Bible Reading Made Personal

In late March this year, Youth Builders held its traditional Church Youth Worker Training online, and in preparation for the event, they sent a copy of this new Bible publication, which includes annotations and notes that inspire creative thinking, to every registered participant. “The last time a youth Bible was published in Hungary was in 2015, but, in my view, the various existing publications do not necessarily approach the culture of young people. We can see that today’s youth is more and more secularized, and youth mission finds it difficult to keep up with this trend,” says Rev. Ablonczy. “The culture has changed but the method of mission has not, and we wanted to create something that reacts to this reality. We opted for the Scripture, because it is our greatest desire that young people should read and know it”. The extra materials provided by Youth Builders all refer to the Bible; instead of creating something new, they hope to show what is unchangeable with the help of a novel method.

In light of this approach, the text of the Bible was not modified in any way; the publication uses the revised New Translation of 2014, adopted by the 12 member churches of the Hungarian Bible Society. “It is important for the Hungarian Bible Association to put the Bible in the hands of youth, so when we saw the original English version of the publication, it was obvious that if a Hungarian version came out, it would use the text of the revised New Translation,” says Ottó Pecsuk, Chairman of the Hungarian Bible Society, in the book launch video. A survey conducted among pastors, teachers of religion and youth leaders showed that this version is the most widely used translation, therefore there was no need for any re-translation.

Apart from the main text, there is are two 30-page addenda both at the beginning and at the end of Biblia neked, and the publication guides the reader from the starting point of why it is worth reading the Scripture to what answers to life’s great questions we may gain through this text. Before each Bible Book, there is information that supports comprehension, a summary of why it is worth reading the given section, and a timeline that helps put the events in a historical context. The aim of the translation was to hit a direct and personal tone, while at the same time remaining true in a theological sense to the truths of the Bible.

“We did not adapt the texts of the Bible; instead, we are trying to help youth to understand what they are reading,” emphasizes Áron Ablonczy. The pastor goes on to say that the British publication was preceded by a survey of a thousand youth, all non-believers, in which they were asked what would make them willing to read the Bible, and the results that grew out of the responses were tested for a year in various focus groups – this is how the concept was born. “We kept in constant touch with the original publisher, and also let them know that we would be handing out free copies of Biblia neked because that is the way we had received their original version back in 2019,” he adds.

“The work done during the past two years is characterized by extensive cooperation. The team of Kálvin Press and Harmat Press were very supportive, because they focused on quality rather than maximizing profits. The editor spent a total of about 800 work hours on the text, and similarly, the translator invested hundreds of hours into the work, for which we are truly grateful,” recalls Áron Ablonczy. In his view, the commentaries, Bible reading plans and explanatory texts are all methods that aid reading and comprehension. Their association plans to have further book launch events and workshops where, apart from presenting Biblia neked, they also give tips on how the additional materials can be used at church youth events and Religion classes at schools.

The interactive Bible publication has its own website, featuring short videos on major themes. The publication is primarily for youth in the Carpathian Basin, and therefore, instead of adding subtitles to the original English videos, the creators decided to make thirty original videos in Hungarian, which can be accessed via the QR codes found in Biblia neked – these can provide additional materials in youth classes but can also enrich individual Bible reading as well.

Since Biblia neked was published at the end of March, Youth Builders have already received feedback amounting to 8 typed pages: one reader has been moved to tears by the book, while another reviewer explained that although giving gifts is not their love language, they were deeply moved by the gesture. A father reported that his children borrowed his copy and he has not seen it since. Yet another person expressed their wish to give their copy to someone else so that it can reach more people. A girl shared the story of how one of her friends, who is not yet a believer, found the book on the kitchen table, flicked through the pages and remarked that this version she would be happy to read. “This is exactly what we wanted to achieve. We were hoping that non-believers would also pick up this book, and through it they would encounter God,” explains Áron Ablonczy, adding: to get such a result, it is never the text that is to be modified, but the approach.

“Our most important aim is to have young people, whether they already know Jesus or not, to use the Bible,” the pastor summarizes. This desire stems from his own experience as well, because he personally finds that reading the Bible is a way of connecting to God. As he puts it: “Most times when I myself have felt the Word of God are connected to the Bible: He has answered most of my questions through the Scripture.”