And then there is the enormous part played: by the Bible Societies, in this spread of the translations. The Bible Societies have as their aim and purpose that every man willing to possess the Scriptures, shall be able to secure them in his cwm tongue, and at a price within his reach. This has meant a far flung organization for distribution of Gospels, Testaments, and Bibles. It has also meant extensive efforts to aid translations and publication, payment of native: helpers, costs of copying and travel, quite apart from what might properly be called the publication and marketing costs. A large part of the expense of production must be borne by the societies if the Word is to be priced within the reach and means of the common folk.
Let me give you one or two illustrations of the difficulties which face the translator. In the Hulu language, one of the Cameroon peoples, there is no word for trust or holy; righteousness must be translated by straitness; grace by kindness, But there are two words for lying, ten different words for seeing. In Valiente (Panama) the translater is faced with the difficulty of distinguishing—Lord, king, ruler, prince, master and chief priest, when there is only the word for chief in the speech of the people.
Yet again and again difficulties are overcome and richness of meaning is brought out by the very poverty of language. For instance, in the Miskito New Testament (Nicaragua) "For-enoss" is rendered "to take a man's fault out of your heart" And in the Labrador Eskimo it is literally "Not-being - able - to - think-about-it-any-more." In the Miao Gospel of St. John, "The Comforter" is literally "The - One-who-gets-the-heart-round-the-corners.
Dr. Paton had difficulty in finding a word for trust among the South Sea Islanders, but the answer to "What must I do to be saved?" comes out in strength. "Lean your whole weight on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved." And so one might go on.
Let me help to implement this answer by a few concrete illustrations of the book in action. One might give a host of illustrations proving that the Bible is itself {he most powerful of all vernal cular preachers. It goes where the human preacher cannot go. It stays when the human preacher must leave. It hides in the memory and soul and cannot be expelled. It's message reaches men of every race and condition.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.