Psalms that Sing
Translating from Oral to Text to Performance
Vision
All 150 psalms available in the languages and poetry of the world, and put to music.
Mission
We want to facilitate the creative translation of the psalms, with poets and musicians from within the communities as translators. The final outcome will be the whole Psalter translated and available in audio, video and print.
Motivations
01
There is an increased desire globally to see the Book of Psalms translated.
03
There is a need for more diverse and locally-sourced psalm products. This poetic translation process will not only facilitate an authorised translation for each psalm, in both oral and print, but also a range of adaptations and Scripture-based products for many performance expressions.
02
Most language groups of the world have rich traditions of poetry and oral verbal art. This can add richness in the translation of the original biblical poetry of the psalms.
04
Most communities are blessed with poets, songwriters and verbal artists. This pilot project aims to leverage such local skills in the translation of the psalms.
The Initial Plan:
to produce a workflow package that includes a new curriculum of training materials, consisting of translation guides for at least 60 psalms and exploration of local and biblical poetry, and a six-workshop plan to be followed over two years. Following our pilot phase we also aim to produce notes on the remaining 90 psalms for teams to use without workshop supervision.
The Dream:
that the psalms in poetic form will enhance the understanding and use of the psalms and biblical truths in different spheres. We dream that the translated psalms will be used even more in worship and teaching in the church, in community oral art events, and even on local media like radio.
Working Plan of the Pilot
2022
Pre-Pilot
Phase
20 to 25 psalms were translated in four languages.
There were a couple of one-week and two-week workshops in three languages and two three-day workshops in poetry discovery in Cameroon, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. The team drafted up to 40 psalm translation guides. The purpose of the pre-pilot phase was to test the methodology.
2023-2024
Full Pilot
Phase
At least 60 psalms will be translated in six languages, with audio, video and print products.
One of the goals of the full pilot phase is to see if 60 - 80 psalms can be completed in the two years (over 6 workshops). During this process, the trainers, consultants and local leaders aim to test and evaluate a range of things, such as how long a psalm takes to translate, how long a workshop can be and the community involvement opportunities. The team will continue to draft and review another 40 psalm translation guides.
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end of 2024
Dedication
& Evaluation
There will be separate dedications for each language.
The long-term goal is to use this methodology for the poetic translation of all the psalms in different languages. It is foreseen that, as communities move into more Old Testament translation work, the other poetic books of the Old Translation will also be translated using a similar method (like Job, Proverbs, Isaiah), taking advantage of the experience already gained through the psalms.