Ixil Bible dedicated amidst pomp, ceremony

NEBAJ — Music, speeches and Bible readings accompanied Tuesday’s four-hour dedication of the Ixil New Testamant of Nebaj.

Four men who worked on the translation — Ray Elliott, Andrés Velasco Brito, Gabriel Raymundo and David Henne — gave speeches, thanking God for his blessing on their work.

Thirty minutes after the dedication began, nearly half of the seats sat empty and I began to wonder if many Ixil people were too occupied with their week-long town celebration. But just then, the floodgates opened and for the next half hour, Ixil Mayans continued to stream into the auditorium filling it beyond capacity.

As different people read from from the new Ixil translation, many Ixil believers followed along in their newly purchased New Testaments. For several years, Sharon Rosenwald has worked with Ixil Mayans here — especially with Benito Brito and Jacinto Cobo Cobo — to teach the Ixil to read their own language.

I had anticipated many more quotations than I managed to capture, but as it should be most of the speeches were given in Ixil, pronounced e-SHEEL. Diego Cedillo Velasco, director of Radio Ixil, a Christian radio station, expressed gratitude over having the New Testament in his own language: “We rejoice to have the gift of the work of many brothers in our hands, and now we will be able to study it,” he said.

As the hours rolled by, enterprising young shoe-shine boys entered the hall offering their services. Several of us got a fresh “lustre,” although I cringed at paying a bit of an inflated price (nearly 70 cents).

While we listened to the Ixil speeches, I chatted with Bob Gunn, SIL International’s regional director, who arrived here from Panama for the dedication. He has attended dozens of such ceremonies, and each one is different, he said. Sometimes, organizers invite indigenous speakers of all ages to read from the newly published text. Sometimes, they include responsive readings. From there, the festivities can go many different directions.

Lord willing, this Ixil translation will not only be revered but used by the Ixil. Much depends on this: acceptance of the translation by pastors, literacy, successful promotion and distribution. Ray Elliott told me last week that he was encouraged to meet several different people who were already using the new translation. One fellow, however, a former translation assistant, rejects it, insisting the Spanish Bible, specifically the Reina-Valera translation revised in 1960, is the true Word of God.

Please pray for the Ixil who now have the New Testament in their own heart-language to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, being fed with regular study of God’s word, allowing it to transform their hearts and lives for the glory of God.