As of October 2019, the entire Bible has been translated into 698 languages, with portions of it in nearly 2,700 other languages. However, currently 3,969 languages have no Scripture, according to Wycliffe Bible Translators.
But thanks to Deaf Missions, one other language now has a translation of the full Bible — The ASLV, translated into American Sign Language, the first language of many deaf and hard of hearing individuals.
Many believe ASL is just a visual version of English. However, ASL has its own unique rules of grammar and syntax and is truly a different language. Those who grow up in the deaf culture must formally learn English just like those who grow up in a home with a native language such as Spanish or French.
Reaching out
“[ASL] is the language we [deaf people] can best understand,” said Chad Entinger, CEO of Deaf Missions. “We really believe that having all God’s word in American Sign Language will have greater impact and effectiveness as we reach out to deaf people. It’s hard for anybody to try to read and understand a Bible in their second language.”
The ASLV project has been a long time in the making. Started in 1981 by Deaf Mission’s previous CEO and founder, Duane King, it took 23 years for the New Testament to be translated. Some work was done on the Old Testament during that time but in 2004, the Old Testament became the focus. The goal was to finish sometime in the 2030s.
The majority of these years, one or two teams worked on different books. However, in the last three-and-a-half years, funding was provided for six teams, working on six books at the same time. With God’s provision, the completion date was accelerated by more than 10 years, Entinger said.
All the translation for the ASLV was done from the original Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.
Entinger was involved in some of the translation work and said he enjoyed overcoming the challenge of reading the Bible in English and in the original Hebrew. He then found a way to sign a verse or passage, so it was not only accurate but also clearly understandable by the deaf.
‘Daily challenge’
Each morning Entinger worked on the project, he said he prayed, “Okay God. I really need your help here to get started and to accept this daily challenge … having the patience, taking the time to be diligent and do it well.”
He said this project “sharpened his sword” and has changed and improved how he studies Scripture and develops sermons.
The vision for Deaf Missions is “simply for every deaf person to see and know Jesus. The primary ways we reach [deaf] people are through sign language media or media in sign language. The ASLV has been one of our highest priorities,” Entinger said.
Deaf Missions also has daily devotionals, sermons by deaf preachers and short videos, as well as children’s videos.
“The Book of Job” is the first-ever book of the Bible to be released as a feature film in ASL.
Work also is progressing on “The Jesus Movie,” which will use native signers for the deaf to share the gospel of Jesus.
Most of the resources have voiceovers and/or captions, with some including Spanish subtitles. Deaf Missions is trying to film “The Jesus Movie” in a way that can be “sign dubbed” and translated into some of the 350–400 other sign languages around the world, Entinger said.
Resources available
“All of the different resources and videos are available on the Deaf Missions (website) and the Deaf Missions app,” he noted. “This day and age is becoming a golden era for reaching deaf people through current technology.
“Think about how much more effective and efficient we are becoming compared to 30 years ago when we were trying to get videos out on VHS tapes, and 15 years ago when we were trying to distribute DVDs. We are blessed to be able to reach so many through social media.
“I really feel that God is on the move,” Entinger said.
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