Eikon Bible & Literacy

• Location: Asia
• Pseudonym: Eikon (pronounced ay’-kon)
• New Testament Completion Date: 2017
• Bible Completion Target Date: 2042

The Eikon* speakers number approximately 195,000, with a 40-50% literacy rate. Predominantly animistic, the Eikon worship local deities, with each village and clan claiming its own deity. Throughout the valley where these people dwell, there are more than 300 deities, giving it the name of "the valley of gods." The religious beliefs of the Eikon are so integral to daily life that the village priest confirms all important decisions such as buying, selling, or traveling.

Although the gospel arrived in this valley slightly more than 40 years ago, only about 50 families practice Christianity among the Eikon-speaking people, and church planting is just beginning. When Bibles International learned of a national missionary’s evangelistic work, they adopted the Eikon New Testament Translation project in March 2004. This well-trained Christian brother and his wife became the translators. In addition to translation, they also worked on grammar, orthography, and a dictionary in the development of the Eikon language. They also produced evangelism booklets in Eikon to prepare the hearts of the people for receiving the Scriptures.

There was great rejoicing among the believers in these young churches when the dedication of 4,000 Eikon New Testaments was held in October 2017. The three-hour service testified not only of the faithfulness of the dedicated workers who labored and waited for over 20 years, but also of the goodness of God in providing His people access to the Scriptures in a language they could finally read and understand for themselves. After a period of several years, during which the translator’s family dealt with cancer, the work resumed in 2024, focusing on the Old Testament translation and continued literacy.