Bible Translation and the Great Commission?
I used to cite the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) as the Scriptural basis for the ministry of Bible translation. I was not alone. Such leaders as William Cameron Townsend and Eugene Nida brought together the task of translation and the Church's mission to the nations.
Interestingly enough, in earlier eras of translation the Great Commission was not on the lips of translators. The Westminster Confession, for instance, argues for translation on the grounds that every Christian should have the opportunity to read and study the Scriptures.
In the third and final installment on the theology of translation, I set out the Scriptural basis for saying that the Great Commission is NOT the Scriptural imperative or even the goal of translation. Yet there is a biblical basis for the task, and it is ESSENTIAL that it guide the translator...
https://aaronandsusanshryock.com/toward-a-theology-of-translation-part-3/
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I believe these are important considerations - it's good for us all to query why we do what we do. Bible agencies that focus on Bibles for Christians sometimes appear to just be following market forces (producing what they can sell) or mindlessly 'giving the churches what they want' even when they know it is actually bad for them (as in the case of archaic translations which people buy but which we know they don't actually understand). On the other hand, Bible agencies that focus on portions, testaments or Bibles for non-Christians may have just unwittingly conflated their interest in Bible translation with a missionary vision (sometimes resulting in unsaleable products and 'peopleless Bibles'). Like Aaron, I'm not satisfied with some of the rationales often touted, including those commonly used by fundraisers ('Bible poverty', 'The Bible is the best missionary' etc.) and linguists (e.g. SIL's 'God and Language Forum').
Simplistic appropriation of Bible texts often seems to me to lack integrity. The 'great commission' (Matt 28) is about spreading the good news that Jesus is King and winning followers - a much more fundamental and comprehensive task than just translating and publishing Bibles! Pentecost (Acts 2) is the work of the Holy Spirit, surely a much greater thing than just translation (which can be done by Christians, non-Christians and increasingly also computers), and the miraculous gift of tongues is surely much more highly to be honoured than our everyday language learning! As for the public reading of scripture (1 Tim 4), I agree wholeheartedly that this is important (see this great Bible Project video here!) and often neglected (esp. by evangelicals), but I'm not convinced 1 Tim in its own context really anticipates anyone doing it in any language other than Greek. A fair bit of extrapolation is needed to relate any such texts to Bible translation.
Maybe we should just frankly say that there is no strong biblical rationale for Bible translation for non-Christians. But there seems to be a good practical rationale where people's religion (e.g. 'Abrahamic religions') or culture (e.g. western secular culture) is already closely related to the Bible. Otherwise, it seems to me more 'biblical' (and perhaps usually more effective) to send not Bibles, but 'living letters', 'word made flesh' - the Church!
I think we will never honor our Lord and Savior if we engage in the ministry of Bible translation without the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20), and yet we won't recognize the goal of translation if we make the Great Commission the only passage we focus on. Reflecting on the Great Commission and its relation to Scripture usually reveals that it is the command to teach that relates most directly to translation. If we follow that observation, we see that the public reading and then teaching and preaching of Scripture has been at the center of translation since the Septuagint.
Though we may not do justice to either Scripture or Scripture translation if we shorten that particular command in the Great Commission to "teach." The command is to "teach to obey," which may involve more personal Scriptural modeling and mentoring than teaching and preaching.
It seems like everyone is talking about the Great Commission. Here's a very well written blog post from the American Bible Society on the topic. It's well worth reading. Interestingly, though, the author doesn't say that the Great Commission motivates the ABS, but she does say it should motivate everyone...
https://news.americanbible.org/blog/entry/bible-blog/a-closer-look-at-the-great-commission
Thank you, Ruedi Giezendanner , for you comment. I hope that we model and mentor consistently and all the time. Yes, it may be more than we teach or preach. I may not have been as clear as I could have been in my earlier comment. I didn't mean to suggest that we should shorten the Great Commission to just "teach." Instead, I was touching on something I have seen very often. When asked how the Great Commission relates to translation, many will say that the command to teach to obey requires that the teacher have something to teach, a record of what Jesus taught. So, translation supports the teaching required in the Great Commission.
Here's another interesting blog post. The Seed Company explains the Great Commission and then explains how being involved in Bible translation is a way to be part of it. I think more care should be given with the expression "Word of God". In some verses, it refers to Scripture, and in others it refers to a message about Christ. We don't serve believers well by conflating the two.
https://seedcompany.com/stories/the-great-commission-what-does-it-mean-to-you/