The Institute for Bible Translation is pleased to announce the publication of a new book, Taurat (the Pentateuch) in the Balkar language. 

The Balkars are a Turkic people, the indigenous population of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic in the Russian Federation. Closely related to the Karachays living in the neighbouring Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the Balkars speak the Karachay-Balkar language, which belongs to the Turkic language group. According to the 2021 census, the Karachay-Balkar language is spoken by 274,038 people in the Russian Federation. 

The translation of the Pentateuch into the Balkar language will make a significant contribution to the culture of the Balkar people and the development of literature in this language, and will provide one more opportunity for the speakers of this language to become more familiar with biblical texts. 

IBT continues its work of translating and distributing the Holy Scriptures in the Balkar language. To date, the New Testament (2000), Ruth/Esther/Daniel (2020), and Jonah (2022) have been translated by IBT into the Balkar language. You can find these publications on our website.