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The 35th Anniversary of Institute for Bible Translation Do not “despise the day of small things,” nor the simple, for God has chosen the poor to show that He, alone, is able to save, set free, build, and complete His work. It is “'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit'” that the work He has ordained will blossom, “says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:10, 6) In the Bible we find numerous examples to show that victories in the Lord’s work and the Kingdom of God are not the result of men’s wisdom or greatness, huge armies and large nations, or through great riches and political power. In modern times, IBT and its 35 years of Bible translation work is a vivid testimony to this truth. Everything began in a very small apartment at Stopvägen 85 in Bromma, Sweden, where on the initiative of Borislav Arapovic, on the 27th of March, 1973, the East Bible Institute was founded (in 1979 renamed Institute for Bible Translation) by seven men with a vision to translate the Bible for the bible-less people groups in the Soviet Union. Ingemar Martinson, former Director of the Swedish Slavic Mission, and founder of Solåsen, a Swedish missions training center, described IBT’s beginnings like this: “I saw the project being born. In its infancy it didn’t look like much at all. Its first shout, was an emergency cry for help. The discovery of all the forgotten, hidden, and left-over people groups in the Soviet Union became God’s call for the Institute for Bible Translation.” “It was my privilege to be one of the very first to hear of the vision to bring the Word of God to the many small peoples in the Soviet Union in their own languages. I have to admit I found it difficult to internalize the ideas that Borislav Arapovic, the founder of the Institute, shared with me. They were so far-reaching, so massive, so difficult – yes, so impossible to carry out, from a human perspective. But, in spite of all this, they have been fruitful. Along the way, the path has been strewn with many miracles, incomprehensible incidents, and many other evidences of the hand of the Lord at work." “I remember the day a few years ago, when Borislav called me from the Stockholm airport and asked for prayer for one of the impossible projects. ‘I’m on my way to Moscow to negotiate the printing of 150,000 copies of the Tolkovaya Biblia,’ he said. ‘It will cost about 15-20 million Swedish crowns (about USD $3,800,000.00 ). But it makes no difference at all what the amount is, for we have no money anyway. If God has to provide a miracle, then…” Borislav said, and flew off to Moscow to meet the Russian Orthodox prelate." “Right then, I was leading a prayer seminar. Therefore, Borislav’s request was very timely. Needless to say, God indeed provided a miracle. And so has the life of the Institute and its coworkers evolved ever since the day they accepted God’s call to serve.”
That small apartment in Sweden where IBT was founded also served as IBT’s first office. The bedroom where Borislav’s two-year-old daughter slept was taken for office space, and she was moved to her parents’ bedroom. It was impossible to arrive at a clear and comprehensive view of how the translation work should be organized, which languages could be translated, who the translators should be, and how it should be financed. At that time, no one could imagine that twenty years later, the Institute would cooperate with the Academy of Science of the Soviet Union in the field of Bible translation, and that the founder of the Institute, who for a period of 15 years was black-listed and prohibited from entering the country, would receive an Honorary Doctorate from that Academy.
Today, the Institute is an international organization with offices on several continents. Of the 130 official languages in Russia and the CIS, IBT has translated the Bible or Bible portions into approximately 80. Much has been accomplished, even if much remains to be done. For IBT’s 35th Jubilee, we launch a new project that will provide 10 people groups with the Children’s Bible in their mother tongues, while at the same time we continue our other Bible translation projects as usual. We have received many requests to translate this book into languages outside of Russia and the other CIS countries. Already, IBT’s Children’s Bible has been translated into 33 languages and distributed in approximately 8 million copies. Read more about IBT's Children's Bible here. Project of the Month IBT’s Children’s Bible has been translated into 33 languages. Besides languages in Russia and the CIS, it has also been translated into Spanish, Croatian, and Serbian.. Right now, translation is in progress in 10 languages. The Children’s Bible in Kabardian, a language in the Caucasus, will soon be printed. Support this month’s project! |
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Institute for Bible Translation
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Institute for Bible Translation
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