by William Greendyk, General Secretary TBS (USA) and Coordinator of the Spanish Bible Revision Project

Tuesday 25 July 2023 represented an unforgettable milestone for the TBS Spanish Bible revision team and the Society as a whole. In the Lord’s goodness, and after more than fifteen years of painstaking work, the Society’s revision of the Spanish Reina-Valera Bible was launched for the first time to the public at a special presentation and thanksgiving service in Medellín, Colombia. After many years of patiently waiting the time had come to ‘unveil’ the Society’s Spanish Bible, named the ‘Reina Valera SBT’, abbreviated as the ‘RV-SBT’ (SBT is the abbreviation of TBS in Spanish, Sociedad Bíblica Trinitaria).

An overwhelming interest in the work

This event had first been made known online two months earlier, and within two days the venue—a large hotel hall in Medellín which holds 550 people—was fully booked. Interest in the Society’s Spanish Bible has been substantial for many years, partially due to the numerous conferences held by TBS over the past decade in cities throughout Latin America regarding the need for the Spanish Bible revision. However, the high level of interest is also due to the fact that in Colombia, as in many countries in Latin America, there appears to be a ‘Reformation’ occurring, with thousands upon thousands of people turning away from Roman Catholicism and embracing evangelical, Biblical Christianity. This intersects with the Society’s translation as one based on the Greek Received Text and Hebrew Masoretic Text used in those Reformation translations, as well as maintaining the translation principles of the Reformation, namely formal equivalence.

The event in Medellín was scheduled to begin at 6.30 p.m., but by 5.00 p.m. the first attendees were already arriving, excited to be a part of this special moment. Every attendee received a special TBS bag which contained a copy of the new Spanish Bible, together with a Spanish Words of Life calendar and a copy of the Society’s article How the Holy Bible Came to Be translated into Spanish. The enthusiasm and excitement of many of the attendees was palpable, and as the people entered the hall they were quickly opening the packaging to look at their new Spanish Bible.

Giving thanks unto the Lord

The primary focus of this first Spanish Bible presentation conference (as well as those which followed) was to acknowledge the Lord for having granted the team the health, strength, and abilities necessary to carry out the work, and to provide the audience with the purpose of the revision as well as a brief history of the work. As Mr Paul Rowland, the Society’s former General Secretary, had so aptly stated at a Spanish Bible team meeting in Spain more than ten years ago: ‘When this revision is concluded, we must give all the glory to the Lord’. In Medellín this was overwhelmingly the desire of the team and the TBS directors and staff who were present for this momentous occasion.

The hotel hall filled to capacity, and I began the proceedings by welcoming everyone and thanking them for being a part of this special occasion. After the opening prayer and Scripture reading by Julio Benitez (TBS representative in Colombia), Jonathan Arnold, the Society’s General Secretary, delivered a devotional message (translated as he spoke into Spanish) from Psalm 68.11, ‘The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it’. Mr Arnold then gave an overview of the Society’s work throughout the world since many of those in attendance were unaware of the Society’s long history of providing faithful translations of God’s Word to all nations. He mentioned some of the many translation projects that are currently being undertaken by the Society and asked that the Christians of Colombia remember the work in their prayers.

I then gave a brief history of how the Society began to revise the Reina-Valera 1909 after it was discovered that there were a number of readings based on the Greek Critical Text in that version, along with some very archaic terms that were almost impossible for most Spanish readers to understand. I related how the Lord providentially brought the team together after myself and Dr Bill Patterson—who had begun the original work on the revision in 2006—realised that the work needed on the Spanish Bible was much more than had been originally thought. Most of the team’s work was done via online meetings, but the team had also met at least eighteen times in Spain and during the many conferences given throughout the Spanish-speaking world between 2009 and 2022.

The team members were introduced, each providing a brief presentation on different aspects of the work. Alejandro Riff gave a brief history of the Reina Valera Bible and the revisions carried out to that Bible over the centuries since the Reina Bible was published in 1569. Jorge Ruiz explained the difference between the Received Text (Textus Receptus) used by Reina and Valera and the Critical Text, a revised Greek text that has been the basis of many newer translations of the Bible. Bill Patterson then gave an explanation of the textual sources used by Reina and Valera and by the TBS team in its revision of the Spanish Bible. Finally, Antoni Mendoza provided a history of the Spanish Bible that had been printed by the Society for over a hundred years, concluding with a pictorial history of the different facets of the revision process and the publications that resulted from it: the Gospel according to John, followed by the New Testament, to which later were added Psalms and Proverbs, and to the moment we have now arrived at—the printing of the complete RV-SBT Bible in 2023.

At the conclusion of the service, we thanked the many friends and supporters who had come to the event. Before concluding with prayer, I reminded the attendees that, unlike many other Bible publishers, the Society has a policy of not signing Bibles upon their presentation. Our desire is that all thanks, honour, and glory might go to the Divine Author of Scripture, and that the readers may find His Name alone on every page of His Holy Word.

Following the evening’s program the attendees were invited to a time of refreshments and fellowship. This was a special time during which old and new friends met each other and the team. Many of the supporters in Colombia had previously received copies of the revised Spanish New Testament which had been completed in 2016. Some churches were already using that for their worship services as they anxiously awaited the final complete revision of the entire Bible. For these pastors and church leaders, the time had come when they could finally present the Society’s Spanish Bible to their members and friends.

The second launch service

A second, similar event was held in a large local church the following evening, 26 July, because the registration for the first event had reached its capacity only days after publishing the announcement. At this second event, over 450 eager attendees received their copy of the new Spanish Bible with thanksgiving and gladness. At the end of this second event we could only marvel at the goodness of the Lord in providing for the revision throughout the many years, and also for gathering such an enthusiastic audience that appeared to have a genuine hunger for the Word of God.

The Colombian distribution centre

Colombia has become one of the key countries in which and from where Spanish Bible materials have been distributed for the past few years. The country is strategically located at the heart of Latin America, and its two oceans make it a good country for importing and exporting. There has also been a huge growth in the number of Christian churches over the past twenty years, with many churches filled to overflowing with young members eager to hear of the Biblical doctrines of grace.

Colombia’s strategic position led to the establishment of a small distribution centre in Medellín in 2019, where, from a small rented office within a seminary, shipments of Gospels, New Testaments, and Scripture calendars were sent throughout the country and beyond. However, in late 2022 it was felt that the distribution centre was too small to house the work, and the Board of TBS (USA) gave permission to begin seeking a larger, stand-alone property that could be used as a warehouse and distribution centre in Colombia. A suitable facility was found with the help of Julio Rodriguez, and after the necessary paperwork had been completed the new rented facility was ready to be used for the distribution of TBS materials.

It was decided to officially inaugurate the new Colombia distribution centre the morning of 26 July, the same day as the second Colombia presentation event. This was a special and joyful occasion, when prayer was made for the Lord’s blessing upon this new endeavour in the presence of TBS employees and representatives from many parts of the world. Matthew Vogan, the Society’s Editorial Director, spoke some pertinent words regarding the storehouses provided by the Lord, after which the official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held. Jonathan Arnold, the entire Spanish team and several of the team members’ wives, along with TBS representatives from the USA, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Honduras, and the Society’s present and future employees at the Colombia distribution centre were present at the event. Lord willing, Mariela Guardia, who has managed the Society’s Bolivian distribution centre since 2011, will be relocating to Medellín at the beginning of 2024 to begin assisting with distribution of Spanish Bibles and Bible materials from Colombia.

Second Spanish launch presentation event in Chile

The day after the conclusion of these unforgettable occasions in Colombia, the group travelled south to Santiago, Chile, where the second Spanish Bible presentation was held on Saturday 29 July. This followed the same format as that of Colombia, and another full crowd of nearly five hundred people eagerly received the new Spanish RV-SBT. Several large church groups in Chile have already contacted the Society to find out how they can purchase enough Spanish Bibles for everyone in their congregations.

Chile is another country where the Society has a long history, with records showing that TBS Spanish Scriptures and calendars have been sent there since the latter part of the nineteenth century. Throughout the Spanish Bible revision project a number of large conferences were held in the major cities of this long, narrow country surrounded by the beginning of the Andes Mountain range to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Many pastors and church groups had been actively following the progress of the Spanish Bible revision, so it was with thanksgiving and joy that the moment had finally come for them to receive the end product.

Further Spanish Bible presentation conferences across the world

Since the first two Spanish Bible presentation conferences in Colombia and Chile in late July 2023, the Society has also presented the Spanish Bible at conferences in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Spain, Bolivia, and Peru. In each of these countries the Bible has been received with eager anticipation by the people, many of whom travelled almost an entire day by bus to reach the conference. We have been humbled to see the wide and warm reception given to this project for which so much prayer has been made.

The Lord’s faithful hand in providence was seen at each of the presentation conferences, but this was particularly evident in the arrival on time for the conferences of the Bibles from Brazil, where they were printed. In Colombia the 1,000 Bibles needed for the conference arrived in Medellín twenty-four hours before the first people began filing into the conference hall. In Mexico, the Bibles were held up in customs for more than two weeks, so I had to bring many heavy suitcases loaded with Bibles from the TBS (USA) office. Nowhere was God’s provision seen more clearly in this regard, however, than in Honduras. The Bibles had been sent in time from Brazil to Honduras, but the delivery route required a stop in Nicaragua. That very day an airport workers’ strike broke out (also in the Lord’s providence!), and we frantically called the printer to see if they could expedite matters in Nicaragua to get the Bibles to the neighboring Honduras. After discussion and prayer, the manager of the printing company decided to send two employees with ten suitcases from São Paolo to Honduras. I was at the airport to meet them when they arrived, and after a couple of hours explaining to the Honduras customs officers at the airport, the Bibles were quickly driven the ninety-minute route to the hotel in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The Bibles were brought into the conference just forty-five minutes before the event began—by which time many attendees were already seated. The team was humbled by this and shared with the large Honduran audience how the Lord had provided in this wonderful manner.

Plans are now being made to begin a largescale distribution eff ort to ensure that the Spanish Bibles arrive in all of the Spanish-speaking countries around the world. Over the past decade we have established good working relationships with brethren from each of these countries, enabling the Society to have a fully functioning network for the distribution of the Spanish Bibles. Shipping costs have become prohibitively high, but we pray that the Lord will continue to provide the means with which the Society can begin to send Spanish Bibles for sales and grants throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

At the time of this writing, printings of the Spanish Bible have been undertaken in Brazil, the Netherlands, and the United States, from where they will be shipped to the strategic distribution centres and hubs across Latin America as well as to groups in the fast-growing Hispanic community in the United States. Christian bookshops in many Latin American countries have approached us with requests to carry the RV-SBT, and large church groups and missions have expressed much interest in receiving copies of the new Spanish Bible. May the Lord grant wisdom as we begin this massive new phase of the Spanish Bible project—its distribution throughout the Hispanic world.

In all of these activities it remains our sincere and prayerful desire that the Lord Himself, the God of His Word, may be glorified through the salvation of many and the building up of His church throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In the end the names of those who translated, revised, or had any other part in the work will be of little importance. Rather, may the Name above all names, that one Name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved, the Lord Jesus Christ, be lifted up in the Spanish world, to the coming of His Kingdom and to the eternal glory of our Triune God.

First published in Quarterly Record 646. Last edited 27 February 2024.