One Step Closer to the Finish Line

The BTI Team at Zaoksky Institute has completed their work on the new Russian translation of the books of the Major Prophets. The Team is now focusing all of their energies on the remaining poetic and historical books of the Old Testament.

We are excited to share with you our dear supporters that we welcomed the new year in with wonderful news – our team has completed their work on the new Russian translation of the Major prophets of the Old Testament! This is a momentous step for our team and it places us so much closer to completion in 2015! We are incredibly grateful to all of you who have supported us, prayed for us and helped us achieve this goal. We couldn’t have done it without you! The Team is now focusing all of their energies on the remaining poetic and historical books of the Old Testament.

Sharing the final draft of the completed Old Testament portion with a group of external reviewers in Russia has been very rewarding and encouraging. In the course of this summer our team is also planning to publish the first edition of the newly translated books for wide distribution in Russia.

Working on these ancient gems of timeless truth has been very humbling, challenging and inspiring for our team.  The team is so eager to give their countrymen a new opportunity to read afresh and experience anew the fiery messages of Isaiah – “the most sublime of all poets,” the words of great comfort and courage in the book of Jeremiah, the sobering appeals and challenging visions of Ezekiel and the lessons of perseverance and unflinching faith in the book of Daniel.

It brings us such joy to think that every eager and searching reader (especially the younger readers in Russia, who are much less familiar with the Scriptures) will now be able to enjoy some of the greatest promises of the Bible in a crystal clear and accurate translation.

Imagine your life without promises like this one: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” from Isaiah 40:31 or this one from Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The Old Testament has been described as “the Bible that Jesus read”. These books are so important for the Christian journey as they offer real life stories of great courage in times of suffering, of obedience, grief, joy, despair, love and unfailing faith.

Prof. Ilya Y. Grits, our longtime friend, colleague and supporter and our external reviewer who currently resides in Jerusalem, Israel commended our team on the work well done.  In his recent message to us he wrote that it was especially gratifying to read the new translation of Isaiah in Russian sitting in an apartment in Jerusalem. “Isaiah's poetic merits are so great,” - says prof. Grits, “that for nearly three thousand years this book has been considered the apex of the entire Jewish poetry. The number of direct and indirect quotations and allusions to the book of Isaiah in the New Testament in general, and in the Gospel, in particular, are greater than the number of references to all the other prophetic books of the Old Testament.”

We are so happy to be able to share this news with you! Please continue praying for our future efforts! We are so close to the finish line!

WELCOME!

Dear Friends of the Russian Bible Translation Project, We are very grateful to you for your continued support of our efforts. We praise God for the fact that the new Russian translation of the Pentateuch has been very enthusiastically received by the Biblical scholars in Russia and is reaching thousands of new readers across Euro-Asia. It is the goal of the Bible Translation Institute team to make a clear and accurate translation of God’s Word available to the Russian speaking people by 2015. There is a great demand for such a modern translation of the New Testament and the Psalms. The political and economic situation in Russia is becoming more and more challenging. In view of the above, the Bible Translation Institute is printing small print runs of separate completed sections of Old Testament books as soon as they become available. At this crucial stage of the project in these new conditions we acutely sense our need for your prayerful support and the special guidance of God’s Spirit.