Broken Yoke Publishing is honored to be partnering with Asociacion Biblica
Latinoamericano, and missionary Alegria Lievano, to distribute a new version of the Bible, a literal, textual translation in modern Spanish for Latin America. In English, the name of the new Bible is: God’s Word for you, Latinamerican Textual Bible.
Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries, and as of 2022, 548 million people speak Spanish worldwide. It is the second most spoken language by native speakers and is the fourth most spoken language in the world. Yet many of these people have never opened a Bible.
At Broken Yoke Publishing, we love stories. And we’d like to share the story with
you of how this “God’s Word for you, Latinamerican Textual Bible” translation came about.
Many years ago, Carlos, a young atheist Jew immigrated from Russia to Argentina, and later to Venezuela. There he worked as the head steward on a Venezuelan airline and married a stewardess, Maricarmen. One day Carlos found his wife on her knees by her bed and asked what she was doing. Praying! Carlos was furious when he discovered that she had become a believer in Jesus. As the light of her Redeemer shone ever brighter in her life, Carlos became increasingly
frustrated.
One day as Carlos was crossing a street, he stopped and yelled at God. “If you heal my mother, I will believe in you.” His mom had advanced dementia. You know what happened next, right? Yep. God healed his mom. And Carlos became a Christian. He earnestly studied the Scriptures in Hebrew and Greek, only to discover that the Spanish Bible doesn’t say what the
Hebrew and Greek say. He began the arduous task of making his own translation based on the oldest and most reliable manuscripts.
During this time, the Venezuelan airline went broke and Carlos and Maricarmen had to find another way to make a living. They took out a loan at a local bank and started a food kiosk on the street. The banker, an elder at a Caracas church, had a tender heart toward this Jewish man. The friendship grew when Carlos became a Christian. God prospered Carlos and he became the CEO at the largest retail store on the island of Margarita.
Carlos finished his Spanish translation of the Bible but realized that this completed work shouldn’t stay on his shelf. The Lord brought a team of people together, including Alegria and her husband, who pastored the church where the banker attended. Alegria studied linguistics and translation with Wycliffe Bible Translators and eagerly participated in recruiting others to help
with the project. Another key member of the team was the professor of a seminary who had translated over 150 books from English to Spanish. Even when resources ran out, and health issues made the work intensely challenging, the team continued working. They were determined to fulfill their promise to produce a meticulously accurate Bible for the Latinamerican Spanish
population.
And this is how God’s Word for you, Latinamerican Textual Bible came into being.
Proceeds from the sale of each Bible help Alegria continue her efforts to distribute the Word of God in Central American countries.