Ho, July 3, GNA - A new translation of the Ewe Bible titled "Agbenya La", (The living Word) was dedicated and launched at the Ho-Kpodzi E.P. Dela Cathedral in Ho on Sunday.

The new translation was possible through the International Bible Society-Send The Light Ghana (IBS-STL Ghana) in partnership with Challenge Enterprises of Ghana.

The first copy was auctioned for 2.2 million cedis. Apostle J.A. K. Timpo, the translator, said the translation did not dilute the content of the original Ewe Bible but sought to make it readable and understandable by those who have acquired the most rudimentary knowledge of the Ewe language. He said the "Agbenya La" could therefore be read and understood by junior secondary school students who had done Ewe and by adults who had gone through non-formal education.

He said there was need for the word of God to be made available to many in the "contemporary" Ewe language. Apostle Timpo said the translation, which took 30 years to accomplish, was subjected to rigorous scrutiny by a team of Ewe linguistic experts from Ghana and Togo.

The IBS-STL Ghana said the various translations of the Bible, including the New Testament and Psalms, into the Ghanaian languages, "are meant primarily for the youth who are today's generation with expectation that God's word in their own mother tongue will bring a change in their lives for a better tomorrow".