Bible Gateway Blog

The Bible Gateway team has been busy this week—we’ve added three new Bible versions to our library! The new additions are the Uspanteco, West Central Quiché, and Mam de Todos Santos Cuchumatán versions.

These versions are in three more Mayan languages still spoken today in Guatemala; they range from rather obscure (Uspanteco is spoken by only about 3,000 people) to relatively common (300,000 people still speak West Central Quiché). Like the other Mayan language versions we’ve added recently, these translations are provided by Wycliffe Bible Translators.

In keeping with blog tradition, here’s John 3:16 in the Mam de Todos Santos Cuchumatán Bible:

See you next week!

We’re finishing out the week with yet another addition to our library of online Bibles: the Kekchi New Testament. Here’s a bit of context, provided by the translators:

Kekchi (kek) is one of 50+ Mayan languages still spoken in Guatemala today. The Kekchi number approximately 700,000 and are located in Alta Verapaz in northern Guatemala. They do extend into Belize and many are migrating to California and New York. Kekchi is a Mayan language, but it is more closely related to the Mayan languages of southern Mexico. They are animistic and are greatly influenced by the trend to switch back to the old Mayan religion. However, the Kekchi Bible has had a tremendous impact on the Kekchis resulting in a people’s movement in the ‘80 when thousands turned to the Lord. They continue on today with a concern for reaching their own people with the Gospel. The Nazarene, the Southern Baptists, the Mennonites, and various Pentecostal groups are all using the Kekchi Bible and hold their services in the Kekchi language. They are proud of their Kekchi culture and language, but still burdened to reach others with the true Gospel message. It is an indigenous work that will continue on long after all expatriates have left the country.

Wikipedia’s got more on the Kekchi language and culture. And here’s John 3:16 in the Kekchi language:

We’ve got more new Bible versions scheduled to go live next week. Enjoy your weekend!

Another day, another new Bible version available at the Bible Gateway! Today we’ve added the Jacalteco Oriental (Eastern) New Testament. The Jacalteco Eastern language is spoken by about 10,000 people in Guatemala. It joins the last several versions we’ve added in making the Gospel available in a number of native Central American languages.

The Jacalteco New Testament was translated by Wycliffe Bible Translators. Here’s what John 3:16 looks like in Jacalteco Easterm:

Thanks for your continued use and support of the Bible Gateway as we work to get God’s Word online in every language under the sun!

Last week we added the Mam version to the Bible Gateway’s collection of online Bibles. Today we’ve added another new version, this one also from the Mayan language family: the Cakchiquel Occidental version.

The Cakchiquel Occidental was translated by Wycliffe Bible Translators, who describe it like this:

Cakchiquel Occidental is one of 50+ Mayan languages still spoken in Guatemala today. The Western Cakchiquel language is spoken by 77,000 speakers in the highlands area of Guatemala, 80 miles west of Guatemala City. Most of the towns surround beautiful Lake Atitlan, a region where many Indian men still conserve their traditional dress. In the principal town of Solola, the government has allowed a parallel Indian mayoral structure with the official government mayoralty.

Here’s John 3:16 in the Cakchiquel Occidental Bible:

We’ve added a new Bible version to the Bible Gateway today—the Mam, Comitancillo Central version (MVC). It’s one of many Mayan languages still spoken today.

The Mam people, who trace their lineage back to the Mayan civilization, live as subsistence farmers in the northern highlands of Guatemala on the border with Mexico. The Mam tried to keep their language secret for years, but today the language is spoken with pride.

Here’s what John 3:16 looks like in the Mam language:

You can access the MVC Bible through the Bible Gateway version drop-down selector. If you’re interested in further reading, Wikipedia has a short article about the Mam language and a more extensive article about the Mayan language family, of which Mam is a part.

We’re happy to announce that today we added the Macedonian New Testament to the Bible Gateway!

There are approximately 2 million people who speak Macedonian as their native tongue throughout the world, and we’re thrilled that now they can read God’s Word online. This Bible version joins about 80 other translations online at the Bible Gateway.

Here’s what John 3:16 looks like in Macedonian:

You can read more about the translation on the Version Information page.

Also, you might be interested in the Macedonian language page on Wikipedia.

One of the things that we love about the people who use the Bible Gateway (that’s you!) is how they integrate their commitment to God’s Word into their daily lives.

Just this year, Bible Gateway user Trey Meier created an iGoogle gadget that anyone can use with their iGoogle page to access the Bible Gateway. The Gadget maintains all the functionality of the search bar on Bible Gateway in a compact package:

If you want to learn more about it, or if you’re an iGoogle user who has just been waiting for something like this, check out this page.

We think it’s pretty neat, and we love to see people use our site to get the Bible out to as many people in as many ways as possible each and every day.

update: Thanks to everyone who has written to inquire about advertising on the Bible Gateway. We’re not currently accepting any new ads, but when that situation changes, we’ll announce it (and provide more details) on our ad page.

As you may have noticed, there are now ads on the Bible Gateway. This is a big step for us, and it’s one we’ve only taken after much prayer and discussion. Why are we placing ads after so many years of keeping the Bible Gateway ad-free? Put simply, it’s a question of financial responsibility—you can read the reasoning behind our decision at our Why Ads? page.

You’ll also find there our strict standards for advertising (we won’t be running any ads that conflict in any way with our mission to make God’s Word available to the world), and when we’re ready to start accepting new ads, you’ll find information on how to do so there as well.

So how will this affect you as you use the Bible Gateway? All of the features and functions of the Bible Gateway will continue to work as they always have, and we’ll continue to add new Bible versions and translations as we have in the past. The only change is that there’s now a new way for you to support the Bible Gateway’s ministry, by clicking on ads that interest you.

Thanks for your patience and understanding as we take this big step.

Greetings everyone!

We wanted to pop in to let you know that after a lengthy process of prayer and planning, Gospel Communications has decided to start placing ads on our online properties. For years we’ve relied primarily on donations to continue our ministry, and as much as we’d love to keep doing that, it’s just no longer feasible.

What this means is that starting soon, probably near the end of the week, you’ll begin seeing some advertising on The BibleGateway. We’ve already rolled out some preliminary advertising on some of our other sites, like Gospel.com and Reverend Fun.

We’re actually pretty excited about this change. It’s going to let us do a tremendous amount of new ministry while still being financially responsible.

Check back on this blog for more information later on in the week.

If you’re interested in reading more about why we’re doing ads, you can hop over to our explanation page (at Gospel Communications corporate site) for more details.

Blessings!

We’re always excited to add more ways to experience the Bible. So, we’d like to offer a special thank you to The Lockman Foundation and mp3nasb.com for helping us get the Old and New testament flash versions of the NASB audio up on biblegateway.com.

The NASB bible is read by Dale McConachie. Click here to listen.