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What is the best Arabic translation of the bible for refugees?
Jay asked us about recommended Bible translations in Arabic the other day:
“Can you recommend a good Arabic translation of the Bible for a refugee?”
Dear Mahabba,
I know the YouVersion Holy Bible app is very good in terms of its range of other languages available. Could you give me some pointers on which of the Arabic translations would be best to use with which Arabic speakers when sharing with Muslims I meet? E.g., for Iraqis and especially Syrians. P.S. it was good to see that there is now a Dari audio version!
Our response
Thanks to the help of some specialists on The City, we an relay the following advice.
Sharif Arabic Bible (SAB)
For Arabic speakers of Muslim background the Sharif Arabic Bible comes recommended.
The Sharif is written using Muslim vocabulary, e.g. isa, not yasua, and so is good as it is more accessible to Muslim seekers.
Conversely, it is not popular with Middle Eastern Christians because of its use of majority Arabic not Christian Arabic.
Incidentally, it also has a good (but maybe not widely known) reputation, being a set textbook for the Christianity subject in one or two Islamic universities.
Van Dyke translation
The van Dyke translation is written in 19th century vocabulary, but is considered to be the best by the long-established Christian Arab community in the Middle East (similar to the love of white British church-goers for the 1662 prayer book and KJV).
Kitab al Hayah (NAV)
The al Hayah translation is written in clear, modern Arabic, similar to the Good News Bible. You can buy a hard copy on Amazon etc. with parallel English/Arabic text (the English is the NIV). This is advantageous if you want to do a one-on-one Bible study, reading along with your Arabic-literate friend.
Audio in local Arabic dialects
Look out for audio materials in local Arabic dialects such as from Global Recordings - with over 100 in Arabic alone.
Some of the recordings were made decades ago for the old 78 rpm records, so quality may be poor! As such, have a little listen before you pass it on to your friends.
http://globalrecordings.net/en/search/language?search=arabic&filter=contains#fndtn-panel2
If you’re looking for languages other than Arabic, or audio-visual etc, start here: http://globalrecordings.net/en/resources
See also
Chapter Two Books https://www.chaptertwobooks.org.uk/foreign.html (use the pull-down menu on the right-hand side to select the language)
No Frontiers https://nofrontiers.org (N.B. the website is currently unavailable 25/04/17 because of a rebuild, but check back).
Don't forget to try Word of Life http://www.word-of-life.org, which has lots of foreign language resources, including Arabic.
Check out other FAQs from Mahabba
You might find the following helpful in relation to asylum seekers and refugees: