From source language to every language for all people

The unfinished task of Scripture translation reaches beyond trade languages alone to every language until all can say, “God speaks my language.” We are driven to accelerate the work of translation in order to make it possible for all people to engage with the whole Bible, whether written, oral, or signed.

The nature of the Kingdom

Working collaboratively expresses the true nature of the Kingdom of God where each person is valued and has a unique and important contribution to make to the whole. We therefore seek to collaborate with partners throughout the world.

Learn from the source

The whole Bible, including both the original Hebrew Testament and the Greek New Testament, is divinely inspired in the source languages. Consequently, we strive to work for the source languages in translation.

Reflecting God’s character

God’s Kingdom consists of Jesus’ followers from every tongue, tribe, and nation. This beautiful diversity is a reflection of the character of God and of the value which He places upon each person. We therefore work to be international and multi-ethnic in composition.

Following His design

God is the Creator and is continually creating. He has communicated His Word in innovative and creative ways. We strive for creativity and innovation in strategic, programmatic and operational matters. As God enables, we serve as a catalytic agent within the Bible Translation movement to supply innovative solutions where there are gaps in the supply chain.

Creating with God

The Scriptures command us to “pray continually.” While on earth Jesus modeled a life of prayer and now intercedes for us. The Bible tells us that we can have the privilege and responsibility of “creating with God” as we pray according to His will. We seek to be faithful to this entrustment by practicing a corporate lifestyle of prayer and intercession.

In recent times many translations into Bibleless languages have used a common trade language as the source text with reference to original language tools. There is a growing awareness that it would be beneficial if new translations and revisions of existing translations would use the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) as the source text.

The goal is that those on the translation team would be able to understand and use the original text and translate directly into the receptor language without any intermediate text so as to be able to enhance the quality and fidelity of the resultant work. This goal necessitates a heightened focus on immersive training programs which emphasize the acquisition of biblical Hebrew and Greek.

Two thirds of the world’s people prefer to learn the most important things for their life through oral means. Most all of the remaining Unengaged Bibleless Languages (UBLs) of the world are agraphos people – they have no writing system. The people who speak these languages are all skillful oral learners. They are the lead experts in their own language. The current awareness places them at the the center of the translation process. Thus, our training equips those who will serve these oral learners in leading the translation of the Scriptures from the source languages into their own heart language. This process may at some point produce literate tools, but it usually begins with oral means through OBS (Oral Bible Storytelling) and OBT (Oral Bible Translation).

Over 95% of the Deaf communities of the world do not have a Bible in their language. This amounts to nearly 70 million of God’s children who cannot engage with His Word simply because they are Deaf. As the Good Shepherd cares for ALL His sheep, we His co-laborers are to seek the welfare of all those under His care. For Whole Word Institute this entails making our unique contribution to accelerating access to the whole Bible in the 360 sign languages of the world.