Nope, we aren’t joking — that’s an actual excerpt from the newly-released Taglish version of the Bible’s New Testament. Published by the Philippine Bible Society or PBS and distributed by the popular religious bookstore St. Pauls, the new version, or the Pinoy NT project as PBS calls it, makes use of what they call a “heterogeneous language,” a combination of English and Filipino. This is mainly to the spiritual text would appeal more to younger readers.
And basing from the reactions thus far, it definitely did. Here are a few sample texts from the as seen from a post by St. Pauls Online:
After ilang minutes, may nakapansin ulit kay Peter at sinabi sa kanya, ‘Isa ka sa mga kasamahan nila.’ Pero sumagot si Peter, “Hindi po ako ‘yun, sir!” After one hour, may lalaking nag-insist, “Sure ako, kasama ni Jesus ang taong ito, kasi taga-Galilea din sya.” (Luke 22:58-59)
“Sobrang na-shock ako sa inyo. Ang dali n’yo namang tinalikuran ang Diyos. Imagine, sobrang bait n’ya at pinadala n’ya si Christ sa atin. Ang Diyos mismo ang pumili sa inyo, tapos ngayon, ine-entertain n’yo ang ibang Gospel?” (Galatians 1:6)
The language might sound too casual for some, but hey, a text that enjoins more people into reading more is a project we can get behind, religious or otherwise.
The Pinoy NT project was an inter-confessional endeavor, which means many different sectors of the church worked and agreed on the translation. This is why the PBS claims that the final version isn’t slanted towards any group’s doctrines.
If you’re curious as to how the book actually reads, you can secure a copy through St. Pauls Facebook page for PhP145.
