… to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language…
(Esther 8:9 ESV)
Shan-Tai prayer month 2011, day 16
Gospel of John in Shan script
Technically the Bible has been translated into the Shan language for over 100 years. In 1891 Josiah Nelson Cushing finished translating the entire Bible based on the old Shan script. This is in fact a very accurate translation with only about 5 significant errors.
Unfortunately this script doesn’t indicate which tone is used for each word. The Shan language is a tonal language, with six different tones for each word, each conveying a different meaning. To understand the meaning of a single verse in such a translation requires reading the passage multiple times in context to learn what tones the words should have.
In 1958 a new form of the written script was introduced which shows the tones and is therefore much easier to read. A Bible in this translation would theoretically be much easier to understand.
Unfortunately there are few Shan who can read their written script, even fewer who are Christians, few of those are qualified to translate from English into Shan, let alone from Hebrew or Greek into Shan. This has made convening a committee of qualified Bible translators difficult.
In 1994 a new translation was published by the Myanmar Bible Society of the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. Although written in the new Shan script it has not been accepted by all Shan Christians due to its use of some obscure words that are unfamiliar to most Shan.
A complete Bible in new Shan script was published in 2002, yet it still has shortcomings and is inadequate for discipling new Shan believers.
Pray for
- The Shan church and missionaries to work together in unity and holiness as they develop a more understandable Bible (1 Peter 1:22-2:2)
- Interested Buddhists to continue to be transformed by the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17-18).
- Resources to be provided to enable Shan translation work.
Other posts related to this topic:
External Resources:
Download the Shan Prayer Guide:
30 Days of Prayer for the Shan
Image of the Gospel of John in Shan script: worldscriptures.org
