Agenzia Fides

Guatemala City (Agenzia Fides) – During the study of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, Bishop Julio Cabrera of Jalapa, presented the recent publication of the Bible translated into K'iché, the most popular of the 22 Mayan languages spoken in the country. According to information received by Fides, the translation of the Bible in K'iché is the result of 23 years of work by a group coordinated by French priest Bernardo Guos and by Isabel Sucuquí, for the Mayan language, originally from Chico, El Quiché.
Bishop Cabrera explained that the work of digitisation of the document began last year in Bilbao, Spain, and then continued in China for the printing, from where this Bible will be delivered to the people of Guatemala. For his part, Father Guos explained that the translation of the Scriptures was not completed from Spanish, but from the original language, through a process of constant review by K'iché catechists, to reach the final text of a modern Bible, which allows the reading of the text without the help of other languages.
Isabel Sucuquí expressed her delight for this version that honours all martyrs, the K'iché people, and everyone involved in the translation. She also recognised the valuable contribution of the catechists of various Catholic parishes in the west of the Country. The translation of the Bible into K'iché marks a historic moment for the Church in Guatemala, which now offers the Holy Book to many catechists in their language, a lifesaver for those who had to bury their heads in Bibles and other texts of Christian formation when the Church suffered a bloody persecution. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 04/03/2011)