Glimmers of Hope: Ongoing Progress on the FSL Bible Translation

Nothing is so humbling as the knowledge that God, in his grace and mercy, chooses ordinary men and women to accomplish his extraordinary purposes.

From May 20 to May 22, and from May 27 to May 29, members of the Filipino Deaf Community were invited to the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) to participate in a Community Check for the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) Bible. This is an important part of the translation process, as people from the Filipino Deaf Community gathered to provide feedback on the clarity of the translated verses, ensuring that the outputs will be understandable to the Filipino Deaf.

The FSL translation team is currently working on the New Testament.

“For the first batch kasi, we’re aiming for about 1,200 verses,” said Jojo Mahinan, the Project Coordinator for the FSL Bible. “Doon sa first batch na yun, nasa phase na tayo ng community check… Right now, we’re working on Matthew, Mark, and Luke.”

The FSL Team, along with Jojo and PBS Translation Officer Ptr. Alvin Bailon, showed drafts of FSL Bible passages to the participants of the Community Check. The participants, ranging in age from 18 to 45, came in batches, with different individuals taking part on different days.

“Face to face ipapakita yung selected videos,” said Ptr. Alvin. “Magko-comment sila, magtatanong yung team regarding clarity—okay ba, clear ba, meron bang suggested signs dito… Because after that, we discuss… then we come up with another draft based on the comments. So yun yung process. Every step, meron laging check to ensure na yung quality is tugma dun sa principles.”

Over a year has passed since PBS formally began its work on the FSL Bible. Although there are existing PBS FSL projects, such as the Follow God How? Bible stories released in 2023, this is the first time that the Bible Society is undertaking the translation of the entire Scriptures. According to the 2020 Census of Population of the Philippine Statistics Office, more than 1.78 million Filipinos aged five years and older experience difficulties with hearing. And there is no better way to reach the Filipino Deaf Community today than through their heart language—Filipino Sign Language.

“I feel good working with the team,” said Jay-R Lacorte, who is one of the FSL Bible translators. “Personally, I enjoy learning about God’s Word, because when I started, I didn’t know anything about the Scriptures… The team has a good working relationship… We support each other, and my signing also improved.”

“I hope that we will be able to present the FSL Bible to the Deaf community,” he added. “So that they will be able to truly understand who God is with their hearts and have a deeper relationship with the Lord. That is what’s important.”

The FSL Bible team is currently working on translating the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. While they have already made much progress, there’s still a lot to do before the FSL Bible is completed and released to the public. And on his part, Ptr. Alvin is grateful for the continuous support of PBS.

“Considering how complex a sign language Bible translation is, I think we’re handling it well,” said Ptr. Alvin. “Merong allowance for learning… But at the same time, we’re trying to be faithful and compliant to our principles and the process.”

The New Testament portion of the FSL Bible is planned to be released in 2027. Let’s continue to pray for and support the work of the FSL Translation team so that more Filipino Deaf will encounter God in their heart language.

View some of our earlier FSL translations here:

https://bible.org.ph/bible-for-the-deaf-2/

Support the work of the FSL Bible Translation Team:

https://bible.org.ph/be-a-donor/