Welcome to our Article Translation Effort Page!This is an all volunteer--unpaid-- effort to bring Bible.org resources into as many languages as we possibly can. Here volunteers will be able to find resources and information on this translation ministry.
While this is a volunteer project, we do have a translator appreciation program by which we desire to express a token of our thanks through further Bible Study resources that we are able to offer.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer translator please visit our volunteer page (for more details) and contact us today!
Since YOU are the one doing the translating, here is our guidance and advice:
1. Choose any article on Bible.org that you would like to translate. Perhaps you would like to translate something that would personally be of help to you in your life or ministry. Since you will be spending a bit of time working on this article you have the freedom to choose whatever article you would like to translate.
2. If you would like suggestions or guidance we have prepared a listing of articles that we would really like to see made available in each language (see below for a web version of this list). This listing is also available in an Excel spreadsheet (in the Related Media for this article) if you would like a downloadale version (Readable in Microsoft Excel, or the freely downloadable program Open Office). It has links to each of the articles just like the version below.
A. In this list our first priority is "God's Plan of Salvation" by Hampton Keathley, III
B. After that salvation message article, we would encourage you to pick one article from each of the categories listed in our spreadsheet to translate so that a variety of subjects are made available. This way we will not have, for instance, ten articles available on Bible study but none on Prayer. After each subject has a translated article in the new language we can go back and translate the "missing" articles.
3. After picking an article to translate be sure to let us know which one you are working on so that we do not accidentally receive duplicate translations from different translators.
*PTSM # = Path to Spiritual Maturity + step number
Translating can be a tough job. Correctly understanding what is being originally said is crucial to being able to translate it accurately into the second language. When dealing with the Bible and theological studies words are often used that are not words used in everyday activity. To help you with this here are a few links to online dictionaries and resources that may be of help should you need some clarification. (See Below)
Bible.org’s Dictionary database, 6 dictionaries accessible through one search function.
Dictionary of Theology, a database being put together by the Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry.
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, an old but good dictionary that took into account English theological definitions quite well.
Oxford Dictionaries, a good general English dictionary.
Dictionary.com, another helpful online dictionary.
Here at Bible.org we are so thankful for the many volunteer translators that God has sent our way over the years. We recognize that translation can be quite hard work, and that you, our translators, do it unpaid as a ministry service to us and the world. We have been very blessed by your sacrificial service to the Lord. We would like in turn to be a blessing to you with what we are able to share back. Most of the resources that we provide here on Bible.org are free and available to all. However we do have a few other resources made for sale that we are sometimes able share. A number of these we would like to make available as a token thank you for your volunteer ministry with us. It is hoped and prayed that these will be a further blessing to you in your ministry in your local setting. In the end we recognize that it is God who will give out the real awards in eternity for believers’ faithfulness and pure motivation. However we do hope these will be a nice encouragement, a useful side benefit, and in some way a help in your service to our Lord.
*An ePub Book is a convenient electronic version of a book that can be read on a computer through a free program such as Calibre, or on a dedicated E-reader device. (iPad, Nook, Android tablets, etc./Kindle compatible files available upon request.)
+ Certificate = An official certificate of appreciation from Bible.org e-mailed to you in thanks and recognition of your current translation milestone achievement.
Note: Extremely short articles and illustrations may not count towards the translation total. Determination of awards—as well as the awarding of them will remain solely at the discretion of Bible.org.
Note: The award for reaching 50 translations has now changed to the Premium Bonded Leather Full Notes edition of the NET Bible.
If you have any questions send us an email.
Q1- How do I become a volunteer translator?
Q2- How can I contact Bible.org?
Q3- What do you want me to translate?
Q4- How do I format the documents so they are ready for the internet?
Q5- What if I don’t have Microsoft Word?
Q6- Where should I place my name on the document that I have translated?
Q7- Where should I send the finished translated material?
Q8- How long should it take me to translate an article?
Q9- Can I use google translate to translate documents?
Q10- Can I have a list of other translators that volunteer for Bible.org?
Q11- How long will it take once I translate an article for it to appear live on Bible.org?
Q12- How do I translate the footnotes?
* Go to http://bible.org/language and download the formatting guidelines.
* We want God’s Plan of Salvation translated into every language. Check to see if this article needs to be translated in your language. To check on the article’s translation status go to http://bible.org/list_of_translations_table and a list of translations page will appear. Under show/hide click hide all this will clear the template. Next place a check mark in your language. Then click on the column with your language name and the table will sort all of the articles translated in your language. If a number appears in blue that means the article has been translated, if a number appears in red that means the article is in the process of being translated. If you do not see a number that means that this article that has not been translated yet. You can also check at the bottom of any specific article to see if any links to translation articles are available.
* You have the freedom to translate any article that you would like. However, we do have a list of articles we would like to see translated.
* Please send us an email letting us know what article you will be translating. To contact Bible.org click http://bible.org/contact?category=Translations. After you have filled out the form, click send email at the bottom of the page.
* Find the study you want to translate and then send an email telling us of your intention. This will help us make sure nobody else is already working on that study in your language.
* Download the Word document (the link to the doc file is located at the top of the study)
* Try to follow our paragraph styles as you translate. This means that you assign a Heading 1 or Heading 2 or Body Text or Quote paragraph styles to those paragraphs that we assigned those styles to. You will not be able to just start a new document in Word and have all those styles we use available to you, so you might try deleting all the text in our document and saving the empty document with a new name. Then you can start your translation in that new empty document and assigning styles because all the styles we use will still be in that empty document.
* Email us the new translation and we will convert it to HTML.
* Click on http://bible.org/article/translation-formatting-guidelines then click on the download word document to download the guidelines.
Footnotes are an important part of many articles, and need careful attention.
* If a footnote is simply an explanatory note related to the text then translate it fully.
* However, if it is the bibliography information for a book or article it may be left untranslated to accurately show the resource and page number that was originally referenced. If a translated version of the work is known then that translated name may be put in parenthesis after the original language version. This will aid readers in locating a copy in their own language. A quick search on the internet often will uncover if such a translation is available. Doing such a quick search would be preferred, but there is no need for exhaustive efforts to locate translated versions.
* Lastly, if a footnote is a mixture of bibliography information and explanatory note be sure to translate the note portion.