We finished the final checks of 2 Peter and Jude in the Jita language. Praise the Lord! We're so thankful that we were able to finish them before Christmas break.
These little books are incredibly difficult to translate. The authors use complex metaphors to describe false teachers in order to warn the believers against them. They compare the false teachers to irrational animals, blots and blemishes, waterless springs, mists driven by a storm, hidden reefs, waterless clouds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted, wild waves of the sea, and wandering stars. It was quite a challenge to find the best way to communicate the power of these metaphors in the Jita language.
But at the same time, it was a joy to translate beautiful truths about "the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 1:11) and "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials" (2 Pet 2:9) and "according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:13).
Of course, there's also the magnificent doxology at the end of Jude.
Jude 1:25
Omwene niwe Nyamuwanga era, niwe Omuchungusi weeswe okuturira ku‑Yeesu Kirisito Raatabhugenyi weeswe. Nyamuwanga akusibhwe muno, kwa okubha omwene ari na rikusyo, obhukuru, amanaga na obhuturo, okwambira kara, woori, nooro akajaanende koone. Aamina.
To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Pray with us that the Jita people will be transformed by God's Word. And pray for us as we continue the hard work of translation.
