The Lezgi New Testament (LEZIBT)

Overview

The Lezgi New Testament was published by the Institute for Bible Translation (IBT) in 2010 (this edition), with a subsequent edition in 2018 that received an official stamp of approval from the Institute of Linguistics at the Russian Academy of Sciences. [1] The translation was produced by a team of distinguished scholars including Dr. B. B. Talibov, Dr. M. E. Alekseyev, Dr. N. A. Abdulgamidov, and Dr. Marianne Beerle-Moore, described as "talented Lezgi writers and poets, theologians, and language scholars." [1] The translation is notable for passages stylized according to the Lezgi poetic tradition, including the Lord's Prayer, the Song of Mary, and the Song of Zechariah. [1] IBT's Lezgi project began with excerpts from Matthew in 1990, followed by Mark (1996), Luke and Acts (2004), and the Four Gospels (2014), with the Pentateuch published in 2023 and Psalms in 2024. [1] The Lezgi people have ancient Christian roots: in the 4th century A.D., the kingdom of Caucasian Albania, which included ancestors of the Lezgi, adopted Christianity, and early Bible portions were translated into the related Agwan (Caucasian Albanian) language. [1]

Language and People

Lezghian (ISO 639-3: lez) is spoken by approximately 623,700 people in Southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. [Glottolog: lezg1247]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Institute for Bible Translation, Moscow.

References