Greek Learning for Bible Translation

Brother, please pray and consider: if there could be at least two young educated saints who can consecrate themselves to the Lord fully to learn Greek and come in to do the Marathi text checking of the New Testament Recovery Version. Only then we will be able to release the New Testament Recovery Version in Marathi.

May the Lord gain many abled, burdened, and available young educated saints.

This was the text I messaged to a responsible brother on the 10th of May after the demise of our Greek text checker in the New Testament Recovery Version translation in Marathi. Since then a couple of fellowships were done and finally the Lord paved the way for two sisters to consecrate themselves to learn Greek and, perhaps, if they qualify, serve in to fill the gap left behind by our brother who went to be with the Lord.

On the 1st of June, the fellowship for beginning a new self-study Greek course was confirmed. Therefore, I called up the two sisters and briefed them about the course, and encouraged them to trust the Lord and take His grace to faithful learn Greek. They have been brought in by the Lord through the fellowship in the Body, and the Lord will grace them to accomplished the task He has assigned to them. The schedule for them is to spend at least 4 hours a day for 5 days a week, a minimum of 20 hours a week of Greek study. Our target date of completion is 28 February 2022.

On the one hand, I am joyful that a new Greek course could begin with two new serving ones. On the other hand, I am prayerful that they would be faithful to learn diligently and complete the course and work on the text checking of the New Testament.  I have this feeling because despite all our preparation, what matters most is the Lord's blessing. Life and death, health and strength are in the hand of the Lord. We continually look to Him for His grace that the purpose of learning Greek for New Testament text checking in Marathi can actually be accomplished.

Two days ago the Lord impressed me deeply with His word on His blessing. I believe this applies to the Greek study and the Bible translation project as well.

Psalms 127:1-2 Unless Jehovah builds the house, Those who build it labor in vain. Unless Jehovah keeps the city, The guard watches in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To stay up late, To eat the bread of toil; All the same, He gives to His beloved while they sleep. 

Footnote from the Recovery Version: If the Lord does not do anything for us, whatever we do will be in vain. We need to labor in the Lord and by His grace (1 Cor. 15:10, 58; Col. 1:28-29), but what the result will be depends not on our labor but on God’s care and blessing. Instead of toiling and striving in ourselves, we need to trust in Him and rest in Him, for He gives to His beloved while they sleep.

Yes, we will do our best to labor, and also be fully dependent on the Lord's blessing. Ultimately it is the Lord's blessing that matters. May the Lord grace us through in this matter of learning Greek and bring out the New Testament Recovery Version in Marathi.