Soli New Testament Bible unveiled
THE Soli Bible translation is a significant achievement in the history of Christianity in the Soli land, Chieftainess Nkhomeshya Mukamambo II of the Soli people has said.
Chieftainess Nkhomeshya said this when she received the Soli New Testament Bible from the Soli Bible Translation (SBT) committee during the launch at her palace in Chongwe.
“Our culture is in our language and so this achievement cannot be trivialised. We are grateful to God for giving us His word in our native language.
“God has heard our cry and given us a Bible in our mother tongue. Language is a barrier even in schools. Children have to learn through local languages which are not their own.
“The case has been the same in the church. We have had to struggle to learn the things of God in languages which are not our own,” she said.
The event was attended by Chief Chipepo of Chirundu, Chief Kaputa of Kaputa, the deputy mayor of Chongwe Evans M’hambi, The word for the World Bible Translators’ representatives, clergymen from several church organisations and scores of residents.
Soli Bible Translation chairperson Reverand Mukutu thanked the institutions and individuals who supported the undertaking.
“We are grateful to all those who supported this great work. The sponsors include: The Seed Company of the USA, Chongwe Municipal Council and many others. I would also like to pay tribute to three of our members who passed away in the course of the translation.
Guest of honour, Archdiocese of Lusaka Vicar general, Father Solomon Tembo thanked Senior Chieftainess Nkhomeshya and the Soli Bible Translation committee for the tireless work.
“This book will help to transform lives. Launching the Bible is one thing, but living the Bible is another. It is my desire that this Bible will influence the values of the entire chiefdom.
“We finally have our own Soli Bible which can be understood easily. This will help us to meditate with better understanding,” he said.
The major sponsor of the project, Randy Woods of The Seed Company promised to continue supporting the project.
“We will support you until you have the entire Bible in the Soli language. This gives us joy because life will be saved and changed through this Bible,” he stressed.
The country director of The Word for the World Bible Translators, Isaac Sinkolongo told the Daily Nation that 7 000 Bibles were in print.
“We are happy to hand over more than 2 000 copies at this launch. We have also distributed a few audio Bibles. We are hopeful that we will soon complete the Old Testament translation in the Soli language.” he said