A translation team faces the reality of persecution.
In some hard-to-reach places around the world, the shroud of other religions all but extinguishes gospel efforts.
Yet it’s amid this fog that true faith grows most resolute—a miracle one Bible translation team has witnessed firsthand.
“There is often a race for new Nabil* believers,” explains the manager for the Nabil language project. “The race is between being well discipled and the persecution that inevitably comes. Can we get enough Scripture into their hearts and minds before they experience persecution, that when persecution comes, they understand that God has not abandoned them?”
This was tested last year when a Nabil speaker disappeared. He had been helping to test the book of Matthew by providing feedback on the translation’s clarity.
Early in 2024, “S12” (as he is referred to for his safety) was supposed to meet with the team online, but he never showed up. The team was concerned for him—had he given in to fear of persecution and walked away from his faith?
“If You Kill Me”
Weeks later, the team got their answer. Far from deserting his faith, S12 had been jailed for believing in Jesus. What happened in those weeks grounded his confidence in Christ even more deeply.
While he was imprisoned, his captors asked about his beliefs, and S12 explained that he is a Christian. They then asked him if he would repent, and he told them, “You can’t repent faith in God.”
S12 continued, “If you kill me, you will send me to Jesus.”
Instead of punishing him, they shut down the investigation and released him.
Not Abandoned
In S12’s country, followers of the majority religion are disoriented by the prevailing religious rule and are seeking the truth in unprecedented numbers. For Nabil speakers, God’s Word is on its way—bringing answers to their questions through Bible translation. By His grace, they will understand the gospel and be compelled not by fear to pledge their loyalty but by joy to surrender their hearts.
And while S12 is now experiencing more isolation than ever since his imprisonment—abandoned by some who fear being targeted themselves—he is clinging to the God who is not limited by vain attempts to douse faith in Christ.
Perhaps most surprising was the jailers’ encouragement to S12’s faith. “The strangest thing I was told by some of the people imprisoning me was to ‘keep doing what you are doing,’” S12 remembers. “Even if I stand alone, I will feel no evil. The Shepherd is right there with me.”
As the Nabil team and S12 continue translation work, pray that their faith will be strengthened. They live each day with the threat of persecution knocking on their doors, yet they press forward. For them, the Word of God reaching their people in their language is worth it.
*Pseudonym
