• Training in up to date translation methods
• Ability to communicate clearly

View current Bible Translation positions vacant.