Decolonial and Evangelical: Ethics in the First Nations Version New Testament

A journal article based on this presentation has been published in the December 2025 issue of The Bible Translator: https://doi.org/10.1177/20516770251391456

This presentation offers a case study of ethics in the First Nations Version New Testament, a decolonial, English-language translation undertaken by Native North Americans to evangelize their own people. Tymoczko’s (2014) and Nord’s (1997) complementary frameworks for self-reflexivity and loyalty in translation reveal how FNV translators’ attentiveness to their evangelical faith, Native identity, and the legacy of missionary colonialism shaped their translation decisions and helped them demonstrate equal loyalty to their target audience and to the divine author of Scripture. The result is a Scripture translation that communicates more effectively with an unreached segment of the Native North American community than prior English versions. Implications for ethical Bible translation practice in minoritized contexts worldwide are offered in the conclusion.