Kifipa First Bible Translation

Project Summary

Scripture & Prayer

The Kifipa First Bible translation earlier the project for Kifipa New Testament started in early 1980’s and ended in December 1988 .

The New Testament was published, launched and distributed. Due to reasons beyond our control including inadequate funding, the Bible society of Tanzania could not continue with the Old Testament translation.

Faced with several repeated requests of the Fipa churches and community, the Bible Society of Tanzania decided to continue to find ways to start an Old Testament translation project in Kifipa. This will be the first Bible translation for Kifipa speakers.

We will start with translation of the OT and then we will revise the NT.
Traditionally, the Fipa community is marred by evil practices such as witchcraft, alcoholism, polygamy and idolatry. Fipa people have longed to have the Bible in their mother tongue for many years.

This translation will be a blessing to this community. It is expected that the availability of the Bible in the Kifipa language will have a positive effect on church growth and the deepening of personal faith, leading to a change in behavior in the community, and the minimizing of bad practices. Having the Bible in their language will not only enable them to understand the Bible better, but it will also help preserve their language and cultural heritage. It is estimated that a total of 713,000 people will benefit from this project.

The partners in this project are the Moravian Church, the Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Assemblies of God Church, the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Pentecostal churches. The Bible Society of Tanzania has learnt that church involvement in the Bible cause is a key factor in bringing success to Bible translation.

The aim is to translate the Old and New Testaments and the Deuterocanon into the Kifipa language.

Key Verse

Matthew 28:19-20; “Go then to all people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”

Prayer points

Pray for availability of funds for the project to take off next year.
Pray for various training (translation, Paratext, etc.).

Installation

This project is in line with the Philadelphia promise and the Bible Society of Tanzania Strategic Plan (2018 – 2022).

Project Goal

To have the entire Bible published in the Kifipa language by the end of 2034 and to make it available for mission work.

Project goal’s relationship to overall bible society strategy

To translate the Bible in the Kifipa language for mission work among Kifipa speakers. This is in line with the Bible Society of Tanzania’s Strategic Plan.

The Strategic Plan emphasizes the Bible Society’s responsibility to facilitate Bible translation into languages without the Bible, and to publish and print the same. The aim is to support the spiritual growth of the community by providing the Word of God in the mother tongue.