Papua New Guinea Bible translations continue despite violence

Papua New Guinea Bible translations continue despite violence
By Anne Thomas

Wycliffe Bible Translators is continuing to translate Bibles in Papua New Guinea in spite of ongoing tribal conflict.

In the last month, the dedication of three New Testaments was overshadowed by a fresh outbreak of tribal conflict in the valley where the main Bible translation center is Located. Violence that flared up around the translation center of Ukarumpa in recent weeks is only the latest disturbance in a long running dispute over access to water.

With three New Testament dedications in the past month and progress in many other translation projects, we shouldn’t be surprised that the devil wants to make things difficult.

Wycliffe said the dispute had renewed ancient tribal conflicts and brought violence inside and outside the center, home to an international team of linguists and support workers dedicated to Bible translation projects.

A criminal gang broke into one Missionaries home and a vehicle was hijacked, but so far center staff has escaped harm.

Despite being a relatively small island, Papua New Guinea is home to around 860 living languages. The three New Testaments were dedicated for the Iyo, Gapapaiwa and Minaveha language groups, while another eleven dedications have been scheduled for next year.

Wycliffe is working on the translations of 185 languages, with around 380 languages still awaiting translation.