FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary student Mang Siing recently became a part of history when he served as the narrator for the Zo language translation of the world-famous “Jesus” Film. The effort marked the film’s 2,000th available language.
“Jesus” depicts the life and ministry of Christ, and is the world’s most translated film, according to Guinness World Records. Since its release in 1979, it has been viewed by billions of people around the world and resulted in more than 600 million decisions for Christ, according to statistics on the film’s website.
Siing, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in missions with a minor in evangelism at SWBTS, was approached through a connection with the evangelical organization Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) about leading the translation project for the film in the Zo language.
Siing, who is from Myanmar, said Zo is one of more than 50 different dialects of the Chin people group, and was of the last of the Chin languages to receive a biblical translation. The New Testament translation of Zo was completed about 10 years ago, followed by the entire Bible in 2018.
Aside from the Bible and a few Christian hymns, Siing said there is a lack of Christian content or resources in Zo. Many tribes do not even have access to the internet.
He is thrilled the translation of the “Jesus” Film will change that forever.
“I was so excited, and our people were so excited,” Siing said. “I thank God for the opportunity and God has blessed our community with this.
“We don’t have any movie or film in our language, much less the “Jesus” Film. We were all excited, and we really know that Jesus is our King and Savior, so for Him to speak our language is a great opportunity. This is a milestone for our people group.
“Jesus will speak our language, and he will speak to us directly. Just as the Bible said God remembered Abraham and he remembered Noah, God also remembers us and He doesn’t forsake us.”
Siing worked with representatives from the film to begin the recording process, and Cru assisted by renting a local recording studio to complete the voiceover work.
The role Siing played with the voiceover was providing the lines for the film’s narrator. He also enlisted 28 other people from the Zo community in Fort Worth to provide voices for other characters, including Jesus, Mary and several children’s voices. The full recording process took around 16 hours for Siing, and a full week of days and nights overall.
