Pipol Long Big Red Island Kasem Bible

MADAGASCAR hem wanfala island wea stap samting olsem 400 kilometer from south east Africa. Hem mek-foa island wea barava big tumas long earth. Longfala taem nao pipol long Madagascar savve long nem Jehovah. Hem olsem bikos winim 170 year finis, olketa garem Bible long Malagasy languis wea garem nem Jehovah. Hem wanfala interesting story abaotem hao pipol wea transleitim Bible long Malagasy languis olketa gohed strong and no givap for duim datwan.

Mauritus, wea hem wanfala island klosap long Madagascar, hem nao firstfala ples wea olketa start for transleitim Bible long Malagasy languis. Long 1813, Sir Robert Farquhar, wea hem British governor long Mauritius, hem startim waka for transleitim olketa Gospel long Malagasy languis. Hem encouragem king bilong Madagascar, Radama I, for askem olketa teacher long London Missionary Society for kam long Big Red Island, wea hem nara nem bilong Madagascar.

Long August 18, 1818 tufala missionary from Wales, David Jones and Thomas Bevan, tufala lusim Mauritius and go long Toamasina, wanfala taon long Madagascar. Pipol long there strong tumas for lotu and evri samting wea olketa duim hem join witim wei for worshipim laen dadi and kastom bilong olketa. Languis bilong pipol long Madagascar hem interesting tumas. Hem kam from Malayo-Polynesian languis.

No longtaem bihaen David Jones and Thomas Bevan startim wanfala smol skul, tufala tekem kam famili bilong tufala from Mauritius for go stap long Toamasina. Bat long December 1818, malaria kasem evriwan, and waef bilong David Jones and pikinini bilong hem tufala dae. Tufala month bihaen, Thomas Bevan and famili bilong hem dae from olketa kasem malaria. David Jones nomoa laef.

Nomata olketa samting hia happen, David Jones disaed strong for transleitim Bible long languis bilong pipol long Madagascar. Hem go bak long Mauritius for rest and taem hem strong bak moa, hem startim bigfala waka for lanem Malagasy languis. No longtaem bihaen, hem start for transleitim Gospel bilong John.

Long October 1820, David Jones go bak moa long Madagascar. Hem go long Antananarivo, wea hem nao kapitol long datfala island. No longtaem bihaen, hem startim wanfala niu skul wea olketa missionary nao bae teachim olketa pikinini. Skul hia no garem eni textbuk, blakboard, and desk tu, bat wanem olketa pikinini lanem hem nambawan and olketa laek tumas for lane.

David Jones waka seleva for 7-fala month, then wanfala missionary wea nem bilong hem David Griffiths kam waka witim hem for changem Thomas Bevan. Tufala hia barava waka hard for transleitim Bible long Malagasy languis.

Start for Transleitim Bible

Long samting olsem 1820, Malagasy languis wea olketa raetem hem sorabe, wea hem olketa Arabic raeting wea olketa iusim for raetem olketa word long Malagasy languis. Tu-thri pipol nomoa savve readim datwan. So bihaen olketa missionary hia story witim King Radama I, king letem olketa for iusim Roman alphabet for transleitim Malagasy languis and no sorabe.

Olketa start for transleitim Bible long September 10, 1823. David Jones transleitim Genesis and Matthew, and David Griffiths transleitim Exodus and Luke. Tufala barava waka hard. Tufala transleit bat gohed tu for teachim olketa pikinini long skul long morning and aftanun. Tufala tekem service long church tu long thrifala difren languis. Bat important waka wea tufala duim nao hem for transleitim Bible.

Insaed 18-fala month nomoa, tufala hia witim nara 12-fala man, olketa transleitim full Greek Scripture and staka buk long Hebrew Scripture tu. Long year bihaen datwan, olketa finis for duim firstfala transleison long full Bible. Bat olketa mas changem samfala samting and stretem gud transleison bilong olketa. So tufala man from England wea savve abaotem languis, David Johns and Joseph Freeman, tufala kam for helpem olketa.

Olketa Gohed Nomata Hem No Isi

Bihaen olketa finis for transleitim Malagasy Bible, London Missionary Society sendem Charles Hovenden long Madagascar for start for wakem firstfala machine for printim olketa buk. Hovenden kasem Madagascar long November 21, 1826. Bat bihaen wanfala month nomoa, malaria kasem hem and hem dae. So no eniwan savve nao hao for iusim datfala machine. Bat bihaen wanfala year, wanfala man from Scotland wea garem bigfala savve, James Cameron, hem kam long Madagascar. Hem faendem wanfala buk abaotem datfala machine and hem trae for wakem moa. Gogo hem printim lelebet part long Genesis chapter 1 long December 4, 1827.a

Wanfala samting wea stopem waka for transleitim Bible hem taem Radama I dae long July 27, 1828. King Radama barava sapotim disfala transleison waka. Long datfala taem, David Jones hem sei: “King Radama hem barava kaen tumas and hem naes man tu. Hem barava sapotim education and hem laekem pipol bilong hem for lanem staka niu samting. Hem tingim diswan nao important winim wei for garem Gold and Silver.” Bat bihaen hem dae, waef bilong hem Ranavalona I hem kamap queen. Bat waef bilong hem no sapotim waka for transleitim Bible olsem King Radama.

No longtaem bihaen Ranavalona I hem kamap queen, wanfala man wea kam from England ask for story witim hem abaotem waka for transleitim Bible. Bat queen no laek story witim disfala man. Long narafala taem, olketa missionary talem queen olketa garem staka samting yet for teachim pipol and for teachim olketa abaotem Greek and Hebrew languis. Bat queen sei long olketa: “Mi no interest tumas abaotem Greek and Hebrew languis, bat mi laek savve sapos iufala savve teachim pipol bilong mi samting wea savve barava helpem olketa, olsem for wakem soap.” James Cameron luksavve queen maet talem olketa for go bifor olketa finis for transleitim Bible long Malagasy languis, so hem askem queen sapos hem savve ting raonem samting wea queen talem for wanfala week.

Bihaen wanfala week, James Cameron kam bak witim tufala smol soap wea hem wakem and hem givim soap hia long wakaman bilong queen. Soap wea olketa missionary wakem and olketa nara samting wea olketa duim for pipol hem mekem queen hapi. Datwan mekem olketa garem taem for printim klosap evri buk long Hebrew Scripture.

Gud Samting Happen, Then Gogo Nomoa

Nomata firstaem queen no hapi tumas long wanem olketa missionary duim, long May 1831 hem pasim wanfala law. Hem letem pipol bilong hem for baptaes and kamap olketa Christian! Bat disfala law hem gohed for lelebet taem nomoa. Wanfala buk, A History of Madagascar, hem sei: “From staka pipol nao baptaes, datwan mekem olketa bigman wea waka for queen seke lelebet bikos olketa no laekem eni samting for change. Olketa talem queen sapos staka pipol baptaes, datwan showimaot olketa sapotim rul bilong British.” So long end bilong 1831, wea hem sixfala month nomoa bihaen queen letem pipol for baptaes, queen hem changem tingting bilong hem and hem finisim datfala law.

From queen duim olsem and olketa bigman long gavman tu no laekem eni samting for change, datwan mekem olketa missionary for kwiktaem printim Bible. Olketa printim finis Christian Greek Scripture and staka thousand pipol kasem datwan. Bat long March 1, 1835, nara samting moa stopem waka for printim Bible. Queen Ranavalona I stopem pipol for no kamap Christian and talem olketa for givim evri Christian buk bilong olketa long gavman.

Disfala law minim olketa man wea waka for printim Bible long Malagasy languis mas stop for waka tu. From tu-thri missionary nomoa stap for finisim datfala waka, waka hem gohed long day and naet gogo olketa releasem full Bible long June 1835. Olketa hapi tumas bikos olketa finis for printim nao Bible long Malagasy languis!

From law bilong queen hem stap yet, olketa missionary kwiktaem givimaot Bible. Olketa berem 70-fala copy tu mekem no eniwan savve spoelem. Diswan hem gudfala disison bikos no winim wan year nomoa, tufala missionary nomoa stap long datfala island bat olketa narawan go bak. Nomata olsem, staka pipol moa long Big Red Island lane abaotem toktok bilong God.

Pipol Long Madagascar Tinghae Long Bible

Pipol long Madagascar hapi tumas bikos olketa savve readim Bible long languis bilong olketa! Samfala samting wea olketa transleitim hem no stret and olketa iusim Malagasy languis wea pipol long bifor iusim. Nomata olsem, klosap evriwan garem Bible and staka pipol long Madagascar readim evritaem. Wanfala gud samting abaotem datfala transleison nao hem garem nem bilong God Jehovah staka taem insaed long Hebrew Scripture. Long olketa firstfala copy bilong Greek Scripture hem garem nem Jehovah tu. Dastawe staka pipol long Madagascar savve long nem bilong God.

Tru tumas, taem pipol long Madagascar lukim olketa firstfala copy bilong Greek Scripture wea Mr. Baker printim, Mr. Baker lukim olketa barava hapi tumas and hem sei: “Mi no laek for profesi, bat mi savve hem bae hard for eniwan stopem pipol for no savve long toktok bilong God long disfala island!” Wanem hem talem kamap tru. No eni samting olsem malaria or wei for lanem languis wea no isi or law bilong wanfala ruler savve stopem pipol long Madagascar for no savve kasem Bible.

Nara samting happen distaem wea barava gud tumas. Wanem nao datwan? Long 2008, olketa releasem full New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures long Malagasy languis. Disfala niu Bible barava nambawan bikos hem fitim languis bilong olketa distaem and olketa savve minim. So distaem pipol long Big Red Island savve long Word bilong God winim bifor.​—⁠Isa. 40:⁠8.

[Footnote]

[Piksa long page 31]

“New World Translation” long Malagasy languis mekhae long nem bilong God, Jehovah