In Front | Workbook: The Cherokee Bible Translation, Part 1

Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

The old saying that “you never get a second chance to make a first impression” is as true of Bible translation as of anything else. When the Bible is being translated into native languages, translators have to be selective about which passages or books or topics they bring first into a new language or culture. 

For example, some tribal groups have sacred pigs. How would you translate passages in the Torah about forbidden pigs and sacred sheep and goats (which they don’t have)? Some groups put such a high value on treachery that Judas is the natural hero of the Passion week account. 

2. Many translations have gotten off with a bad first impression, though this was not the case among some American Indians. The first Cherokee Bible translation was produced by a converted member of the tribe named John Arch. What chapter do you think he chose to first translate into his native language when he began this project in 1824?