Team checking in Romans today. The epistles always are a challenge because of the long, run-on sentences. That’s something that Shekgalagari (and other Bantu languages) don’t handle well. In chapter 9, we ended up having to re-structure verses 11-12 just to get it to make sense.

In the English NIV, it reads: “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that Godʼs purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls—she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.'”

Here’s what we ended up with in Shekgalagari:

“Gore maikaelelo a Morimo a go ithophela a eme, pele ga mawelana e belegwa kana be riha shengwe she she molemo kana she she mashwe, Rebeka a rewa ga ruwa: ‘Yo motyona o da go rihela yo moncwana.’ Gore go thopha ga Morimo go shegka ga riha gka rityiho, mbe gka pijho yawo.”

Roughly translated, it reads, “So that the intention of God in choosing for God’s self will stand, before the twins were born or could do anything good or evil, Rebekah it was said to her, ‘The older will serve the young one.’ That the choice of God would not be by doing deeds, but the call of God.”

It’s not a big difference, but it took us a good 20 minutes to work through to sound “right” in Shekgalagari. Pray for us as we continue to work through passages like this one, that we would be faithful to the text while we seek to bring the Word of God to life in Shekgalagari!