Belgium has long had a connection with making the Bible accessible to all, from pioneering Bible translator William Tyndale, who died there in 1536, to a brand new Belgian-Dutch translation of the New Testament produced by OM in 2025.
The project was led by Marjolein (Belgium), who has been a professional translator for 20 years and holds a degree from the Belgian Bible Institute – but it wasn’t her first time translating literature with OM.
“My first stint with OM was in the 1980s and 90s,” she said. “During that time, one of the tasks I was given was the translation of various Christian materials from English into Dutch/Flemish.
“After this, I worked as a commercial translator in the UK for 20 years, then, in 2017, my husband Martin (UK) and I rejoined OM and came back to Belgium, where he took over as team leader.
“We soon realised that the land that gave the English-speaking world its Bible had no Bible of its own. William Tyndale died here in 1536, and the nearby town of Vilvoorde, where he was executed, still has a memorial to him.”
In 2017, there were six Bible translations available in Dutch, but they were all produced in the Netherlands. Because Dutch as spoken in Belgium is slightly different — about as different as British English is from American English — Flemish pastors and evangelists deemed some of the Bible translations to be too foreign-sounding for regular use in Flanders. Others were considered so archaic that they were hard to understand, confirming the popular view among non-believers in this country that the Bible is a difficult and irrelevant book.
OM in Belgium approached Bill Drake, the director of OM’s Catalytic Ministries, and they held a meeting with two leading Belgian scholars, during which it was agreed that it was time for a new Bible translation.
“We built up a team consisting of myself as the main translator, and around 50 theological, archaeological and language experts, checkers, proofreaders and ‘test drivers’,” she continued. “With help from SIL (Wycliffe Bible translators) and United Bible Societies and OM donors, we started translating the New Testament during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“It took four years before we were ready for a last full read-through to look for remaining mistakes. Finally, on 14 September 2025, the New Testament was officially published.”
This new Flemish Bible translation is called Gods Boek (God's Book). It aims to be accurate, because the Bible is true, and in clear Dutch for Belgium, because the Bible is relevant. Words have their Belgian-Dutch meaning, and some words which are common in Flanders but uncommon in the Netherlands are used. Six thousand copies have been printed – 2,000 hardcover, 2,000 softcover and 2,000 pocket editions.
“I am delighted that we have come so far, and many prayers were answered in the process, especially when we needed expert help with a specific translation problem or other issue,” Marjolein said. “One time in particular, we were stumped by a technical issue, prayed, and that very same day, a specialist we had not known previously turned up. He was a great help and encouragement.
“I grew closer to the Lord while working on this project, gaining deeper knowledge of His Word. I sometimes tell my friends that I have the best ‘job’ in the world – even though as an OMer I don’t get paid to do this, I get to spend all my time studying the Bible!”
Marjolein is now preparing to work on an Old Testament translation. Anyone willing to help proofread the forthcoming translation or be among the initial readers should contact the OM team, who are particularly interested in hearing from anyone with a translation background in Hebrew to Dutch, or Dutch-speaking academics with Hebrew language skills.
The New Testament translation is available to read on the Bible App.
Please pray that many Flemish people will read this New Testament, and that they will learn to love the Lord and put His Word into practice.
Praise the Lord that the translation is available on YouVersion (digital version) and in Christian bookshops in Flanders. Pray that it will be available soon in secular bookshops as well – our partners are currently working on this.
Pray for the ongoing work on the Old Testament translation.
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