This digitised version will be one of the many tools used to help produce a brand new translation, in more contemporary language for today's Te Reo Maori speakers.

"Translation of any significance takes time, and anecdotal evidence suggests that contemporary Maori usage is already considerably different from the language of the current Maori Bible," commented Dr Stephen Pattemore, the Bible Society's Translations Director.

"So we need to be pro-active."

A new mobile Paipera Tapu app is also currently in development and will feature the current Paipera Tapu text (2012) as well as English Bible translations.

It will be useful for people who want to read Te Reo Maori alongside an English text such as the Good News Bible.

The new app will be launched in early 2019.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of the first edition of Te Paipera Tapu.

While the first-ever Scriptures in Te Reo Maori were published in Sydney in 1827 by the New South Wales Bible Society, this was the first ever full Paipera Tapu.

But the journey of the Bible in Te Reo Maori didn't stop there.

This edition was followed by three further versions in 1889, 1925 and 1952, as well as a reformatted edition of the 1952 text which was published in 2012.

Then there was Taku Paipera, the only Maori Children's Bible storybook available, launched at the end of 2016.

Today Bible Society New Zealand has a number of Te Reo Maori resources available.

Their journey with Te Reo Maori continues in their mission of making the Bible accessible to everyone and encouraging interaction with it.

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Supplied: New Zealand Bible Society Nga Ringa Hapai i te Paipera Tapu ki Aotearoa

It is hoped the new translation will serve the next generation and be more accessible to young Maori second language speakers.

To date, the Gospel of Luke, two Epistles, Jonah, Genesis and Ruth have been completed in modern Te Reo Maori. It could take up to 12 years to complete the task.

Te Paipera Tapu was first published in 1868 with three further versions in 1889, 1925 and 1952.

The 1952 edition is the version most Maori communities and speakers have used for more than half a century.

In 2012 Bible Society published a reformatted edition of the 1952 text featuring paragraphs, macrons and punctuation to help readers understand the text.

However the current translation is very close to the King James Version," which in Bible-speak means it's quite formal language," said Brenda Crooks the Maori Bible Kaituitui Co-ordinator (Kaituitui means 'stitch together').

"The purpose of translating Scripture in the first place into mother tongues is to make it more accessible and to open up the treasure of scripture to all who want to seek it," she said.

"For Maori readers, we want to give them an informal translation that speaks to them in their own natural heart language,"

The project allows Crooks to combine the two passions of her life, Te Reo and the Bible.

She is one of only 5,000 people in New Zealand able to speak in the three official languages of New Zealand; Maori, English and Sign Language.

Maori is "the language of our country, it's beautiful, it's poetic and it's a window into this culture," said Crooks.

"There are things that can be expressed in Maori that can't be expressed in any other language."

Crooks said that even as a child she a desire to learn about Maori culture.

"I grew up on the West Coast of the South Island which is very European, so I believe my longing to learn about Maori culture was a God-given desire."

After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Maori Studies, Crooks joined Bible Society almost directly. She has been working on the Maori Bible ever since.

She spent 11 years modernising Te Paipera Tapu text with the addition of macrons, paragraphs and punctuation.

"When the current Maori translation was first printed in 1952, it didn't need macrons because there were native speakers. So marking the vowel length for today's readers is very helpful," she said.

More recently Crooks has worked on Taku Paipera, the first Maori Bible story book for children and Bible Society's first dedicated Maori Bible app.

The new translation of Te Paipera Tapu is now her main work.

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Supplied: New Zealand Bible Society

Following a Powhiri by students at Middle School West Auckland's Bilingual Unit, and an unveiling, Taku Paipera, were gifted to the 25 students.

Born and bred te Reo speaker Matt Hakiaha, who spoke at the Auckland proceedings, described as a "wonderful present."

Mr Hakiaha, a Kaumatua (respected elder) and on Laidlaw College's Maori Advisory Council said, " Taku Paipera is done in a language that belongs to us, it's a language that reveals our identity and it's a language that is the heartbeat of our culture."

"For Maori children, it's their language put to print, the stories of the Bible from thousands of years are now conveyed in their sacred language. It will help build their self-esteem and pride."

"This Bible will lead to the preservation of te Reo and the continuity of te Reo and also the use and continuance of a traditional language to a modern language."

"I've personally wanted this for 30 years, because growing up as a child in a Christian home, there was only an adult Bible."

Alex Hawea, Community and Whanua Support Manager at the school said, "Taku Paipera is brilliant." A dad to a 9, 7 and 2 year old, he commented, "It will be a lot easier to read these Bible stories to my kids without having to translate them back into Maori."

As part of the formal Maori welcome, Mr Hakiaha read one of his favourite Bible stories, the feeding of the 5,000, with smoked fish and bread specially brought in for the students.

"No matter what race or nationality you are, food is important to every culture. To Jesus food is important, there are no barriers with food. It was important to Jesus to see people were feed."

Mr Hakiaha said he was particularly impressed with the use of colour in the Bible, the clear layout, short sentences, paraphrasing and macrons. "The first thing I thought when I saw the Bible was how vibrant and colourful the pictures were and how this made it easy to read and contemporary."

Taku Paipera is available at Bible Society New Zealand $16.99 a copy. To order go to www.biblesociety.org.nz/shop or telephone 0800 424 253

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Supplied

A team from Bible Society New Zealand has been reformatting the Maori Bible for a new generation of Maori speakers.

The current translation, first published in 1952, has been enhanced to make it more readable (the actual Bible text remains unchanged).

The addition of macrons will be particularly useful for second-language speakers, to help them better understand the text.

Along with macrons, the entire Bible has been reformatted into paragraphs, replacing the King James style in which each verse begins on a new line.

"This task is much more difficult than it sounds, especially when it comes to books like the Psalms," Stephen Pattemore, Bible Society's translation services director, said.

"Paragraphing brings a much more familiar look and feel to the text for today's readers, who are likely to encounter paragraphs in almost everything they read."

Work has also begun on producing a new translation of the Maori Bible.

Having received a receiving a mandate from key Maori denominational leaders in 2009, the first steps will be taken next month with a meeting of Maori church leaders and Bible Society representatives.

The journey will be along one. It is expected to take 13 to 20 years to complete, with the first two years spent planning the direction.

This significant project will be the largest translation task Bible Society has undertaken in New Zealand since the last revision of the Maori Bible was published in 1952.

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• ENS
• The Bible Society
• Newswire.co.nz
• Image: Epworth Books