Making the Scriptures more accessible
for Maori speakers

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Bible Society in New Zealand regards it as a “privilege” to be associated with revision of the Maori Bible, according to Chief Executive Colin Reed. Mr Reed was speaking at the launch of The Good News of Luke, a diglot Maori/English Gospel of Luke, at the Ministry of Maori Development in Wellington.

The revised Gospel of Luke in Maori, which is spoken by some 50,000 to 70,000 of New Zealand’s 310,000 Maori people and understood by a further 100,000, is based on the 1952 translation of the Bible into Maori. Significant changes have taken place in the way Maori is written since this translation was published, and the revision is designed to take account of these changes and be easier to read. New features have therefore been added, including the macronisation, or marking, of long or stressed vowels, the punctuation of direct speech and the use of section headings and footnotes. The English text uses the Contemporary English Version.

The new publication also contains the story of a key event in Maori history: the death of a 12-year-old girl in fighting between different Maori tribes in 1835. This incident prompted reconciliation among the warring tribes.