He Heard Us – The New Testament in the Upper Pokomo Language.
April 28, 2025by BTL CommsBlog
Today, the speakers of the Upper Pokomo language can stand with Bibles in their hands and declare, “He heard us, and He answered.”
For a while, the Upper Pokomo people carried within their hearts a deep longing; the longing to hear God’s Word spoken in their tongue, a language of their heart, and to read the promises of Jesus in the language of their mothers and fathers.
Standing at the podium to address a gathered audience, the guest speaker, Bishop Douglas Machafu, compared the gift of the Bible in their language to treasures hidden in a field. He referenced the parable in the Gospel of Matthew: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy, he sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44).
“The Upper Pokomo community has been using foreign languages on various occasions, including burials, and they have not held with treasure their language. However, today, a precious gift has been unveiled. My people will hold it like a treasure in our community. Speaking, teaching, and walking our language will become the norm,” said Bishop Douglas. He noted that over the years, the community – the elders, young men, women, and children – prayed the same prayer: “Lord, we want to know you more. Give us the Bible in our language.”
And God heard them. This is more than just a book; it is the living testimony that God hears the cries of His people. “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”(1 John 5:14). “The gatherings will now hear the life of Jesus told not in a distant language, but in the one they first learned from their mothers. Religious leaders will now preach with renewed power. Local songs will rise, no longer borrowed from other tongues, but sung in our beautiful language.”
The Word of God has come home!
The Upper Pokomo New Testament was dedicated and launched on Saturday, April 26, 2025. This is BTL’s 10th New Testament to be completed in addition to 6 complete Bibles and 29 ongoing translations of the New Testament.
