Bible group crafts version for young Pinoys

Alarmed by a survey showing that a large number of Filipino youths do not read the scriptures, the ecumenical Philippine Bible Society (PBS) has crafted an experimental Bible for young Filipinos.

PBS board of trustees president and chairman Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said unlike existing Bibles, the “Pinoy Version” would be 98 percent in Filipino and two percent in English.

The idea of coming out with a “Pinoy Version” of the scriptures was introduced during yesterday’s “Youth Explode Series (YES): The Bible Adventure Begins” held at the Folk Arts Theater. The event was attended by thousands of youths from different parts of Metro Manila.

The PBS initially translated the Book of Mark into the Pinoy Version because it is the shortest of the four gospels.

“If the youth and the public will like it, if there is a demand, we have plan to translate all the gospels, the whole Bible for the testament of the youth,” said Bastes, who is also the chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate.

Dr. Annie del Corro, who led the translation team, told the crowd that the proposed “Pinoy Version” might sound informal but they hewed closely to the English version.

She said they used simple but efficient language to make the experimental version appealing to the youth. She cited that rather than using the word “paralitiko,” they used “paralyzed.”

Bastes, however, said language is dynamic and they may need to update the Pinoy Version five years from now.