T R A N S L A T I O N S T O R I E S

Below: An early copy of Judson’s translation.

Left: The bell tower of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Below: Original burial place of Jerome in the cave where he did much of his translation. Later his remains were moved to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

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H is full name was Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus.

Now that is difficult to pro-nounce! Fortunately, he is known today as Jerome.

Over many years Jerome collected many ancient books written by famous authors such as Plautus and Cicero. He took great pride in his collection. But in AD375 he had a dream that changed his life. It also changed the lives of millions for more than 1,000 years.

In this dream, Jerome stood

I n Hebrews 11, the writer described the faith of many

in the Old Testament. He then wrote, “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson,

Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets.” Had this been written later in history, the names of Adoniram Judson and others could have been added to the list. They dedicated their

lives to translate the Bible. Some were killed. Others suffered. All sacrificed.

Adoniram Judson wrote this, “There is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed

before God in judgement. This is how he described it:

“I was dragged before the judgment seat of the Judge; and here the light was so bright, and those who stood around were so radiant, that I threw myself to the ground and did not dare to look up.

The judge asked, “Who are you?”

I replied, “I am a Christian.” But He said, “You lie. You

are a follower of Cicero and not of Christ. For ‘where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’”

Jerome put away his collection of ancient books

and began to study the Bible. In AD382 the Church asked him to make a new translation into Latin. Completing

that task would take the next 23 years!

Most of his work was done in a

cave next to the famous “Church of the Nativity” in the city of Bethlehem. You can still visit that cave today in

modern-day Palestine!

Eventually his Latin translation, known as the

Jerome

To Every Language

“Vulgate,” became the most widely used Bible in the Church for the next 1,000 years. The name “Vulgate” simply means “the common language of the people.” In 1592, it was declared the official Latin Bible for the Roman Catholic Church and remains so to this day.

I t was only a pillow. Or was it?In 1813 Adoniram and Ann

Judson arrived in ancient Burma, today known as Myanmar. Adoniram spent the next ten years learning the complicated Burmese language and translating the New Testament.

His work was almost lost.In 1824, a year after

completing his translation, war broke out between the Burmese and British governments. Many foreigners were considered spies and imprisoned. Adoniram was one of them. Fearing the soldiers would discover and destroy the precious New Testament manuscript, Ann searched for a safe place to hide it.

without sacrifice it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success it is because someone will succeed after.”

Stop and think about that for a

moment!If the Bible has been translated

into your language, it is because someone sacrificed. A Bible translator spent years accurately translating the text so that you

could read the inspired words of God.

The stories of these Bible translators are mostly unknown. But of those that have been told, here are just a few:

Each night, prison guards tied the prisoners’ legs to a bamboo pole and lifted them high off the ground. They slept in agony on their shoulders.

One day Ann brought a dirty old pillow and asked if her husband could use it to sleep. No one knew she had sewn the New Testament manuscript deep inside. If the Burmese government had found it in their home, they would have destroyed it. But it was safely hidden in the very prison where Judson was captive, under his head and shoulders every night!

One day the prisoners were

sent to a new location. Adoniram was forced to throw his old pillow onto a pile of rubbish. What would happen? Would the manuscript be lost forever?

That pillow was found by a friend who recognized it as belonging to Adoniram. Only when he tried to clean it, did he discover the manuscript inside!

Eventually, the war was over. The prisoners were set free. Imagine Adoniram’s joy in seeing how

Adoniram Judson

God protected his translation! Imagine the joy of Burmese Christians reading it in their own language for the first time!

MIDDLE EAST

Modern-dayPalestine

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Modern-day Myanmar(Ancient Burma)