A TRANSLATOR WHO RESPECTED GOD'S NAME - Continue

 However, Bingham set his mind to learning the Gilbertese language. This was not an easy task. He started by pointing at objects and asking their names. When he had collected a list of some two thousand words, he paid one of his converts a dollar for every one hundred new words he could add to the list. 

Bingham's perseverance paid off. By the time he had to leave the Gilbert Islands in 1865 because of his deteriorating health, he not only had given the Gilbertese language a written form but had also translated the books of Matthew and John into Gilbertese. When he returned to the islands in 1873, he brought with him the completed translation of the New Testament in Gilbertese. He persevered for a further 17 years and by 1890 completed the translation of the Gilbertese Bible. 

Bingham's translation of the Bibler is in use in Kiribati to this day.  Those reading it will notice that he used Jehovah's name (lehova in Gilbertese) thousands of times in the Old Testament as well as over 50 times in the New Testament. Truly Hiram Bingham was a translator who respected God's name!

Next time: LIST OF 99 LANGUAGES THAT USE A VERNACULAR FORM OF THE TETRAGRAMMATON IN THE NEW TESTAMENT - Continue

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