In continuation of our Old Testament translation project into Sakha (a.k.a. Yakut), the Institute for Bible Translation has published the books of Ruth and Esther in a single edition. These are the only two books of the Bible named after women, and they are being printed in Sakha for the first time ever.

The books were translated by Dmitri Sivtsev and Raisa Sibiryakova, and edited by Sargylana Leontyeva and Nikolai Efremov. The text was checked by IBT consultant Alexei Somov, and the foreword to the edition was written by Roman, the Orthodox Archbishop of Yakutia. A new set of illustrations was produced for this edition by Yakut artist Maria Adamova, who had earlier produced illustrations for the book of Jonah.

Earlier publications by IBT in the Sakha language include the Children’s Bible, the New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and Jonah. Further work on the Old Testament is in progress. All of the published Scripture portions can be found online on the IBT website.