“Ancestral Tree” of 35 ground-breaking, indigenous, regional Bible Commentary Projects funded by Langham Partnership
“Good preaching is impossible without study,” said Langham founder John Stott, “and study is impossible without good books.”
Langham Literature provides Majority World pastors, scholars and seminary libraries with good books and electronic resources through grants, discounts and distribution.
We also foster the creation of indigenous evangelical books for pastors in many languages, through training workshops for writers and editors, sponsored writing, translation, strengthening local evangelical publishing houses, and investment in major regional literature projects.
Bible Commentaries are a special contribution that Langham makes to the world of theological scholarship and to the Global Church. These commentaries grow from the local culture and needs of the indigenous Church and are written by theologian-authors (who are often Langham Scholars) from that culture. As well as commentary on the scriptures, each one-volume commentary also includes articles on relevant cultural issues, bringing a biblical perspective to local issues.
These Bible commentaries help theological colleges prepare pastors; they help pastors prepare sermons; they help everyday Christians go deeper in their faith. The commentaries provide sound theological approaches to the unique issues and spiritual needs of Churches around the world — in their heart languages!
What a gift these commentaries are, made possible by the generosity of Langham donors from around the world!
The following principles guide these projects:
- The authors must be indigenous scholars, writing from within their own contexts, for the people of their region.
- All contributions must be in line with and support the confessional direction of the Lausanne Covenant.
- The work must contribute to developing the infrastructure of Christian publishing in the region.
There are 15 Bible Commentary Projects published
They are:
- Africa Commentary in English (2006) and translations to French (2008), Portuguese (2010), Swahili (2010), Malagasy (2014), Hausa (2019) and Amharic (2022);
- South Asia Commentary in English (2015) and translation to Hindi (2020);
- Slavic Commentary in Russian (2016) and Russian Revision (2022);
- Arabic Commentary (2018);
- Latin America Commentary in Spanish (2019) and translation to Portuguese (2022); and
- Branch Exposition New Testament Commentary (2021).
There are 20 more Bible Commentary Projects in process
They are:
- Branch Exposition Old Testament (2023);
- Central / Eastern European Commentary (2022);
- Africa Commentary English Revision (2023) and French translation (2024);
- Latin America translation to English (2024);
- Central Asia Commentary in Russian (2023) and translations to Kazakh (2024), Uzbek (2024) and Kyrgyz (2024);
- Slavic Revision translation to English (2023);
- South Asia Commentary in Urdu (2023), Tamil (2024) and Malayalam (2023);
- South Asian Study Bible in English (2024);
- Chinese Commentary (2028); and
- Muslim Background Commentaries on Genesis Part I (2022), Epistles of John (2023), Genesis Part II (2023), Jonah (2023) and Gospel of John (2023).
Rejoice with us at this growing library of Bible commentaries!
Thank you for how you have helped make them possible.
You can donate to the work of Langham anytime, and can designate a gift toward the work of Langham Literature specifically.
We estimate that for every commentary sent to a pastor in a local church, at least 10-12 other pastors and lay preachers share the resource and benefit from it. That is an exciting statistic! If it’s multiplied by the more than 100,000 volumes already distributed, the number of lives impacted reach into the millions. And that is not counting those who have been impacted by solid biblical sermons!
Can you help us pay for publishing of the Slavic Commentary into English?
It was originally written in Russian.
This is what we are raising funds for with our Australian mid-year 2022 Appeal.
This will make the Slavic Commentary accessible for others in Slavic nations who read/speak English.
Please send your gift for this important work today.
Join us in prayer…
PREACHING
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Pray for the annual Langham Preaching Africa Sunday happening on 26 June, that more African pastors and leaders will be inspired to become faithful, clear and relevant preachers.
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Pray for Steve Williams as he leads Preaching training in an Aboriginal church in western Sydney.
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Thank you for praying for these upcoming Preaching training events (where a country is sensitive, the region is given):
- 12-18 June – SE Asia, Togo, Mongolia, Burundi
- 19-25 June – Cambodia, Romania, Trinidad & Tobago
- 26 June – 2 July – SE Asia, Central Africa, Fiji
- 3-9 July – Croatia, Cambodia
- 10-16 July – Thailand
LITERATURE
Please pray for the Regional Commissioning Editors and the work they complete for Langham Literature. Pray for Rico Villanueva, Liz Mburu, Yacouba Sanon and Roman Soloviy.
SCHOLARS
Please pray for Joseph Byamukama from Uganda who is planning to come to Melbourne for a study visit in August. Pray that he will be able to get a visa for this visit without delay.
LEADERSHIP
Please pray for our International Director Tayo Arikawe, as he seeks wisdom in leading Langham forward as an organisation. A central Human Resources Manager position has been recently advertised; pray for God’s choice for this important position.
Gillean Smiley writes…
Have you ever reflected on how the Lord speaks through the same Word, into the lives of people from all times and all cultures? A word that seems particularly relevant and apt for circumstances in Australia in 2022 has also encouraged and exhorted believers for thousands of years, and is just as relevant in each of the enormously diverse cultures and backgrounds in the world.
When we only listen to God speak through the filter of our own culture, we are at risk of limiting our understanding of the richness and depth of His Word. I first realised this when I had the New Testament opened to me with an explanation of how first century Jews would have understood Jesus’s words, and saw how many nuances and cultural references I had completely missed.
Now we have a growing opportunity to hear and read the Word through the lens of our brothers and sisters across the world, through the commentary series. While the commentaries are first and foremost essential for the language groups in which they are written, what a storehouse of wisdom and insight is available to us all, as we compare an African perspective with a South Asian perspective, and then with an Arabic one and now with a Slavic view of the Word and the world.
It is a little foretaste of the fellowship we will enjoy as we worship our God in the throng of every nation, tribe and tongue.