39 Years to Translate the Bible into a Language of 3,800 People

By Amy Lewis

This celebration has been a long time coming, with a Bible translation effort that began 39 years ago. The Notsi people, who today number 3,800  and are 90 percent Christian, were initially ambivalent about the project. Yet by the time the New Testament was completed last year, local translators and many parishioners not only had a deeper understanding of God and his Word, but they also recognized that God cared enough about them to put his Word into their words.

Davis Powell, president and CEO of the Bible translation group Seed Company, which helped with the New Testament translation, said his team members frequently hear the recipients of a new translation say, “We now know that God is not a foreign God that speaks another language. God is a God that knows us and speaks our language,” he said. “We don't have to learn another language to get to God. But he sees us, he knows us, and we can pray in the language that our mother spoke to us since birth and have a relationship with him.”

Read the story at (also available in the CT magazine): https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/06/papua-new-guinea-notsi-bible-translation/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=A%20Bible%20Translation%20for%203%2C800%20People%20%7C%20How%20Kids%20Feel%20God%20s%20Love%3A%20CT%20Daily&utm_campaign=CT%20Daily%20Briefing%20-%2006-09-2026&vgo_ee=wIQTNs6kGa%2FAweDbo8epga6Ownbq1oRDDjm9A9DzPdSGiI9q%3AQO6EAm9vZQ2Op7u%2ByZzKda0%2BVN7K51yO