“Man wea Wakabaot for Spredim Gospel” wea No Fraet
TAEM hem 18 year, George Borrow savve finis long 12-fala languis. Tufala year bihaen, hem savve transleitim 20-fala difren languis long “simpol wei wea here naes.”
Long 1833, British and Foreign Bible Society long London, England, laek for story witim disfala man wea garem spesol savve. Nomata hem no garem selen for transport, Borrow wea 30 year long datfala taem hem no laek missim disfala chance, so hem wakabaot 180 kilometer from haos bilong hem long Norwich, insaed 28 hour nomoa.
Bible Society givim hem wanfala hard assignment—for lanem Manchu languis, wea pipol iusim long samfala part bilong China, insaed sixfala month nomoa. Hem ask for wanfala grammar buk, bat only samting olketa savve givim hem copy bilong Gospel bilong Matthew long Manchu languis and wanfala Manchu-French dictionary. Nomata olsem, insaed 19 week hem raet go long London and sei: “Mi savve nao long Manchu languis . . . from God helpem mi.” Samting wea mekem diswan moa sapraesing hem bikos semtaem hem duim datwan, hem waka for stretem Gospel bilong Luke long Nahuatl, wanfala languis bilong native pipol bilong Mexico.
Bible Long Manchu Languis
Long mek-17 century, taem first raeting kamap long Manchu languis followim Mongolian Uighur alphabet, Manchu hem kamap languis wea pipol long gavman bilong China iusim evritaem. Nomata gogo, pipol no iusim tumas, olketa member bilong British and Foreign Bible Society laekem tumas for printim and givimaot olketa Bible long Manchu languis. Kasem 1822 olketa sponsarem 550 copy bilong wanfala edition bilong Gospel bilong Matthew, wea Stepan V. Lipoftsoff hem transleitim. Hem wanfala member bilong Russian Foreign Office wea stap long China for 20 year finis. Olketa printim diswan long St. Petersburg, bat, bihaen olketa givimaot samfala nomoa, wanfala flood spoelem evri narawan.
Wanfala transleison bilong full Christian Greek Scripture hem kamap no longtaem bihaen. Long 1834 wei for faendem wanfala old manuscript version bilong klosap full Hebrew Scripture hem mekem pipol interest moa long Bible. Hu nao savve organizem waka for chekim moa datfala Manchu Bible and finisim datfala transleison? British and Foreign Bible Society sendem George Borrow for duim disfala waka for olketa.
Go Long Russia
Bihaen hem arrive long St. Petersburg, Borrow go ahed for barava studyim Manchu languis mekem hem fit for stretem datfala Bible transleison. Nomata olsem, datwan hem bigfala assignment, and hem waka samting olsem 13 hour evriday for wakem olketa mold wea garem leta for printim The New Testament, wea gogo olketa sei hem “wanfala edition from Asia wea luk spesol tumas.” Olketa printim wan thousand copy bilong diswan long 1835. Bat wanfala samting spoelem plan wea Borrow garem for longtaem finis for tekem olketa Bible hia and givimaot long China. From gavman bilong Russia wari nogud diswan kamap olsem missionary waka wea maet spoelem wei wea olketa fren gud witim China, olketa stopem Borrow for go long border bilong China sapos hem karem go “nomata wanfala Manchu Bible.”
Samting olsem tenfala year bihaen, samfala copy kasem China, and olketa transleison bilong Gospel bilong Matthew and Mark, wea garem Manchu long wansaed long page and Chinese long narasaed, hem kamap long 1859. Bat long datfala taem, staka pipol laek readim Chinese nomata olketa savve long Manchu, so hope for garem full Bible long Manchu languis hem start for lus. For tok stret, Manchu hem languis wea gogo for lus, and Chinese nao changem datwan. Samting wea speedim datwan nao hem taem China hem kamap wanfala republic long 1912.
Iberian Peninsula
Olketa experience bilong George Borrow mekem hem feel strong and willing for duim moa waka taem hem go bak long London. Long 1835 hem kasem assignment for go long Portugal and Spain, for, olsem hemseleva talem bihaen: “Luksavve sapos pipol long there willing for acceptim olketa truth bilong Christian Wei.” Long datfala taem, from tufala kantri hia kasem trabol saed long politik and living, British and Foreign Bible Society no duim eni waka long there yet. Borrow enjoyim wei for storyim Bible witim pipol wea stap long olketa bush area long Portugal, bat no longtaem bihaen, wei wea pipol no interest long religion muvim hem for go long Spain.
Spain hem wanfala difren challenge, main wan nao Gypsy pipol wea Borrow kwiktaem fren gud witim olketa from hem savve long languis bilong olketa. No longtaem bihaen hem arrive, hem start for transleitim “Niu Testament” long Gitano, Spanish languis bilong olketa Gypsy. Hem invaetem tufala Gypsy woman for helpem hem. Hem savve readim Spanish version long olketa and then askem olketa for transleitim for hem. Long wei olsem, hem fit for lanem stretfala wei for iusim samfala Gypsy toktok. From waka bilong hem, olketa pablisim Gospel bilong Luke long spring season long 1838, wea muvim wanfala bishop for sei: “Bae hem iusim Gypsy languis for changem biliv bilong evriwan long Spain.”
George Borrow kasem instruction for faendem “wanfala man wea fit for transleitim Bible long Basque languis.” Borrow raet kam for talem hao hem markem Doctor Oteiza, wanfala doctor “wea savve tumas long datfala languis, wea miseleva savve lelebet,” for duim datfala transleison waka. Long 1838, Gospel bilong Luke hem firstfala buk bilong Bible long Spanish Basque languis.
From hem laekem tumas for helpem olketa man nating savve long Bible, planti taem Borrow go long olketa longfala gogo wea danger tu for givimaot olketa Bible long poor pipol long olketa bush area. Hem laek helpem olketa kamap free from olketa kastom biliv and wei for no savve saed long religion. Olsem example, hem showimaot hao hem iusles for olketa givim selen for kavarem sin, taem hem ask olsem: “Waswe, hem fitim for God, wea gud tumas, for appruvim wei for sellim sin?” Bat from Bible Society fraet, nogud diskaen wei for againstim biliv wea pipol garem for longtaem finis lead go long wei for tambuim waka bilong olketa seleva, olketa talem hem for givimaot olketa Bible nomoa.
President bilong Spain letem Borrow printim El Nuevo Testamento, wanfala Niu Testament long Spanish languis, bat no witim datfala extra information saed long teaching bilong Roman Catholic Church. Hem letem Borrow duim olsem, nomata firstaem prime minister againstim diswan and storyim datfala transleison olsem danger samting and “buk wea no stret.” Bihaen, taem Borrow openem wanfala stoa long Madrid for sellim disfala Spanish Niu Testament, diswan mekem hem kasem olketa problem witim olketa bigman bilong religion and gavman. Hem stap long prison for 12-fala day. Taem hem tok aot againstim diswan, olketa talem Borrow for kwaet and go aot from prison hia. From hem barava savve hao wei wea olketa putim hem long prison hem againstim law, hem talem example bilong samting wea kasem aposol Paul and hem disaed for no go aot go kasem taem olketa talemaot stret hao hem no guilty, and aotem shame from nem bilong hem.—Acts 16:37.
Taem Borrow wea strong for waka lusim Spain long 1840, Bible Society fit for talem hao: “Klosap 14,000 Bible kam long Spain insaed faevfala year wea go pas.” From hem share insaed long diswan long bigfala wei, Borrow storyim olketa experience bilong hem long Spain olsem “olketa year wea mi moa hapi winim eni narataem long laef bilong mi.”
The Bible in Spain, wea firstaem olketa pablisim long 1842—and wea olketa go ahed printim nomata distaem—hem barava interesting buk wea George Borrow raetem wea storyim olketa gogo bilong hem and samting wea hem experiencem. Long disfala buk, wea stretawe pipol interest tumas for readim, hem kolem hemseleva “man wea wakabaot for spredim Gospel.” Hem raet: “Mi go witim goal for kasem olketa ples wea planti pipol no savve wea stap midol long olketa hill and maunten wea hard for kasem, and for story witim pipol abaotem Christ.”
From hem willing and interest tumas for transleitim and givimaot olketa Bible, George Borrow putim faondeson for nara pipol wea bae duim sem samting—wanfala privilege wea spesol tumas.
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(For formatted text, lukim publikeson)
Long waka bilong hem for transleitim and givimaot Bible George Borrow lusim (1) England go long (2) Russia, (3) Portugal, and (4) Spain
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Mountain High Maps® Copyright © 1997 Digital Wisdom, Inc.
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Firstfala toktok bilong Gospel bilong John long Manchu languis, wea olketa printim long 1835. Savve readim from top go daon and from left saed go long raet
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From the book The Bible of Every Land, 1860
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From the book The Life of George Borrow by Clement K. Shorter, 1919