Cherokee Nation Publishes Cherokee Syllabary New Testament Bible

The Cherokee Nation has published the New Testament red letter edition of the Bible in the Cherokee syllabary for the first time, with books on sale to the public soon.

In a news release, the tribe says its language program translated and published the Bible and sought to correct translation errors made by missionaries to the Cherokee Nation in the 1860s. That version of the New Testament has been reprinted by the American Bible Society.

The new Cherokee Nation-published Bible also marks the first time a includes red lettering of the words of Jesus Christ.

The project took Cherokee Nation translators about two and a half years to complete. It is the first time the entire New Testament red letter edition has been translated into Cherokee by the tribe since before the Civil War.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker and Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden presented some of the first copies of the Bible to local Cherokee ministers at a pastors meeting in Tahlequah this month.

“Although copies of the New Testament in Cherokee syllabary have been in circulation for years, this is the first time our Cherokee Nation translation department has completed an official and proper translation of the Bible, and in a red letter edition,” said Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker.

Plans for an official Cherokee Nation published Old Testament are also in the works. The complete Old Testament has never been fully translated into Cherokee.