Working for the Word

A Bible Translation Podcast
About the podcast

Exploring the World of Bible Translation

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It’s been said that people don’t want to know:
1) how sausages are made,
2) how bibles are translated.
But in this podcast we bravely talk about the surprising world of Bible translation. We also go deep into biblical studies, and seek to treasure and understand the Word together. It’s for people who want to get nerdy about Scripture and for those who want to understand how their translations came to be. We tackle everything from history to Hebrew, as we endeavor to learn more and make beautiful translations of God’s Word. We believe the Bible is a unified, God-breathed, God-centered, hope-giving book, sweeter than honey, and pointing to Jesus.

The Spoken English Bible - with Josh Frost
The Spoken English Bible - with Josh Fr...
The Spoken English Bible is a new translation of the Bible that is intended to be heard and told, not read. It is ...
01:15:56
December 17, 2024
Life Update
Life Update
Links: Global Bible Tools Intro How to Self-Publish a Free Book That Is Truly Freely Given Video version of the ps...
00:14:33
November 16, 2024
The Spanish Bible & the Reina Valera 1960 Revision
The Spanish Bible & the Reina Valera 19...
It’s an incredible time to be alive, especially getting to watch the advances of AI in various fields. While I r...
00:31:27
October 04, 2024
Translating 2 Corinthians 2:17
Translating 2 Corinthians 2:17
I co-wrote this article with Conley Owens for sellingJesus.org. It was originally published on the Selling Jesus p...
00:22:58
September 12, 2024
Foreignization in Bible Translation
Foreignization in Bible Translation
An important decision a translator makes is whether or not to domesticate/contextualize/localize the foreign eleme...
00:40:12
August 19, 2024
The Joy of Memorizing Job in Hebrew - with Ellie Wiener
The Joy of Memorizing Job in Hebrew - w...
The other day I ran across a fascinating article written by a Cambridge PhD student who memorized the entire book ...
00:59:24
July 08, 2024
Bible Translations Are for People - with Drew Maust
Bible Translations Are for People - wit...
"Accuracy is often thought to be the main criterion for good translation, but acceptability is just as import...
00:23:04
June 28, 2024
The First Eclectic Edition of the Hebrew Psalms - with Drew Longacre
The First Eclectic Edition of the Hebre...
In this episode we have the pleasure of talking to biblical scholar Dr. Drew Longacre. He holds a Ph.D. from the U...
00:50:32
June 20, 2024
Translation News - Video Bible Dictionary, FOBAI Update, & More
Translation News - Video Bible Dictiona...
View the newsletter tips.translation.bible Video Bible Dictionary ⁠⁠⁠⁠workingfortheword.com⁠⁠⁠⁠�...
00:07:41
June 15, 2024
Bitcoin & Bible Translation?
Bitcoin & Bible Translation?
Bitcoin represents a transformative tool for missionaries, offering a secure, transparent, and ethical alternative...
00:24:12
June 07, 2024
P.S. on the Divine Name - some last thoughts and loose ends
P.S. on the Divine Name - some last tho...
Am I dogmatic about using "Yahweh" as opposed to other pronunciations? What about Yehovah? How do we end...
00:10:13
June 04, 2024
How Was the Divine Name Translated in the Reformation? - Part 4
How Was the Divine Name Translated in t...
The previous episodes in this series considered God’s desire for us to use his name, how the pronunciation wa...
00:08:57
June 01, 2024
Why Didn’t the New Testament Authors Use God’s Name? - Part 3
Why Didn’t the New Testament Authors ...
We know that the inhibition for pronouncing God’s name came before Christianity, although we don’t know how...
00:10:45
May 25, 2024
How Was the Pronunciation of God’s Name Lost? Part 2
How Was the Pronunciation of God’s Na...
This is part 2 of a short series on the divine name. It’s important to recognize right up front that we simply ...
00:11:17
May 16, 2024
Does God Want Us to Use His Divine Name? Part 1
Does God Want Us to Use His Divine Name...
A few years ago I did a series on the pronunciation and translation of the divine name here on this podcast. It wa...
00:11:45
May 10, 2024
Gender in Bible Translation: A Crucial Issue Still Mired in Misunderstanding⁠ - with Dave Brunn
Gender in Bible Translation: A Crucial ...
Back in 2021 I had Dave Brunn on this podcast to talk about his amazing book One Bible, Many Versions. If you have...
00:59:14
May 03, 2024
Behind the Scenes of the Hebrew Semantic Dictionary - with Reinier de Blois - part 2
Behind the Scenes of the Hebrew Semanti...
This is the second in a two part series that aims to introduce you to the work of Dr. Reinier de Blois and honor s...
00:45:38
April 27, 2024
Towards a New Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew Based on Semantic Domains - with Reinier de Blois - part 1
Towards a New Dictionary of Biblical He...
This is the first in a two part series that aims to introduce you to the work of Dr. Reinier de Blois and honor so...
00:40:45
April 20, 2024
A Paradigm Shift for Consulting, & CIT Practice
A Paradigm Shift for Consulting, & CIT ...
This is an episode about consulting, specifically addressing some challenges involved with the current consulting ...
00:28:19
April 14, 2024
Introducing Global Bible Tools
Introducing Global Bible Tools
I want to introduce you to an initiative called Global Bible Tools, which aims to provide the global Church with a...
00:16:01
April 03, 2024
The Bondage of the Word - Copyright & the Bible - with Dr. Maurice Robinson
The Bondage of the Word - Copyright & t...
In my vast array of interactions with intelligent people working in Bible translation, I have learned something: m...
01:08:55
February 21, 2024
Getting to Know The Word for the World - with Joel Brown
Getting to Know The Word for the World ...
"For the people by the people." That is the slogan of The Word for the World, which is a Bible translati...
00:25:40
December 14, 2023
Getting to Know Pioneer Bible Translators - with Tim MacSaveny
Getting to Know Pioneer Bible Translato...
As I said in the last episode, I’ve been working on the Selling Jesus project, which is now well underway with a...
00:33:50
December 02, 2023
Announcement - why I'll be stepping away from this podcast for a season
Announcement - why I'll be stepping awa...
This episode will just be a brief announcement that I’ll be taking some time away from this podcast in order to ...
00:15:47
April 29, 2023
Translation News & Lawsuits over the Gospels of Matthew and Luke
Translation News & Lawsuits over the Go...
MA in Bible Translation from Nida Institute: https://www.nidaschool.org/ma-bible-translation Seed Company Residenc...
00:09:26
April 13, 2023
Interlinears and Learning the Biblical Languages - a conversation with my wife
Interlinears and Learning the Biblical ...
This episode is going to be a little different and more informal. My wife, Bethany, and I had a really great conve...
00:22:42
April 08, 2023
The Center for NT Restoration with Dr. Alan Bunning - part 2
The Center for NT Restoration with Dr. ...
In this episode we continue our conversation with Dr. Alan Bunning, Executive Director for the Center for New Tes...
00:15:20
April 01, 2023
The Center for NT Restoration with Dr. Alan Bunning - part 1
The Center for NT Restoration with Dr. ...
When people think about starting a translation of the NT, they usually need to decide which Greek text they’re g...
00:43:01
March 25, 2023
How Broken Is the Bible Translation Industry? Responding to an Article
How Broken Is the Bible Translation Ind...
Back in 2021 an article entitled Just How Broken Is the Bible Translation Industry? came out on MinistryWatch. Peo...
00:23:22
March 17, 2023
Introducing Wycliffe Associates - with Tabitha Price
Introducing Wycliffe Associates - with ...
Raised in the jungles of Venezuela by missionary parents in a vibrant Christian home, Tabitha Price is well-acquai...
00:54:54
March 10, 2023
What the AI Bot ChatGPT Knows about Bible Translation
What the AI Bot ChatGPT Knows about Bib...
ChatGPT is considered by some to be the biggest technological revolution since the iPhone. In this episode we take...
00:37:25
March 03, 2023
Audio Project Manager for OBT - with Nathan Payne
Audio Project Manager for OBT - with Na...
Now that we’ve learned more about internalization from Katie Frost, it’s time to talk about a new tool that re...
00:30:10
February 25, 2023
Internalization & Oral Bible Translation with Katie Frost
Internalization & Oral Bible Translatio...
As Oral Bible Translation continues to grow in popularity and influence, it’s helpful to keep learning more abou...
00:41:11
February 18, 2023
News, New Resources, and Key Terms of the OT
News, New Resources, and Key Terms of t...
Links: The Archive: https://brandfolder.com/portals/thearchive https://tools.bible/ https://bibletranslationcompet...
00:22:34
February 11, 2023
The Forgotten Preface - respecting and learning from the KJV translators - with Josh Barzon
The Forgotten Preface - respecting and ...
No English translation of the Bible has had more influence on the world than the King James Version. But have you ...
00:52:55
February 03, 2023
Who Is the Actual Author of Scripture? - Copy.Church with Jon part 2
Who Is the Actual Author of Scripture? ...
We continue and conclude the interview with Jon, the creator of copy.church.  Before we get into the rest of ...
00:44:39
January 26, 2023
How Much Do You Really Know about Bible Translation Licenses? - Copy.Church with Jon part 1
How Much Do You Really Know about Bible...
We’ve talked about copyright on this podcast already, but we still haven’t taken a meticulous look at the way ...
00:49:56
January 13, 2023
What Do You Need to Become a Bible Translation Consultant?
What Do You Need to Become a Bible Tran...
Many people ask me what they might need to become a BT consultant. In this podcast we'll walk through all the deta...
00:36:08
December 27, 2022
How to Evaluate Language Vitality with Scott Smith
How to Evaluate Language Vitality with ...
What does a sociolinguistics consultant do, and how can Bible translators continue to think carefully about langua...
01:06:55
December 22, 2022
Neil & Jane Nellis - the Zapotec NT is completed - part 2
Neil & Jane Nellis - the Zapotec NT is ...
My grandparents ended up having four children, all of whom eventually worked in Bible translation. Their family lo...
00:45:35
December 07, 2022
Neil & Jane Nellis - Pioneer Translators in Mexico - part 1
Neil & Jane Nellis - Pioneer Translator...
My grandma and grandpa Neil and Jane Nellis are no longer with us, but they did leave behind a 60,000 word book th...
00:50:50
November 21, 2022
Fish in Your Ear, The Bible in India, Translation News, & More
Fish in Your Ear, The Bible in India, T...
Before we continue with the series on my family in Bible translation, I wanted to bring a few things to your atten...
00:26:26
November 07, 2022
Translation Challenges & Perseverance - with Daniel Case - part 2
Translation Challenges & Perseverance -...
Last episode we began listening to the story of my dad’s life and involvement in Bible translation. In this seco...
00:42:35
October 31, 2022
Cuba, Vietnam, Medical Missions, and Bible Translation - with Daniel Case - part 1
Cuba, Vietnam, Medical Missions, and Bi...
In this series on people in my family who have contributed to Bible translation, the next person is my dad, Daniel...
01:16:57
October 22, 2022
Bible Translation, WWII, and Fidel Castro - an interview with Edward Case
Bible Translation, WWII, and Fidel Cast...
There are actually a lot of people in my family who are currently involved in Bible translation or were at some po...
00:35:13
October 09, 2022
Oral Bible Translation Training - with Allen Pierce
Oral Bible Translation Training - with ...
The advance of globalization among the minority languages of the world is rapidly changing the landscape of Bible ...
01:06:50
September 25, 2022
How to Translate Hebrew Poetry Step by Step - a basic guide
How to Translate Hebrew Poetry Step by ...
A lot has been going on lately with Bible translation in my neck of the woods. In this episode I want to talk abou...
00:25:47
September 03, 2022
Translation Service Providers - thinking outside the box with Jane Schoen
Translation Service Providers - thinkin...
As part of my growth as a Bible translation worker, I want to listen to a wide variety of people and different str...
00:25:17
August 16, 2022
Are We Being Strategic in Ending Bible Poverty? - towards a dorean reformation
Are We Being Strategic in Ending Bible ...
Does the Bible translation movement need a Dorean reformation? Do our organizations reflect a sense of urgency to ...
00:41:32
July 27, 2022
The Dorean Principle & Bible Translation - with Conley Owens
The Dorean Principle & Bible Translatio...
Last episode we introduced the idea of "the dorean principle," which is explained in Conley Owens’ free book. We...
00:54:59
July 13, 2022
One of the Most Important Books of the Last Hundred Years - with Conley Owens
One of the Most Important Books of the ...
As we’ve discussed multiple times in this podcast, the world of Bible translation is severely hindered by the st...
00:45:54
July 01, 2022
The Ethnologue & Why It's Important for BT - with Dr. Dave Eberhard
The Ethnologue & Why It's Important for...
How do you keep track of the status of over 7,000 languages in the world? Our guest today, Dr. Dave Eberhard, is g...
00:41:44
June 22, 2022
Update, Deep Work, and Attention to Detail
Update, Deep Work, and Attention to Det...
Some of you may be wondering what happened to me, so here’s a brief update with a few potentially interesting ti...
00:14:03
June 11, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 11 - how should BT orgs handle controversy?
The Bible in Arabic - part 11 - how sho...
As we wrap up this series on the Bible in Arabic, I want delve a little deeper into the issue of how BT orgs are h...
00:34:25
May 22, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 10 - underlying assumptions for BT with Dr. Aaron Shryock
The Bible in Arabic - part 10 - underly...
What are the underlying assumptions that might influence our choice of how to translate the Bible into Arabic, and...
00:53:32
May 07, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 9 - an interview with Georges Houssney
The Bible in Arabic - part 9 - an inter...
We’ve heard from some significant voices on translation issues in Arabic and other Muslim contexts, but so far w...
00:37:12
April 24, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 8 - The WEA's review of Wycliffe/SIL's best practices regarding divine familial terms
The Bible in Arabic - part 8 - The WEA'...
In the spring of 2012, the World Evangelical Alliance leadership agreed to facilitate an independent external revi...
00:44:45
April 19, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 7 - D.A. Carson on "Jesus the Son of God"
The Bible in Arabic - part 7 - D.A. Car...
Last episode we saw how the controversy unfolded over translating "Son of God" and "Father" in reference to God in...
00:50:43
April 10, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 6 - an overview of the "divine familial terms" controversy
The Bible in Arabic - part 6 - an overv...
In the last episode we saw that contemporary Bible translators in Muslim contexts face some unique challenges. We ...
00:32:37
April 03, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 5 - challenges & Insider Movements
The Bible in Arabic - part 5 - challeng...
As we continue to learn about the story of the Bible in Arabic, we need to look at what the particular contemporar...
00:50:07
March 27, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 4 - Smith & Van Dyck's legacy and later translations
The Bible in Arabic - part 4 - Smith & ...
As we saw in the last episode, God raised up some amazing men to produce the most influential Bible translation in...
00:25:12
March 20, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 3 - Smith & Van Dyck's translation
The Bible in Arabic - part 3 - Smith & ...
In the last episode we got a brief view of what some of the Arab world was like in the 1800s, and what protestant ...
00:26:02
March 01, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 2 - the world that gave birth to the most influential Arabic Bible
The Bible in Arabic - part 2 - the worl...
Christian history is full of unsung heroes, and the world of Bible translation is no exception. Even though books ...
00:30:52
February 21, 2022
The Bible in Arabic - part 1
The Bible in Arabic - part 1
As we grow in our understanding of Bible translation, we want to focus on the Middle East and see what we can lear...
00:36:51
February 06, 2022
Introducing FOBAI & Their Standards - The Forum of Bible Agencies International
Introducing FOBAI & Their Standards - T...
Founded back in 1990, the Forum of Bible Agencies International was born out of a need for understanding and partn...
00:34:00
January 29, 2022
The Psalms: Layer by Layer - with Katie Frost and Dr. Elizabeth Robar
The Psalms: Layer by Layer - with Katie...
It’s no secret that the book of Psalms is one of the darlings of the Church, and has been throughout the centuri...
00:47:08
January 22, 2022
Augustine the Septuagint-onlyist vs Jerome
Augustine the Septuagint-onlyist vs Jer...
Have you ever read the letters that went back and forth between St. Augustine and Jerome about Bible translation? ...
00:35:38
January 07, 2022
God's Idea of Success in Bible Translation
God's Idea of Success in Bible Translat...
Recently Justin Taylor shared some quotes from three different men that reflect on a biblical view of success in m...
00:09:36
December 30, 2021
A Review of "The Art of Bible Translation" - with Mark Ward
A Review of "The Art of Bible Translati...
I want to share with you a wonderfully articulate and insightful book review done by my friend Mark Ward. Mark has...
00:17:13
December 24, 2021
Warriors & Aramaisms - checking 2 Samuel part 4
Warriors & Aramaisms - checking 2 Samue...
We take a deep dive on the state of the text of Samuel and 2 Samuel 22:26 in particular, and hopefully gain a broa...
00:36:23
December 17, 2021
Translating Satan in Job - in defense of the traditional view with Ken Berding
Translating Satan in Job - in defense o...
A while back I featured Jordon Monson on my podcast who presented a particular view of Satan or "the satan" in the...
00:14:42
December 13, 2021
You Wanna Build Me a House? - checking 2 Samuel part 3
You Wanna Build Me a House? - checking ...
There are still a lot of notes that we haven’t discussed from my time spent checking 2 Samuel, so we’re going ...
00:20:36
December 04, 2021
God's Steadfast Love, or David's? - with Peter Gentry
God's Steadfast Love, or David's? - wit...
In the last episode I left you hanging on the question as to why it’s possible to translate Isaiah 55:3 referrin...
00:50:13
November 19, 2021
Crazy Simple & Complicated Words of David - checking 2 Samuel part 1
Crazy Simple & Complicated Words of Dav...
It’s been a while since we got into some nitty-gritty, concrete examples of my daily workflow in translation con...
00:33:14
November 13, 2021
The Precision of Greek - part 2 with Nat Erickson
The Precision of Greek - part 2 with Na...
Make sure you listen to the first part of this conversation in the previous episode. You can check out Nat's blog ...
00:23:48
October 28, 2021
Is Greek a Magically Precise Language? - with Nat Erickson
Is Greek a Magically Precise Language? ...
Have you ever heard anyone say that God chose to write the NT in Greek because it’s such an incredibly precise l...
00:43:23
October 22, 2021
Behind-the-Scenes of the NIV Translation Committee with Dr. Jeannine Brown
Behind-the-Scenes of the NIV Translatio...
My guest in this episode, Dr. Jeannine Brown, has taught at Bethel Seminary for over 20 years in the areas of New ...
00:37:44
October 08, 2021
Relevant Study Bibles with Dr. Harriet Hill
Relevant Study Bibles with Dr. Harriet ...
If you’re like me, you have a mixed relationship with study bibles. Once in a while they can give you a jolt of ...
00:41:39
September 25, 2021
The Bible in Sign Language - a window into a project in Spain, part 2
The Bible in Sign Language - a window i...
As we saw last time, translation into sign language is a significant need, and it’s often misunderstood or overl...
00:14:54
September 18, 2021
The Bible in Sign Language - the reality, the need, the challenges, part 1
The Bible in Sign Language - the realit...
For a long time I’ve been wanting to do a podcast on something that’s not on a lot of people’s minds when th...
00:38:21
September 11, 2021
Let Go, Let the Church, and Let the Bible - a plea for Paul's generosity and Luther's spirit
Let Go, Let the Church, and Let the Bib...
While many are taking advantage of the Internet age by spreading lies far and wide for free, many Christians are b...
00:27:10
September 05, 2021
BT & the Mission of the Church with Kyle
BT & the Mission of the Church with Kyl...
In spite of the vast expanse of Bible poverty across the globe, there are many churches who are either unaware of ...
00:32:06
August 27, 2021
A Fiery Law in His Hand? - Deuteronomy 33:2 & Jonah 3:3 challenges
A Fiery Law in His Hand? - Deuteronomy ...
Let’s begin this episode with a thought experiment. Imagine you’re a local indigenous translator working on th...
00:26:24
August 14, 2021
The Mysterious Hole in Exodus 6:3 - and a simple, elegant solution
The Mysterious Hole in Exodus 6:3 - and...
Why does every single English version ignore the best solution to translating Exodus 6:3? We're going to take out ...
00:34:05
July 31, 2021
Caring for Empty Smoke - translating idiomatic idolatry in Jonah 2:8
Caring for Empty Smoke - translating id...
What does Catholicism in Latin America have to do with Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the great fish? And what k...
00:21:16
July 16, 2021
"Sons of God" or "Sons of Israel"? - the Deuteronomy 32:8 puzzle
"Sons of God" or "Sons of Israel"? - th...
A while back, while I was checking Deuteronomy in the Mixteco language of Mexico, we came to chapter 32 which is a...
00:24:36
July 10, 2021
The Use & Misuse of the King James Bible with Dr. Mark Ward - part 2
The Use & Misuse of the King James Bibl...
“This lightly written and frequently amusing book gently hides the competent scholarship that underlies it. For ...
00:46:28
July 03, 2021
The Use & Misuse of the King James Bible with Dr. Mark Ward - part 1
The Use & Misuse of the King James Bibl...
The King James Bible remains the most recognizable piece of literature in the English-speaking world. It stands as...
00:45:10
June 26, 2021
Was Jesus a Word-for-Word Translator? & More Interesting Questions with Dave Brunn - part 2
Was Jesus a Word-for-Word Translator? &...
As we continue our interview with Dave Brunn, translation consultant and author of One Bible, Many Versions, we’...
00:38:37
June 19, 2021
Really Word-for-Word? Ideal vs. Real - "One Bible, Many Versions" with Dave Brunn - part 1
Really Word-for-Word? Ideal vs. Real - ...
You’re in for a treat in this episode. Author and translator Dave Brunn joins us to talk about many translation ...
00:38:56
June 12, 2021
The Bible in China - part 6 - the Union Version
The Bible in China - part 6 - the Union...
As we continue our whirlwind journey through the history of the Bible in China, we’re going to see how missionar...
00:44:51
June 05, 2021
The Bible in China - part 5 - the amazing Schereschewsky
The Bible in China - part 5 - the amazi...
In the history of Chinese Bible translation the name of one extraordinary man stands out: Joseph Schereschewsky. I...
00:26:08
May 29, 2021
The Bible in China - part 4
The Bible in China - part 4
As early missionaries sought to create a Chinese translation that would suit everyone from every denomination, the...
00:26:18
May 22, 2021
The Bible in China - part 3 with Dr. Simon Wong
The Bible in China - part 3 with Dr. Si...
As we continue our series on China, we’re going to look at an issue that created massive conflict when translato...
00:28:44
May 15, 2021
The Bible in China - part 2 with Jost Zetzsche
The Bible in China - part 2 with Jost Z...
There is so much we can learn from history and the ways other people have dealt with translations. In this episode...
00:37:27
May 01, 2021
The Bible in China - part 1 with Jost Zetzsche
The Bible in China - part 1 with Jost Z...
With a population of over a billion people, China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. It’s massive, it...
00:32:27
April 24, 2021
Poop & Other Discouragements from the Sausage Factory of BT
Poop & Other Discouragements from the S...
We’ve said before on this podcast that translating bibles can be like making sausages; a peek behind the curtain...
00:32:34
April 17, 2021
Why The Tyndale House Greek New Testament? - part 2 with Dr. Dirk Jongkind
Why The Tyndale House Greek New Testame...
As we continue our discussion of the Tyndale House Greek NT with Dr. Dirk Jongkind, we’re going to tackle some m...
00:46:58
April 10, 2021
Why The Tyndale House Greek New Testament? - part 1 with Dr. Dirk Jongkind
Why The Tyndale House Greek New Testame...
As we touched on last time, in Bible translation it’s important to be able to decide what text you’re going to...
00:38:07
April 03, 2021
Some Surprising & Bizarre Challenges in 1 Samuel
Some Surprising & Bizarre Challenges in...
In this episode we’re going to look at some concrete examples of where the knowledge and discipline of textual c...
00:29:35
March 27, 2021
The Passion Translation - When Translations Go Wrong
The Passion Translation - When Translat...
The Passion Translation (TPT) has sold millions of copies and is recommended by some big names in the evangelical ...
00:57:13
March 20, 2021
The Biggest Brouhaha in Bible Translation - part 3 with Dr. Christophe Rico
The Biggest Brouhaha in Bible Translati...
If you go to the entry page on Wikipedia for the word 'almah you’ll find this: “despite its importance to the ...
00:48:59
March 13, 2021
The Biggest Brouhaha in Bible Translation - part 2 with Dr. Christophe Rico
The Biggest Brouhaha in Bible Translati...
We’re continuing a series on the translation of Isaiah 7:14, which says: Behold, the virgin shall become pregnan...
00:39:12
March 06, 2021
The Biggest Brouhaha in Bible Translation: Virgin or Young Woman? - The Mother of the Infant King in Isaiah 7:14 with Dr. Christophe Rico
The Biggest Brouhaha in Bible Translati...
Isaiah 7:14 in the KJV reads: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive...
00:37:11
February 27, 2021
Did Job Repent or Was He Comforted? - diving deep into Job 42:6
Did Job Repent or Was He Comforted? - d...
Since last time we talked about the book of Job, I wanted to touch on another translation issue in the book that m...
00:26:39
February 20, 2021
When a Word is Worth a Thousand Complaints - with Jordan Monson
When a Word is Worth a Thousand Complai...
When talking about Bible translation what often gets avoided or buried is all the stuff that goes on behind the sc...
00:28:19
February 13, 2021
Where to Start When Checking a New Translation Project
Where to Start When Checking a New Tran...
When someone asks you to help check a translation, where do you start? What kinds of questions should you ask? Thi...
00:35:54
February 06, 2021
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy" - part 4
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy...
Since the time of the Reformation the word holiness among orthodox protestants has been understood mainly as purit...
00:29:40
January 30, 2021
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy" - part 3
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy...
Why is God called holy three times in Isaiah 6? Why does the Holy Spirit have “holy” in his name instead of �...
00:53:31
January 23, 2021
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy" - part 2
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy...
Last time we began an in-depth look at what it means for someone to be holy, and we saw how there has been a lot o...
00:28:36
January 16, 2021
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy" - Challenging the status quo part 1
Towards a Better Understanding of "Holy...
The word holy is firmly embedded in our western consciousness with certain connotations. We think we know what it ...
00:32:45
January 09, 2021
Translation Insights and Perspectives - exploring the riches of the world's languages
Translation Insights and Perspectives -...
God’s communication with humanity was intended from the beginning for “every nation, tribe, and language.” W...
00:23:21
January 02, 2021
Better Ways to Talk About New Translations - The Legacy Standard Bible roundtable
Better Ways to Talk About New Translati...
The Legacy Standard Bible is a new revision of the NASB that's in the works right now led by people from the Maste...
00:52:27
December 29, 2020
An Interview with Aaron Shryock - William Whitaker's defense of Bible translation
An Interview with Aaron Shryock - Willi...
Dr. Aaron Shryock currently serves at UnfoldingWord and has also served as the Director of the Tyndale Center for ...
00:51:05
December 22, 2020
An Interview with Andrew Blaski - busting another textual criticism myth
An Interview with Andrew Blaski - busti...
What if we lost all of our copies and manuscripts of the New Testament? Would we still be able to reconstruct all ...
00:56:41
December 12, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 11 - key texts where a title substitute would be awkward
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
Isaiah 26:13 says, "O Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to ...
00:28:46
December 05, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 10 - the offense to Jews and the Catholic perspective
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
As we near the end of this series on the divine name, we need to address some more important questions and objecti...
00:33:19
November 21, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 9 - Nehemiah Gordon and further objections
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
As we continue our series, in this episode we’ll address more objections, including the teaching of Nehemiah Gor...
00:45:08
November 14, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 8 - The Arlington Statement & kurios in the NT with Seth Vitrano-Wilson
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
What is the Arlington Statement on Bible Translation, why is it important, and what does it have to do with the di...
01:03:29
November 08, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 7 - Making Sense of YHWH with Dr. Austin Surls
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
What does the name of God mean? Can we analyze it as some kind of verb and figure out something about God’s natu...
01:04:49
October 30, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 6 - The Sacred Name Movement mess
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
What is a sacred name Bible, and is it something you should use? In this sixth installment on the divine name, we�...
00:29:23
October 24, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 5 - Reformation to the present
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
What did Martin Luther, the KJV, ASV, NJB, and others do with the Divine Name in their translations? What did the ...
00:51:14
October 17, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 4 - Early Church & late antiquity
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
Was the NT unique in its use of kurios, and what did people do with the divine name after the NT? As we will see, ...
00:42:04
October 10, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 3- Why the NT authors did what they did
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
In this episode we tackle the puzzling and controversial issue of why the NT authors consistently used "Lord" in p...
00:44:26
October 03, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 2 - Jewish tradition & the LXX
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
In this episode we take an exhaustive look at what Jews have written outside of the Bible about the pronunciation ...
00:34:31
September 26, 2020
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine Name part 1 - the biblical evidence
Pronouncing and Translating the Divine ...
After more than 9 months of research, this baby is ready to see the light of day.  In this series we seek to ...
00:36:18
September 21, 2020
Did Moses Have Horns & What Is a "Fat Mountain"? - Delving into the Crazy History of BT
Did Moses Have Horns & What Is a "Fat M...
I think the title says it all!  This episode draws largely from The Murderous History of Bible Translations b...
00:26:53
September 12, 2020
An Interview with Peter Gurry - Myths & Mistakes in NT Textual Criticism
An Interview with Peter Gurry - Myths &...
I had the privilege and pleasure of talking to Dr. Peter Gurry about his book Myths and Mistakes in New Testament ...
00:58:44
September 04, 2020
A Paradigm Shift in Acquiring the Biblical Languages part 2
A Paradigm Shift in Acquiring the Bibli...
"I failed miserably my first go around using a traditional Hebrew grammar." Have you heard or experienced somethin...
00:40:55
August 29, 2020
An Interview with Carmen Joy Imes - Diving deep into Exodus 20:7
An Interview with Carmen Joy Imes - Div...
It was an honor and delight to interview Dr. Carmen Joy Imes about her dissertation on the Name Command in Exodus ...
01:17:44
August 22, 2020
A Paradigm Shift in Acquiring the Biblical Languages part 1 - for Bible Translation & Beyond
A Paradigm Shift in Acquiring the Bibli...
Ready to have your language learning assumptions shattered? At Aleph with Beth we’re working hard to use the new...
00:59:48
August 19, 2020
An Interview with Elizabeth Robar - Finding innovative ways to help translators with the Psalms
An Interview with Elizabeth Robar - Fin...
It's a joy to welcome Dr. Elizabeth Robar to the podcast and hear about all the exciting stuff she's up to. You ca...
00:43:33
August 14, 2020
Considering Diligently Yahweh's Steadfast Love - Psalm 107 & Lamentations 3:32
Considering Diligently Yahweh's Steadfa...
In this episode we dive into Psalm 107 and talk about its connection to Lamentations 3:32, and how it helps transl...
00:18:27
August 08, 2020
Gamers and Bible Translators Collide - The awesome potential of Assassin's Creed
Gamers and Bible Translators Collide - ...
How can video games help us understand and translate the Bible better? That's what we're going to talk about in th...
00:25:08
August 01, 2020
Let It Go part 4 - a way forward & plea to publishers
Let It Go part 4 - a way forward & plea...
In this episode we conclude our discussion of the "all rights reserved" copyright mentality and talk about what th...
00:35:02
July 26, 2020
Let It Go part 3 - exponentiality & misunderstanding copyright
Let It Go part 3 - exponentiality & mis...
In this episode we continue our discussion of the "all rights reserved" copyright mentality and tackle the final h...
00:35:25
July 18, 2020
Let It Go part 2 - monetization & incomplete missiology
Let It Go part 2 - monetization & incom...
In this episode we continue our discussion of the copyright mentality and tackle two more common hindrances/object...
00:26:16
July 13, 2020
Let It Go - Radical generosity in a copyright world
Let It Go - Radical generosity in a cop...
Hardly anyone is talking about this, so I was compelled to dedicate several episodes to the subject. The global Ch...
00:35:22
July 10, 2020
An Interview with Julia Woods - Oral Bible translation & Siberian throat-singing
An Interview with Julia Woods - Oral Bi...
Julia Woods kindly joins us in this episode to talk about the exciting things going on in remote places you may ne...
00:43:16
July 03, 2020
The Calves of Our Lips? - The KJV, the LXX, and the murderous history of Bible translations
The Calves of Our Lips? - The KJV, the ...
Get a free copy of my novel as an audio book here.  In this episode we talk about a verse you may never have ...
00:31:19
June 24, 2020
An Interview with Brian Kelly - Don't throw the book at 70% of the world
An Interview with Brian Kelly - Don't t...
In this episode we have the pleasure of meeting Brian Kelly, to have a conversation about oral Bible translation a...
00:25:14
June 18, 2020
How Does a Translation Become Trusted and Trustworthy?
How Does a Translation Become Trusted a...
In today's episode we explore a paper by Tim Jore from unfoldingWord in which we are challenged to reevaluate the ...
00:27:23
June 13, 2020
An Interview with Daniel Whitenack - how can a data scientist help Bible translation?
An Interview with Daniel Whitenack - ho...
Daniel Whitenack joins us to talk about how he uses his wide range of technological skills for the Kingdom of God....
00:30:23
June 10, 2020
Gnats or Mosquitoes or What? - Introducing the book of Exodus
Gnats or Mosquitoes or What? - Introduc...
What are some of the challenging passages and terms to translate in the book of Exodus? In today's episode we talk...
00:25:29
June 06, 2020
An Interview with Stephen Dempster - how scholars can help Bible translation
An Interview with Stephen Dempster - ho...
Dr. Stephen Dempster joins us to talk about how he has spent sabbatical time volunteering in Cameroon to help trai...
00:34:51
May 28, 2020
Do Sea Monsters "give the breast"? - Dragons, the KJV, and Lamentations 4:3
Do Sea Monsters "give the breast"? - Dr...
What do jackals and sea monsters have in common? We survey some of the fascinating translation history of the Hebr...
00:19:20
May 25, 2020
An Interview with Steve Moitozo - innovation, linguistics, and Bible translation
An Interview with Steve Moitozo - innov...
In this episode we talk to the Chief Innovation Development Officer of SIL about some of the dimensions of his job...
00:43:44
May 23, 2020
Translating "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil"
Translating "The Tree of the Knowledge ...
It's already difficult enough to understand what "the knowledge of good and evil" actually means, but what do you ...
00:21:11
May 17, 2020
An Interview with Chris Lim - leveraging technology for Bible translation and the Kingdom
An Interview with Chris Lim - leveragin...
Chris Lim joins us for a conversation about how faith and technology can be integrated to further the Kingdom of G...
00:26:57
May 11, 2020
An Interview with Nathan Michael - checking Proverbs in Mexico as an apprentice
An Interview with Nathan Michael - chec...
What is it like to go on a checking trip as a consultant in training? Nathan Michael shares some of his experience...
00:27:29
May 11, 2020
Translating "Image of God," "Living Being," and Other Challenges
Translating "Image of God," "Living Bei...
We're back after a brief hiatus, to talk about the challenges of translating "image of God" and other things in th...
00:21:04
May 09, 2020
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptation part 5
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptat...
Today we finish the series on Oral Scripture Adaptation with a fascinating look at all the parallels between Fang ...
00:40:00
April 21, 2020
An Interview with Lucas Ardelean - learning a new language
An Interview with Lucas Ardelean - lear...
Lucas Ardelean, a language enthusiast and ESL teacher, shares his story about how he almost gave up on learning hi...
00:42:29
April 18, 2020
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptation part 4
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptat...
Here are some of the things I reference in the episode: Make It Free: Improving Online Effectiveness by Removing A...
00:41:02
April 15, 2020
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptation part 3
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptat...
We continue the story, talk a little about why oral Bible translation matters, and listen to some more cool sample...
00:37:44
April 13, 2020
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptation part 2
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptat...
The story continues, and we listen to some samples.  Here's the music video of the Exodus 15 song that we fil...
00:31:28
April 13, 2020
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptation part 1
An Experiment in Oral Scripture Adaptat...
The advance of globalization among the minority languages of the world is rapidly changing the landscape of Bible ...
00:33:54
April 10, 2020
Judges part 10 - What happens when the stars start fighting?
Judges part 10 - What happens when the ...
In this episode we discuss Judges 5:20, 22, and 25.  The book I reference is The Translator's Invisibility. ...
00:19:31
April 07, 2020
An Interview with Bethany Case - tools for analyzing the world's languages
An Interview with Bethany Case - tools ...
I had the honor of interviewing my lovely wife on this episode, and as you'll soon find out, she has a lot of fasc...
01:09:38
April 04, 2020
Putting God's Heart back in the Translation of Lamentations
Putting God's Heart back in the Transla...
Today we talk about a translation issue in Lamentations that is more relevant than ever for those who are sufferin...
00:18:05
April 01, 2020
An Interview with John Meade - Canon Conversations
An Interview with John Meade - Canon Co...
Dr. John Meade was kind enough to share some of what he's learned about the canon of Scripture.  Thank you, J...
01:27:29
March 27, 2020
12 Angry Men and the Transmission of the Text of the Old Testament
12 Angry Men and the Transmission of th...
Do you know where your Bible came from? We talk about some of the main witnesses to the text of the OT, how it was...
00:32:25
March 24, 2020
An Interview with Joel Harlow - getting to do the coolest job in the world
An Interview with Joel Harlow - getting...
Dr. Joel Harlow kindly agreed to share about his experience over the years in Bible translation and consulting. I ...
01:09:42
March 21, 2020
Judges part 9 - Singers or those who carry water?
Judges part 9 - Singers or those who ca...
We look at Judges 5:11, and introduce the work of the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project.   ESV  To ...
00:21:10
March 18, 2020
The Divine Name part 5 - an interview with Dr. Peter Gentry
The Divine Name part 5 - an interview w...
Dr. Gentry kindly agreed to chat about the issue of translating and pronouncing the Divine Name. Thank you, Dr. Ge...
00:39:57
March 15, 2020
An Interview with Phil King - Teaching Hebrew to local translators in PNG
An Interview with Phil King - Teaching ...
Phil kindly agreed to chat about teaching biblical Hebrew to local translators in Papua New Guinea, as well as sha...
00:44:11
March 12, 2020
An interview with Nathan Michael - Consultant training and other discussions
An interview with Nathan Michael - Cons...
Nathan kindly agreed to sit down outside his home in Madrid, and share with us what his journey has been like, as ...
00:36:34
March 09, 2020
Judges part 8 - The challenges of translating biblical poetry
Judges part 8 - The challenges of trans...
We look at more of Judges 5, and discuss the unlikelihood of finding a translator who can handle poetry in a beaut...
00:16:27
March 06, 2020
An interview with Drew Maust - Translation consultant as chef, and other discussions
An interview with Drew Maust - Translat...
Drew kindly agreed to share with us what his journey has been like, and some of the exciting, surprising, and fasc...
01:05:36
March 03, 2020
Judges part 7 - Introducing new characters and the challenges of Hebrew songs
Judges part 7 - Introducing new charact...
We take a look at more issues in Judges, talk about a feature of discourse analysis, and other miscellaneous thing...
00:29:01
February 29, 2020
Judges part 6 - Judging the translation of "judge" and whoring after other gods
Judges part 6 - Judging the translation...
We look at the challenge of translating the widely misunderstood and mistranslated term "judge" in the book of Jud...
00:13:45
February 25, 2020
Judges part 5 - What on earth is the Spirit of the Yahweh doing in Samson?
Judges part 5 - What on earth is the Sp...
We dive into the lexical complications and interesting theological implications of the Spirit's effect on Samson i...
00:08:19
February 06, 2020
Judges part 4 - what's an 'ephod' really? Transliterate or translate?
Judges part 4 - what's an 'ephod' reall...
We take a look at the various possibilities for understanding what an ephod actually is in the OT, and see how man...
00:12:56
January 30, 2020
Introduction to Paratext and 15 Myths about Bible Translation
Introduction to Paratext and 15 Myths a...
We look at the most powerful tool for Bible translation and 15 myths about Bible translation from Daniel Wallace. ...
00:31:55
January 25, 2020
Judges part 3 - the crazy world of rhetorical questions
Judges part 3 - the crazy world of rhet...
We look at Judges 2:2 and the challenges of the rhetorical question from the messenger of Yahweh. The music in thi...
00:16:13
January 22, 2020
Judges part 2 - should it be "angel" or "messenger" of Yahweh?
Judges part 2 - should it be "angel" or...
We continue our look at Judges 2:1 and the challenges of translating "angel of the LORD." The music in this episod...
00:22:14
January 16, 2020
Judges part 1 - the angelic dilemma
Judges part 1 - the angelic dilemma
We take a look at Judges 2:1 and the challenges of translating "angel." The music in this episode is by my good fr...
00:16:36
January 11, 2020
Intro, and What is a Translation Consultant?
Intro, and What is a Translation Consul...
In this first episode, Andrew introduces himself and explains what he does as a translation consultant. my books |...
00:13:49
January 09, 2020

Welcome to the wonderful, wild world of Bible translation! The average Christian has no idea how it works today. Most arguments over translations happen out of ignorance. It's time for everyone in the Church to understand the most basic things about how their Bible was translated, and how they can help others get the Bible in their language.