Abstract:
Bible translation endeavors in Ghana and other parts of the world have
significantly contributed to the establishment and growth of Christianity.
However, like any human endeavor, mother-tongue Bible translation comes
with many challenges to both the translator and translation agencies. In this
regard, the Lord’s Prayer is arguably one of the most difficult texts to translate.
This paper examined two challenging expressions in the Matthean Lord’s
Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13), namely ἁγιασθήτω (v.9b) and εἰσενέγκῃς (v.13a), and
how their rendition in the ongoing Bono-Twi Bible Translation Project could
serve as a model for other Akan mother-tongue translations. The paper is a non
empirical research that gathered data from publications on the subject matter,
including books, Bible Commentaries, and journal articles. The methodology
for the paper consists of three steps: First, exegetical, linguistic, and theological
analyses of the selected expressions in the biblical context; second, a
sociolinguistic and theological examination of the Bono-Twi rendering and
third, a comparative study between the Bono-Twi version and three Akan
versions (Asante-Twi, Akuapem-Twi and Fante). The study found the need to
go beyond linguistic considerations to include exegetical and theological
analysis to correctly render a text from one language to another. To enhance the
effectiveness of mother-tongue Bible translation, the paper recommended that
agencies, churches, pastors, and theological institutions collaborate by
providing proper training, encouraging local language use, and supporting
translation efforts through funding, literacy, and theological input. The paper
contributes to the academic discourse on the development of mother-tongue
translation, theologizing, and exegesis in Ghana and Africa.
