Marenje New Testament (VMRTWF)

Overview

The Marenje New Testament was produced by The Word For The World, an indigenous-led international Bible translation organization working across multiple continents. Audio New Testament content is accessible through Faith Comes By Hearing. The Marenje language faces significant endangerment: with no prior literature in the language, communities had increasingly shifted toward Chichewa (Nyanja) or Portuguese, and no churches were known to use Marenje in services prior to this translation effort. Scripture in the mother tongue represents both a spiritual and a linguistic lifeline for the community. No complete print Bible has been reported for this language.

Language and People

Marenje (ISO 639-3: vmr) is spoken in the Milange district heartland — particularly in Milange and Tengua — near the border with Malawi in Zambezia Province, Mozambique. The Marenje people are primarily agricultural, and the language is under severe stress, with younger generations increasingly adopting Chichewa or Portuguese. Estimates of the speaker community reach approximately 813,000 for the associated people group, though active Marenje-language use is considerably lower.

Publishing and Organizations

Published by The Word For The World (TWFTW), an indigenous-led Bible translation movement operating across Africa, Asia, and Latin America with a focus on training local translators to bring Scripture to their own communities.

References

• NT (Audio) - Audio Bible, Faith Comes By Hearing