THE Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) has unveiled its new Tiv Revised Bible in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
Its General Secretary, Dare Ajiboye, said in Lagos that the translation of the bible, which was done by six experts, cost over N80million, and took 25 years to complete. He said BSN embarked on the project because the old Tiv Bible, which was published in 1964, after 50 years of translation, is outdated and difficult for the generation to understand. He listed the new features in the new bible as spelling harmonisation, introduction, footnotes and cross references, among others.
Ajiboye thanked sponsors of the translation, adding that work would support the Federal Government’s policy to save the nation’s 500 languages. He said when a language is published, its possibility of going into extinction is remote. He urged the government to bring out policies that will save our languages.
He said the bible will be useful to the 17millionTiv people who are in five states – Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Plateau and Cross River.