by Gabriel Oludele Adeloye

ISBN: 978-621-96888-8-8

This research investigates how effective Bible translation into people’s heart language can be in spreading the message of God. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research methods, enabling the researcher to participate in the work, observe the people, and administer questionnaires to gather relevant data. A sample population of twenty-five respondents was used for the study. Three categories of questions were administered. The first category comprised survey questions aimed at determining participants’ native language, their Bible reading habits, and their experiences in witnessing Christ to others. The second category consisted of pre-translation questions designed to assess participants’ excitement and motivation in reading, studying, and sharing the word of God before exposure to the translated text. The third category involved post-translation questions to evaluate changes in their excitement and motivation after reading translated portions of Scripture in the Ijebu dialect.

Findings revealed that while the participants had previously been reading the Bible and sharing God’s word with others, they became more excited and motivated to do so when the Scriptures were presented in their local dialect. Reading the Bible in Ijebu enhanced their engagement and willingness to share it with family members and people of other faiths. The study concludes that Bible translation holds great potential for motivating Christian discipleship among Ijebu speakers.