The Love Chapter
lufoyi... love...
penu ndiribe lufoyi... but if I don't have love...
ndine lini cinthu... I am nothing...
I Corinthians 13... the famous Love Chapter that is read a weddings all over the world, every week... is translated into Nyungwe. The consultant check is underway for Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth. Things are going well. There were a few days when the team stayed to work through just another verse and spent an extra hour discussing it. Chapter 7 was tough. Chapter 14 can get tricky. Chapter 13 is pretty much done, at least the first seven verses I begged Mikael to share with us for this post.
Here are maybe the most quotable parts...
4 Love is patient, love is kind.
4 Lufoyi limbapirira, lufoyi limbakomera m'tima.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Lufoyi liribe njiru, limbasamwa lini ayai limbadzikuza lini.
5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
5 Limbacita lini bzakusaya kuthemera, limbafuna lini bzabwino kwa iye yekha,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
limbakalipa lini kamangu, limbakoya lini ciwengo.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
6 Lufoyi limbakomedwa lini na bzakusaya kulungama, tsono limbakomedwa na bza cadidi.
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
7 Lufoyi limbalekerera bzentse, limbaleka lini kukhulupirira, limbaleka lini kudikhira ndipo limbapirira na bzentse.
The idea of forgiveness is contained in verse seven... and that is one that has been hard for the team for a long time. They go back and forth between two terms: kulekera and kulekerera. One is "ignore" or "abandon"... the other is more like "let it go". Neither one is right on for the meaning of forgive, but might work here where English is saying something like "keeps no record of wrongs." I haven't even gone into the Greek of the original text in the explanation. A word here or there can be tricky, especially when you realize that those words may end up being quoted for generations. Will they speak the right meaning to the ones that hear them?
Even the most straight forward parts of the translation require decisions that have implications. Take the title: I Corinthians... or the first letter of Paul to the church at Corinth.
Tsamba la kuyamba la Paulu lomwe adanembera ku gereja ya ku Kolinto
Do we need to make all that the title? Will it be understood if we just shorten it to Tsamba la kuKolinto? In the end, will anyone care that a team of men labored over the decision? Not likely. That's ok. The point is to keep it faithful and make it useful. Basically, make all the decisions out of love... without that, it's meaningless anyway.
Oh... and we do appreciate your prayers. It makes a difference.
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