Promoting Social Reconciliation in Post-apartheid South Africa: Engaging "Forgiveness" Texts in Bible Translation Performance

Abstract

This article describes an ongoing effort within the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa to design a performative translation of biblical texts on forgiveness into Sesotho, one of the official languages of South Africa. The goal is to communicate effectively the concept of forgiveness to both confessional communities and those outside those communities. This translation will help the hearers to understand better the Old Testament concept of forgiveness and how that concept can promote social reconciliation within the polarised society of South Africa. The design of a performance translation of forgiveness texts and its implementation in society provides a model for similar translations into the other ten official languages of South Africa. The study is based on Biblical Performance Criticism.