“But the word of the Lord endures forever”
The Mission Network recently reported that Eritrea’s Bible translation team, scattered across rural areas and North America, continues translating the Bible by uniting with each other despite the civil war. The relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia is complex. These two countries ended their 20-year conflicts in 2018. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 people died and 1 million became refugees during this period.
But just two years later, Eritrea fought alongside Ethiopia against paramilitary groups in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. This war ended in 2022, but Eritrean troops were still stationed in Tigray in December last year. In the past two weeks, 29,000 people have left Tigray as instability intensifies again.
Amid growing safety concerns in the region, the Eritrean Bible Translation Team is working on a Bible translation for the Kunama people of Eritrea. “The Kunama have suffered from civil war for decades. Many of them have migrated to neighbouring countries, and some have come to North America as refugees,” said Meg Hunt, director of strategic services at Wycliffe Mission in the United States.
The Kunama translation team live in Ethiopia and North America, and all feel the effects of regional tensions. “The team translating the Bible in Ethiopia is being targeted by the local government, making it difficult for them to continue working in a safe environment,” Hunt said. “They have moved to other cities for their safety, but they fear the risks of being transferred back to refugee camps in the north,” he said.
The pressure is less for the North American team translating the New Testament, but the situation is just as difficult. “The fact that the translation work is run entirely by volunteers in North America is so amazing. The challenge for them is balancing so many things. They have many responsibilities, including their families and work. But they are truly dedicated to translating God’s Word,” Hunt said.
“One of the things that is really unique about this translation work is that because they are a diaspora team, they are working together across multiple time zones and continents,” he said. “It is both an opportunity and a challenge to unite with each other.”
Hunt asked for prayers for the safety of Kunama team members, especially those in Ethiopia, and for the energy and strength to continue this work(Source: Gospel Prayer Newspaper Comprehensive).
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:23-25)
God, may You bless those who translate the Bible despite the difficult situation in Eritrea, and protect them so they can finish the bible translation. May You make the Bible available in the Kunama language soon so that the Kunama people, who have suffered from civil war for decades will find hope and salvation through Your Words. May they be transformed by Your eternal Word, and become the witnesses of Your name. In this land full of oppression and tension enough to be called North Korea in Africa, let the church, which is the body of Christ, run powerfully together until the joy of true comfort and salvation that is from the gospel is overflowing.
Prayer 24·365
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