Patris Bible Revision

• Location: Asia
• Pseudonym: Patris (pronounced pah-tree’-s)
• Bible Completion Date: 2004
• Bible Revision Completion Target Date: 2028

The Patris people of Asia number approximately 80,000, with 98% of the population professing Christianity. Although the gospel arrived among the Patris people around 1900, it was during the latter half of the 20th century that a great many people forsook demon worship and turned to the Lord. Early translation efforts resulted in the first Scriptures translated in Patris in 1940. The Patris New Testament was finished in 1951, and the first complete Bible translation was finished in 1971.

Upon receiving sufficient evidence that the Patris needed a more faithful translation of God's Word, Bibles International adopted the Patris project in 1984. The translation work suffered a setback when the BI consultant discovered that the main translator had been supplying a word-for-word translation from an English translation, so the entire project restarted with a new Patris translator. Sadly, he did not live long enough to see the translation dedicated, as the Lord took him home twelve months before the dedication of the Patris Bible in February 2005.

Before his homegoing, the Patris translator said, "We are eagerly awaiting the Word of God in our language. Only younger people read the trade language and English [both of which have an entire Bible], [but] even then there is no understanding of the content. We want an accurate Bible in Patris that is readable and that will help us know God in our language."

By 2006, the initial printing of the Patris Bibles had already sold out among the enthusiastic believers, and the churches requested a revision to correct typographical errors and other issues before reprinting the Bible. BI agreed to assist in 2007 and selected a translator for the revision. Although the revision work was unnecessarily extended as this translator incorporated his own stylings and orthography into the translation, the project got back on track in 2025 with a new translator.

Although the length of the project has extended considerably over time, the Patris believers remain faithful and motivated by the tremendous need for an accurate translation of the Word of God in their language.