There aren’t many Welsh speaking people in the world. There must be even fewer Welsh speakers who are blind. And we probably could count the number of blind Welsh speakers who are also Christians on the fingers of the hands of a typical Sunday afternoon Baptist chapel congregation in Llanfflewin. But however small that number they should still be able to read the Bible in their first language. This is why Cytun, the ecumenical body in Wales, has launched an appeal for the translation of the Psalms and New Testament into Welsh Braille. Big donations have already been promised, but a further £10,000 is needed.

Ever since the early days of the Protestant Reformation, the church has believed that everyone should be able to read the Scriptures in their own language. This was not because of some nationalist or language preservation viewpoint (though in my view that would have been reason enough) but because the reformers believed that all should be allowed to study and interpret the Bible for themselves. The core belief in the ‘priesthood of all believers’ – i.e. that all Christians can approach God and his truth without the need for a priest to stand between them – meant that having the Bible in the indigenous language was essential.

The translation work for the Welsh Bible was completed by 1588 and we still revere Bishop William Morgan today for his – and others’ – achievement. It was a massive undertaking as it was in every other language. And of course, new languages are being added to the list all the time as the work of spreading the good news about the Kingdom spreads throughout the world. Newer translations of existing Bibles are also produced, with the latest Welsh version being online. This is excellent work since it ensures that the Scriptures are being kept in the contemporary vernacular of any particular language.

With all this good work, however, we must add one caveat: even those translations that keep closest to the three original languages are still interpretations of the original. Versions such as the NASB adhere as closely as possible to the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, while the Message is very much a loose interpretation – though an excellent one. But academic research is continually teaching us new things about the meanings of words used by the biblical writers in their particular culture, brining new light to long held beliefs.

We should remember this as we read ‘God’s word’.