Daut Niee Testament (Plautdietsch)

Dear Reader,

You are beloved by God the Father and by our Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice to place this work before your eyes and to let everyone know that God, through His grace and wisdom, has given us the task of doing it. Yet we trust that we are pupils in Christ’s school. We have not entered this great work carelessly, but we believe that God has led us to it, and we know that it is a serious task.

First, we thank God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His precious blood to redeem us from all sins and to set us free from slavery, so that we may serve Him. We are also always thankful for the Comforter who is with us, and for the promise to those whom God calls. God’s Spirit is the one who leads us into all truth. We would like to give a small explanation of what has brought us to accept such a great work.

The Apostle says that God in earlier times spoke through the prophets to the fathers, and in these last days has spoken to us through His only-begotten Son. The Holy Scriptures, that is, the Old Testament, came to us through holy men, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and likewise the New Testament. Jesus’ apostles began to write so that the truth of God would not be withheld from later generations.

“Search the Scriptures,” Jesus says, “for you think that in them you have eternal life, and they are the ones that testify of me.” To become a complete man of God, one needs the Holy Scriptures. Paul praises Timothy because he had known the Scriptures from childhood, since they were able to lead him to salvation.

We believe that Jesus and the apostles spoke Hebrew as their mother tongue; but we see that the New Testament has been handed down to us in Greek. To us, it is clear that God desires His Word to be carried into other languages. No one knows what language Adam or Noah spoke, but we know Abraham and David spoke Hebrew. The writers of the Old Covenant wrote—except for a few passages—in Hebrew.

God is God over all and over everything. Everything was created for Him, and everything comes from Him. He does not want any soul to be lost, but that all should come to repentance. All should know why Jesus came into the world, wherever they live, whatever language they speak, or whatever their origin.

Jesus said: “Go now and make all nations my disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe everything I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Amen.” To obey this, one needs the Bible in his mother tongue.

The Apostle says: “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” When a message is not understood, it is like hearing a foreigner speak. (1 Cor. 12:11)

God’s Word establishes justice and order. The thirsty soul is nourished by His Word. The Holy Scriptures reveal God’s will, and they are more reliable than dreams or anything else. The Bible is a light on the path we should walk. Whoever does not continually return to the Bible is lost. Our ways must be tested by God’s Word. Our cultures or customs may look respectable, but if they are not grounded in God’s Word, they remain dead if not enlivened by His Spirit.

The Bible is not an ordinary book; God Himself inspired it. Though the writers were people like us, God still worked through them to give us this form of spiritual life. (2 Pet. 1:21)

Only God’s Spirit reveals Him who died for us, and He gives the Word which is Spirit and life. Scripture, in one’s own language, is the best Spirit-filled preaching, the best evangelism there can be. Translation opens the door so that light can enter; it removes the cover from the fountain so that one can drink from the water. When someone reads the Bible only in a language other than his own, it is like listening to a foreigner he cannot understand, and therefore he gains no benefit and remains unfruitful.

Why then a fresh translation into Plautdietsch, when there are already others?

We recognize that in the past twenty years much work and effort has gone into the cause of the Plautdietsch language; for this we are very thankful. We do not want to diminish anyone’s work, but to build further on the good that has already been established. We trust that we, and also those who made earlier translations (God alone knows the thoughts and motives of the heart), are co-workers with the Spirit, whose task it is to bring light to people.

We have been greatly helped by those who have developed this language, and we make use of their work. Many people have already invested much labor, time, energy, and prayer into this project: researching words and expressions, spelling and grammar, and distinguishing different dialects. God knows the heart and will reward each one for his work.

We pray for a spiritual awakening among the Plautdietsch people. Since we have long been established in South America, we have felt the need for a Bible in our mother tongue. Plautdietsch is alive and continues to develop worldwide, including in literature.

We keep away from the modern, “scientific” text or so-called newer writings, which today are so often used but are tied to modern unbelief and lead people away from our Lord. In translations it too often happens that translators take too much freedom, making the result more like an interpretation or explanation than the simple Word of God.

Therefore we need the same text sources that, for example, the Luther, Elberfelder, and King James translations are based on. We are familiar with the scientific text and what is said in its favor. But we use the traditional and accepted text that was in use during the Reformation. Each sentence has been compared with English, High German, and Spanish. We have researched the guidelines for these languages. We also use the present-day rules of Plautdietsch as spoken in the Spanish-speaking countries.

The translation should be as literal as possible, and as free as necessary—simply Plautdietsch.

We know Sanballat might mockingly ask: “What are these feeble Jews doing?” Or, as the Jewish leaders said of the apostles: “They are unlearned and ignorant men.” Will the bishops and preachers accept this work? Will the believer use it to feed his soul? Will they tell their children stories from it? Will sinners accept Christ as Lord and Savior through it, because He speaks through it?

And yes, Tobiah the Ammonite stood nearby and said: “Even what they build—if a fox climbs up on it, it will break down their stone wall!”

Hear us, O our God, for we are but people.

This work is given to you, dear Reader, out of weakness and yet in faithfulness. We trust that God’s Word has been presented here. Should more clarity come, then we pray that the Spirit will lead us to be faithful to it.

Please, take this book and read it for yourself. You may find what your soul needs. Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of His nature. He upholds everything by the word of His power, and only He could accomplish the cleansing of sins. He has sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in the highest heaven. To Him be honor through all eternity. Amen.