IBT’s Evenki Bible translation project continues with the release of the Gospel Parables edition.

The Evenki (numbering more than 37,000) are an indigenous people of eastern Siberia that speak a Tunguso-Manchurian language. Geographically, they are scattered very widely, from the Yenisei River to the Sakhalin peninsula and from the Taimyr peninsular to China. Since they live among other ethnic groups, most Evenki are bilingual (Russian and Evenki) or trilingual (Russian, Evenki and Buryat or Yakut). In places of compact residence, the Evenki language is taught as a separate subject in elementary schools, sometimes as an elective through the 8th grade, as well as at universities in St. Petersburg, Yakutsk and Khabarovsk.

Gospel Proverbs is the seventh IBT Scripture publication in the Evenki language. Previously published works include: excerpts from the Gospel of Luke (1995); Jesus - Friend of Children with a parallel Russian translation (1999); the Gospel of Luke (2002); the Children’s Bible (2011); the Gospel of Luke with a parallel Russian translation (2013), and the book of Jonah with a parallel Russian translation (2018).

For this edition, nine parables were taken from the Evenki translation of Luke's Gospel, which was published by IBT in 2013. A new, revised version of the text was worked on by translator N. Y. Bulatova, philological editor T. S. Safronova, exegetical advisor  A. Mannermaa (SIL), and consultant T. Greed (SIL).

Each parable is illustrated with a drawing that helps bring the story to life in the reader's mind, produced especially for this collection by Evenki artist A.A. Tarasova. Illustrations followed the strategy of "domestication", i.e. bringing the Bible’s text closer to the reader’s worldview, psychology, and way of life. The faces of the biblical characters in this book and even their clothes are portrayed according to Evenki tradition and should help readers to better understand and feel the Gospel Parables, and project them into their own lives. At the end of the book the reader will find a brief glossary of biblical terms. This edition comes with a parallel text of the New Russian Translation (Biblica).

The electronic versions of the published Evenki translations, their audio versions and apps can be downloaded from the IBT website. Work in the project is continuing with the translation of individual portions of the Old Testament.