In October 2019, Clear and Simple Media announced the completion of the translation draft of the Spanish version of the Travel Guide to the Bible. We celebrate that. It was a monumental moment for us. It was the most significant step in helping us make the Travel Guide available to the 460 million Spanish speakers in the world. (Spanish is now the world’s second most spoken language.) But there are still several steps ahead before the book is ready for distribution.

Field-testing, as the word implies, means to test something in the field, under the actual conditions in which it will be used. This involves more than proof-reading and translation editing. In this case, the translated text will go through several steps before we release the book for distribution.

First, we send the files to a native speaker for a preliminary reading . The second step is to take the book to our designer who will complete a set of “galley proofs.” We will then use a just-in-time printer to produce multiple copies of the book for distribution to first-readers. We will then send those copies to readers in Spanish-speaking countries throughout the world. Each reader will be asked to assess the translation and design for use in their ministry context. In this instance, we will be sending the draft to readers in North, Central, South America, and Spain for evaluation. Our goal is to solicit feedback from people who will use the book in both rural and urban contexts. We will then collect that feedback, make the needed adjustments, modify the design (where necessary), and send the book off to the printer for an initial print run.

We are very happy to have the translated text of the Travel Guide to the Bible in our hands. But there is still a great deal of work to be done. Please continue to pray that the process we are engaged in will result in a Spanish text that is Linguistically Simple, Theologically Clear, and Biblically Faithful. And pray that God will use the book to encourage many people to read and understand the Bible – and come to love the Savior of whom the Bible speaks.