Where English used one word, the Jita team found they needed two.
from a report by Ben Gerth (Translation Advisor)
The book of Revelation describes a scroll which was ‘sealed’ with seven seals (5:1). Later, it mentions the 144,000 who were ‘sealed’ on their foreheads (7:4).
Jita language translators quickly found a word for the forehead seal, which described it as a “mark of ownership or belonging,” such as would help a farmer protect his cow, or a fisherman his day’s catch.
But they knew that same word could not work in chapter five…
“The seals on the scroll were less about ownership,” explained Michiel Louter, one of the team’s Translation Advisors, “and more about privacy of the scroll’s contents.”
With a bit of research, the translators found another Jita word to use for the seals on the scroll. “They describe it,” said Louter, “much like glue strips.”
photo above: While the Jita team translates Revelation, they continue working in other areas, such as recording audio versions of Scripture which they’ve already completed. Here, the team records a Jita speaker reading from the book of Jonah. (photo: Ben Gerth)
