The Kom Bible Project
A local team in Bamenda is translating the Old Testament into Kom, the first community-driven translation project of its kind in Cameroon. Every draft is published free to read.
The Kom New Testament was completed in 2004 and has been used enthusiastically ever since. Engaging with it gave people a hunger for more, and the churches asked for the Old Testament too. Since 2020 a local team in Bamenda has been translating it. Twenty books are complete, and every checked and unchecked draft is published at kombibleproject.com so Kom readers can review the work as it is done.
Three phases
The work has run in phases. Nearly all the narrative books are now translated.
- Kom 1, March 2020 – 2023: seven narrative books translated, and the teams that would carry the rest of the Old Testament trained.
- Kom 2, March 2023 – February 2026: thirteen further books translated, and all four Gospels revised to bring the Old and New Testaments into alignment.
- Kom 3, proposal under review: the team turns to the major prophets and some of the wisdom books.
How each book is checked
Each book moves through six stages, and the project website shows where every book has got to, so readers know what they are reading. Twenty-four books are online so far: 596 chapters and 15,475 verses, free to read and readable offline.
- Exegesis and first draft
- Team check
- Community testing
- Back translation
- Quality assurance
- Published
The impact
Asked what the Kom translation would change, a project adviser answered in three words: more transformed lives.
- Churches including Joseph Merrick Baptist Church, Fundong, and many Roman Catholic churches use Kom Scripture for Sunday readings.
- Many older people who do not read have shown a particular love for Scripture in Kom.
- On social media, people quote Kom Scripture to make a point or express strong feeling.
- Each morning the team uses the drafts for devotion, with passages chosen by Rev Jam Chahbih Patrich, a Kom pastor.
Who carries the work
- Wycliffe Bible Translators funds the Kom Old Testament project.
- CABTAL (Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy) mentors the team and provides financial oversight and management advice.
- April & CID runs the project website and social media, and provides translation consultancy and translator training.
- The Cameroon Baptist Convention and the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon provide translators and serve on the review committee.
