The Institute for Bible Translation (IBT, Moscow) has published the result of more than 15 years of work by a large international group of translators and biblical scholars – the translation of the Bible into the Chechen language. This is the fourth translation of the whole Bible in Russia after Russian, Chuvash and Tuvin. It is also the fourth translation of the whole Bible made by IBT in general - after Tajik (1992, IBT Stockholm), Georgian (2002, IBT Stockholm), and Tuvin (2011, IBT Moscow).
In the process of translation of the Bible into Chechen IBT published separate books as follows: John / Acts (1986, 1995), Luke (1998, 2004, 2010), Genesis, Ruth, Jonah (2002), Esther, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and the Book of Daniel (2005), the New Testament (2007) and "Bible Stories" (2010).
The Chechen language has a good literary tradition. The emergence of the written Chechen language dates back to the 18th century, when the Arabic script was adapted for the Chechen language. Later, in 1862, the first Chechen dictionary was produced based on the Cyrillic alphabet. Modern Chechen literature is represented by a variety of genres and writers.
This translation of the Bible in the Chechen language has the stamp of approval of the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to reviews by experts in the Chechen language, "the translation has truly been a success.”
The print run of the Bible in the Chechen language is 2000 copies. Given the total number of native speakers (by the last census it is about 1.5 million people) this is not a large number, but we hope that it will be enough to satisfy the needs of libraries, churches and interested readers who want to get acquainted with the Bible in their native language.
Electronic texts of IBT translations placed on the IBT web-site can be freely downloaded or printed out for personal use.
IBT is pleased to allow authors and publishers to quote and/or reprint up to three hundred (300) verses of any IBT Scripture publication without express written permission, provided that the verses quoted do not amount to more than 30% of a complete book of the Bible nor do they comprise more than 30% of the total text of the publication in which they are quoted. Authors and publishers are required to consult IBT regarding which version of the text should be quoted or reprinted.
A notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: “Scripture quotations taken from (insert name of publication, year of publication) , Institute for Bible Translation, Russia.”
Three (3) copies of each publication must be sent to the following address: Institute for Bible Translation, P.O. Box 360, 101000 Moscow, Russia.
When quotations from an IBT Scripture publication are used in printed products not intended for sale (e.g., church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies, etc.), a complete copyright notice is not required but the initials (IBT) must appear at the end of each quotation.
Requests for permission to quote and/or reprint more than three hundred (300) verses, or any other request must be directed to and approved in writing by the IBT.
Acknowledgments