Akha Bible

• Location: Thailand
• New Testament Completion Date: 2018
• Bible Completion Target Date: 2031

More than 200,000 Akha people reside in five countries in Asia: Thailand, China, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. An additional 450,000 live in other countries around the world. While 90% of the population would profess Christianity, only two percent claim to be evangelical.

The Akha in all five nations can communicate orally with little difficulty. Complications arise, however, in written communication, since 10 different written forms of the language exist. In 2008, those obstacles were mostly overcome when Akha representatives from the five countries worked together over the course of 10 years to develop the Common Akha Orthography (CAO).

When an evangelical church organization wanted a Bible translation that would be usable for all Akha speakers, they contacted Bibles International for assistance in translating the Scriptures in their language. BI adopted the Akha project in October 2012. Since the Akha already had other New Testament translations, the Akha translation team wanted to include Psalms and Proverbs in their CAO New Testament translation. BI adopted the amended project in September 2014, which would consist of the New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs and a subsequent translation of the Old Testament. The late BI senior consultant Ross Hodsdon worked with Akha translators Aje Kukaewkasem and Buti Sansanee Saedu on the New Testament translation. The dedication for the finished CAO Akha New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs occurred on November 17, 2018 and was a glorious celebration.

The Akha translation team then began to translate the Old Testament. The book of Genesis was published in 2021. The Akha team is currently working on digital study drafts so that believers can receive the Akha Scriptures even sooner.

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