The heart of Bible translation’s importance
“Before she read Scripture in Shanjo, she didn’t know that God spoke her language and loved her. She grew up thinking that God was only for white and rich people.”
This story about a woman in Zambia is sobering but common. Without the Bible in the language she knows best, the gospel fell flat, a cold and meaningless jumble of words about a deity she didn’t know. But when she read Scripture in Shanjo, it opened a doorway to personal connection, inviting her to meet the God who sent Jesus to bear her sin on the cross. The God who speaks the same language she does.
Now, she understands what it means that God loves her—enough to redeem her—and she loves Him too.
Shanjo is this woman’s heart language. Though she may have read the Bible in the more widely spoken English, that language will never reach her heart like Shanjo does. Heart language is often defined as the language a person most often dreams, thinks, or laments in. It’s the language our hearts default to in our most meaningful experiences. It’s the language that has most influentially shaped our perspective of the world.
A heart language is most likely to communicate deep truths to the speaker’s heart. And that’s why Bible translation is so important.
When Jesus took on flesh, He revealed God to men, women, and children in a form they could understand—a sort of translation for humankind. He continues to reveal Himself as the Word (John 1:1) to all who seek Him. If we could only read that Word in a language we didn’t deeply understand, what limits would that put on our understanding of God?
A heart language is most likely to communicate deep truths to the speaker’s heart. And that’s why Bible translation is so important.
When people encounter the Bible in the language of their heart, they encounter Jesus in the language of their heart. This is why, when the Zambian woman read the Bible in Shanjo, she understood what it means to be in God’s family. Translated Scripture created belonging, and it made all the difference for her.
You can help bring all Scripture to all people!
