St. Pauls Online have just released a promotion for their New Testament Bible Pinoy Version in the ongoing online book fair “Aklatan”—and people over the Internet weren’t too keen about it.
The sample text sparked a lot of controversy from netizens due to the use of “Taglish” in what should be a very sacred book.
The book was originally being sold during the Manila International Book Fair back in 2018 and has recently resurfaced due to the promotional sample text of the book which was posted on St. Pauls Online Facebook page. In the page, the company stated that the book was completed by UBS (United Bible Societies) in December of 2017 and was written in a “heterogeneous language” which included Tagalog and English.
The original Facebook post included “Tapos, pinagtripan nila si Jesus. Sinaluduhan nila s’ya at sinabi, ‘Mabuhay ang hari ng mga Jews!’ Hinampas nila ng stick ang ulo ni Jesus at dinuraan s’ya.” (Mark 15:18)
“After ilang minutes, may nakapansin ulit kay Peter at sinabi sa kanya, ‘Isa ka sa mga kasamahan nila.’ Pero sumagot si Peter, “Hindi po ako ‘yun, sir!” After one hour, may lalaking nag-insist, “Sure ako, kasama ni Jesus ang taong ito, kasi taga-Galilea din sya.” (Luke 22:58-59).”
“Sobrang na-shock ako sa inyo. Ang dali n’yo namang tinalikuran ang Diyos. Imagine, sobrang bait n’ya at pinadala n’ya si Christ sa atin. Ang Diyos mismo ang pumili sa inyo, tapos ngayon, ine-entertain n’yo ang ibang Gospel?” (Galatians 1:6).”
The following post had a lot of netizens criticizing this Bible version.
After the noticeable negative reactions, another post was made on the page a couple of days later adding additional context to the book. This seemed to be a response to the negative criticism the book was receiving.
The post had a series of pictures explaining how the translation was made for an easier understanding of both Filipino and English speakers, hence the reason it was written in Taglish.
“Mas madaling maintindihan pag meaning-based. Ito ang ginagamit na approach sa Pinoy New Testament.”
“Kailangan ng lahat ng Filipino ang salita ng Diyos. Kaya lang, nagbabago na ang pagsasalita ng marami. Ang gamit sa ngayon ay heterogenous language or mas kilala sa term na Taglish.”
While the bible seemed unfavorable to many, there are also some who attest by saying that it is more understandable to the majority.
Despite the criticism they received for the book, the creators of the new Pinoy Bible had no malice in their translation and have openly stated that it was for a better understanding of all those who read it.
POP! Creator Community / Jose Rafael Santamaria