Select Words Archive
Below are the Select Words available to use. Any comments or questions? Email us at selectwords@wycliffe.org.
Christmas Story
A 4th Century Reflection on the Incarnation
Any Sign of BabyJesus?
A Christmas Letter
A Fowl Awakening
The Real Story of Christmas by 1st Grade
Jesus the One and Only
Saved by a Cow?
Emilio's Bread
For God so Loved the Dirt
Tone it Down for Jesus
A Way With the Word
Get Over Yourself
Missionaries on a Leash
Stone Patience
Good Word from a Poor God
The Gall Bladder of the Matter
Ancient Promise, New Life
It's No Secret
The Raskol's Bride
A Faith that is Catching
At Home with Truth
Christmas
A 4th Century Reflection on the Incarnation
from Gregory of Nazianzus (330-389 AD)
Once more the darkness is dispersed
Once more the light is created
Let the people that sat in the darkness of ignorance
now look upon the light of knowledge.
The things of old have passed away
Behold, all things are made new.
He who has no mother in heaven is now born
without father on earth.
He who is without flesh becomes incarnate
The Word puts on a body
The Invisible is seen
He whom no hand can touch is handled.
The timeless has a beginning
The Son of God becomes Son of Man—Jesus Christ,
the same yesterday, today and forever.
The renovation of everything…
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Any Sign of Baby Jesus?
A missionary mom took her three-year-old daughter, Lydia, to a huge craft store to shop for fall decorations. To Lydia’s delight, some Christmas items were already on display. She stood mesmerized by the yuletide lawn decorations—an army of snowmen and Santa Clauses, and a large nativity scene. Lydia could’ve stared at the dazzling Christmas characters all day, but Mommy was ready to move on.
The three-year-old gawker wasn’t happy about leaving this section without seeing her favorite Christmas character. “But Mom, where’s the baby Jesus?” she insisted.
“I’m not sure. Maybe we’ll come back and look later,” said Mom, with other things on her mind.
Lydia wasn’t deterred from her quest. She kept up her plea: “I want to see the Baby Jesus.” Once on the other side of the store, she realized there weren’t any more Christmas displays, and clearly Mom wasn’t being helpful. In a loud voice that only an uninhibited three-year-old can aspire to, she began to shout down the aisles to anyone in earshot. “Does anybody know where Baby Jesus is?”
Thankfully Lydia knew to look for Jesus, but millions around the world have yet to hear His Story. They do not know that their Savior has already come for them. This Christmas, would you, like Lydia, ask others if they’ve found the Lord?
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A Christmas Letter
An excerpt from a Bible translator’s 2006 holiday prayer letter:
Dear Friends in Christ:
This is the first time in 36 years that Lois and I find ourselves separated for the Christmas season. While I’m here in Dallas with family and friends, Lois experiences the celebration of the birth of our Lord in eternity with all the saints of Heaven. What a beautiful thought! Can you imagine the joy of experiencing one another’s company, as well as experiencing the focus of the season: Christ himself? And if Christmas tea rings are in order, I know what Lois is doing right now.
Now I look forward to joining my life-partner in heaven, but before I go, I’ve asked the Lord for enough time to complete the task that He gave Lois and me years ago; that is, train sufficient members of the Islander Creole English (ICE) community to the point where they have the skills to translate Scripture on their own with minimal outside help. The final form can be print, radio-drama or any other media Islanders choose to advance the Kingdom of God in their vineyard. That goal was doable while Lois was at my side; it continues to be doable now that I work alone.
At the beginning of this letter, I included a portion of Matthew in ICE. A year ago, San Andres Islanders did not have this portion of the Word in their own language. Now they do, and I’ve heard them actually laugh with joy at having the Christmas story in their heart language. It means that much to them. Thank you for your part in bringing the message of hope to them through Lois and me.
Because Immanuel came,
Ron
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A Fowl Awakening
Christmas morning might be the only day of the year when parents have no trouble getting their children out of bed. Any other morning, and especially on a school day, a little one might not greet the day bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
In Papua New Guinea, a Vitu speaker who doesn’t want to go to school might say, “The chicken is lying to me.” This is the phrase people use to stay in bed just a few minutes longer. They question the integrity of the rooster whose cock-a-doodle-do rouses them for the day’s business.
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The Real Story of Christmas by 1st Grade
Jesus was born on Earth. I wrshep God. He ded on the Kros.
– Cambria
Jesus was born to us. The angel spoke too the Sheperbs. I love God.
– Young Ju
It is Jesus birthday! A Santa comes on Christmas day! Jesus was born for you!
– Min Gyeong
It is Jesus birth. Jesus is born. Jesus was happe.
– Jared
Jesus Brth. I like when his birthday. Jesus is shine (shiny).
- Jenny
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Jesus the One and Only
Saved by a Cow?
Here is something to think about: Even when Christianity is the accepted religion of a people group, the people sometimes continue to practice their old religious customs.
Take the people of Huarichaca, for example. Every year from January 6th to 9th, they honor the Baby Jesus—whom they consider their patron saint. Huge crowds gather in the city for the celebration. To feed all the people, residents butcher all sorts of animals: cows, pigs, sheep, chickens and guinea pigs.
In one place, a family butchered a cow. Immediately, a crowd of women and children gathered. The women saw the death of the cow as the perfect opportunity to protect their children from the dreaded Mountain Spirit. How did they do this? By passing their children through the rumen, or stomach, of the cow. They believed the smell of the dead cow would offend the spirit and protect the children from illness and death.
One boy, Chito, wore a rosary as he passed through the rumen. Even though his people had heard of the cross, they still passed children through rumen to try to save them from death.
Bible translation can make a lot of difference for cultures like this one. When people hear the Word of God in their heart language, they understand the truth of the gospel. Then the truth motivates them to give up their old practices and trust in Jesus, the only person who can save them from evil.
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Emilio’s Bread
As told by Mike and Heather Miller-translators in Peru with the Huaylas Quechua people
The other day Emilio came to our door. This is no small task, because he is blind and has no seeing-eye dog, and no one to lead him. But he has memorized the rocky path with its twists and turns, steps and bumps so he can come to the translation center. Emilio is a Quechua man who loves Jesus and visits us sometimes when he has special needs, always checking for any work he can do.
He asked if we would help him get a short-wave radio to be able to listen to his favorite Christian programs. He listens to the programs our co-translators do in Quechua, and since he is blind and can’t read Braille, we wanted to help him in some way. A second-hand radio would cost about 12 dollars. I told him I’d see what we could do, and we’d come to his house that night with an answer.
There just happened to be a group of visiting construction workers from Rockford, Illinois and North Carolina who I thought might like to help. One of them offered his tiny short wave radio, and I thought this could be an answer to prayer. That night we went and found Emilio’s tiny adobe hut. It was like entering a cave. Emilio got out a candle and lit it for us, and then we sat down and started talking. The little short-wave radio turned out to be too hard for him to
operate, so we opted to help him buy the second-hand, older and simpler radio (it got better reception anyhow). He was thrilled and began to tell us about the preachers he likes to hear.
Emilio lives alone in that little dirt-floored, one room house. His things hung from rafters, wires crisscrossed the room (for his radio antennae), and bags and clothes lay here and there. Seeing his poverty, I became concerned, and asked, “How do you get your food?”
He confidently replied, “Read John 6:35!” I pulled Emilio’s Bible, which he can no longer see, from a plastic bag and read, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry…’ I choked, trying to hold back the tears. ‘...and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’”
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For God so Loved the Dirt
Rob Taylor, a translator of the Choctaw New Testament, gives this example of how a first language affects the Native Americans understanding of English. In Choctaw and Stoney First Nation, the word for world is translated as earth, land, and dirt. It doesn’t include people. So John 3:16, to them, could mean, “For God so loved the earth….” The deeper truth of Jesus’ sacrifice for people would be lost without the verse in their heart language.
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Tone it Down for Jesus
Many languages around the world are tonal. That means words can have the same spelling, but if you speak the wrong tone, you get an entirely different meaning.
One example is found among the Sharanahua, who live in the southeast corner of the Amazon rainforest in Peru. Bible translator Gene Scott and his Sharanahua co-translator were trying to find just the right words for the familiar verse, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…” (John 14:6, NLT).
The closest word for "way" in Sharanahua is "path." However, in Sharanahua the word for "path" and the word for "rise in the river" are both "fai." The only difference is in the tone. If you use the wrong tone, Jesus ends up saying, "I am the rise in the river" instead of “I am the path." Still, it was the best word to use and when read in context with other verses, the Sharanahuas understand it perfectly.
The Sharanahua New Testament was dedicated in 1997. The church is growing, and now the Sharanahua know that Jesus is the “path” to salvation.
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A Way of the Word
Get Over Yourself
Ngomba translators in Cameroon were translating the parable of the Good Samaritan. They had a hard time with the verse, “You shall love the Lord your God…with all your soul,” (Luke 10:27). There is no word for “soul” in the Ngomba language.
With a computer program called Adapt It, they looked at the text in a related language, Ngiemboon, to see how other translators had solved this problem. They had given an explanation of what it means to love God with all one’s soul. This seemed to be the only way to avoid a warped and confusing translation such as, “Love God with all your phantom.”
The Ngomba translators decided on a good explanation; in English the command would say, “Put what is His before and over whatever is yours.” In other words, God should be first in everything!
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Missionaries on a Leash
A Folopa elder in Papua New Guinea sat translators Neil and Carol Anderson down and said, “I have to tell you why you’re here.” Neil and Carol were very interested to know why, so they said, “Oh? Tell us.”
The elder explained how an evangelist had once come to their area and shared the gospel with the people. They started a small church, but soon the evangelist had to go to another village. The people cried, "What will we do now? We don’t know anything about God and Christianity!" He told them, "I want you to pray that God will send you a missionary." A few years later, the Andersons showed up to work on Bible translation, and everyone was very excited.
The elder told the missionaries, “You thought you came here all on your own, but you didn’t. We’d been praying that you would come. God put His leash on your arm, and He pulled you here.”
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Stone Patience
The Fulfulde people of Cameroon like to say, “Munyal deefan hayr.” It means, “patience 
can cook a stone.” This proverb teaches about the power of patience and the need to develop this virtue. Cooking a stone can indeed move mountains.
In his campaign across the Alps, Hannibal used fire and water to crack huge bolders so his elephants could get through. Likewise, patience is key to overcoming obstacles that seem impossible.
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Good Word from a Poor God
In the Mixtec language of Mexico, there are no single words for some concepts, so they are expressed by a descriptive phrase. “To be big inside,” means to forgive. “To be poor inside,” means to have compassion. Parables are called “wise words,” and the gospel is called the “good words.” The Mixtec people are hearing the good words that because God was poor inside, He sent Jesus, so He can be big inside towards us.
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The Gall Bladder of the Matter
English speakers often express emotions by talking about the heart. We might say, “My heart is heavy,” if we are sad, or we might call an uncompassionate person, “hard-hearted.”
But not everyone takes this to heart! In other cultures, emotion is thought to reside in different parts of the body. The Mbelime speakers of Benin express emotions by talking about their gall bladder.
Instead of a broken heart, an Mbelime speaker would complain of a “rotten gall bladder.” “My gall bladder bothers me,” does not refer to a medical problem; it just means someone is frustrated. “My gall bladder is no longer there,” means a person can’t think straight because of too many worries. And it’s always good to hear, “my gall bladder is soft.” That means an Mbelime speaker is happy.
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Ancient Promise, New Life
It’s No Secret
Samuel was one of his teacher’s favorite students at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology. He always had something wise to contribute to his translation class.
Sam comes from the Gwere people of Uganda. The Gwere often have secret places in the walls of their houses where they store money and other valuables, but sometimes rats find these caches and eat the money.
One day Sam told his class he had chosen to become a Bible translator because, “That which you hide in the secret place will be eaten by a rat.” And the gospel is a treasure that shouldn’t be kept secret.
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The Raskol’s Bride
Years ago in Papua New Guinea, a young Kombio Christian named Melinda felt the call to begin a Sunday school program for children. In preparation, she traveled to another language area to attend Bible classes and get training. Afterwards Melinda returned to Kombio, but before she could begin the Sunday school program, she was raped and became pregnant as a result.
The attacker was a known criminal or raskol* whose name means “to shame” in Tok Pisin. He was notorious for making trouble and had been in and out of jail. Once he had even started a feud between two villages over a sago palm tree and then fled. When Melinda’s father first learned of the rape he tried to kill the assailant, but eventually her family forced her to marry him. Now doomed to wed her enemy, it seemed Melinda would have to abandon her dream of starting a Sunday school.
This unjust situation was one of many that Joan, a Bible translator for the Kombio, left behind when she returned to the States four years ago, tired and disheartened. But when she and her colleague Laura visited the Kombio recently, it was clear God had been at work. Satan wanted to use Melinda’s husband for his purposes, but God had other plans. The locals had given up on the man years ago, and perhaps he had even given up on himself, but Melinda never stopped praying for her husband.
Three days after Joan and Laura arrived in Kombio, Melinda and her son came to visit them. Laura was delighted to meet her, but knowing a little bit about Melinda’s situation, she was reluctant to ask her any questions. But the two missionaries were amazed as Melinda, smiling brilliantly, spoke about the goodness of the Lord. After a few minutes, the conversation turned to her husband. Joan and Laura nearly fell on the floor when Melinda reported that he had given his life to Jesus, been baptized, and had changed his name!
Knowing that many people who convert are still only “skin Christians,” Laura thought, “I’ve got to see this for myself.” As she served with Melinda during the vacation Bible school program, they became close friends, and Laura spent lots of time with the family. She soon saw the man had been genuinely transformed from a cowardly attacker to a loving, tender husband and father. He was now gentle and protective towards his wife and any children who happened to be around. His character was marked by kindness and consideration.
He even supported Melinda and cared for their children so that she could receive medical training. And now he is building her a clinic so she can provide nursing care to the village.
On the last night of their visit, Joan and Laura ate supper with the local pastor’s family and Melinda and her husband. When the dinner was finished, the former criminal escorted the ladies back to the village…to protect them from raskols.
* a Tok Pisin word meaning criminal or troublemaker
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A Faith That is Catching
In the Awak language of Nigeria, Christians are recognized with a unique phrase. When Scripture first came to the Awak and people believed, others saw that the Christians were always joyful—dancing and singing when they gathered. So these enthusiastic believers became known as the “people of play”!
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At Home with the Truth
One language community in West Asia has a proverb that in English means, “It’s better to be a beggar in your own country than to be a king in a foreign land.” For this community, there’s no place like home. Nothing compares to the friendly, familiar surroundings of home. That’s where you’re happiest, even if a beggar, because your own people understand your pain and difficulties. Therefore it’s clear that the language of the home and heart is what will communicate God’s truths at the deepest level, more than any other language could. What a motivation to help others receive God’s Word in their own mother tongue!
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