Holy Week Through the Eyes of the Languages of the WorldMuestra

The last part of John 13:1 ("Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end") is translated in Hdi as "Ɗvuɗva tsatsi ta gwal ta zlghafta ma na ghəŋa haɗik na, haɗ kɗavakta ɗvutani ta həŋ wa." For the 24,000 Hdi speakers in Cameroon and Nigeria, this single sentence contains an explosive message.

Unlike most other verbs in Hdi, the word for "love" traditionally used only two forms. One ended with an "i" (ɗvi) and referred to a love that was once there but is now gone. The other ended with an "a" (ɗva) and depended on the actions of the recipient of that love. If the beloved behaved well, they would continue to be ɗva'ed; otherwise they would be ɗvi'ed—no longer loved. It was theoretically possible to also ɗvu—to love continuously regardless of the actions of the beloved, but that form was never used because it had never been experienced.

The Hdi Bible translators recognized, however, that God does indeed ɗvu people. In fact, he ɗvu'es people well-knowing that they will not “deserve” their ongoing belovedness because of their actions. This simple verb turned the worldview of Hdi speakers upside down and caused a massive breakthrough of the gospel message among them. Each time they pick up their New Testament today, which was published in 2015, they can be reminded again of God's amazing ɗvu.

As Jesus walks toward the cross during this week of Easter, the Hdi speakers help us realize anew the extraordinary quality and power of God's love, a kind of love for which there would and could be no justification, one that continues to love us regardless of our failures and flaws.