Translation consultant Victor urges collaboration to accelerate Bible translation.
Bible translation is a complicated process, and the skills of trained consultants like Victor Gomez are critical to achieve accurate and clear translations.
Victor has worked in Bible translation for nearly 20 years. He and his wife, Cristina, live in Paraguay. They serve with Seed Company’s partner organization, LETRA (Latin Americans in Translation and Literacy). Last year Victor achieved a career milestone: he completed training to serve as a Bible translation consultant.
“We operate with the conviction that every human being has the right to have the Bible in their own language,” Victor says.
The consultant check is a vital step in the translation process. Consultants usually know biblical Hebrew and Greek and have broad translation experience. They ensure translated passages are scripturally accurate and communicate in a way that’s true to the original meaning.
The demand for Bible translation consultants is high. Sometimes it can be difficult for teams to find available consultants to complete their work. Victor, for example, works with four different teams.
“As Christians, we must collaborate in every capacity so that they can have [God’s Word]. It’s our responsibility in Christ to ‘go and make disciples of all the nations’ (Matthew 28:19 NLT),” Victor says.
“We have to accelerate the process so that this generation carries the message forward.”
Victor believes that accelerating Bible translation is an urgent need. However, maintaining accuracy and excellence is crucial. “We have to train people to ensure that the work continues,” he adds. Bible translation consultants should also be mentors, according to Victor. He wants to help translators grow as believers and translation checkers, and eventually become consultants themselves.
“God is preparing people in Paraguay, and the work will continue,” Victor says.
God’s big plan is preparing this generation to, in turn, train the next generation.
Victor is hard at work fulfilling his responsibility to complete the Great Commission, and we can do our part by sowing into the work, coming alongside the local community to translate and share God’s Word in life-transforming ways.
