Projects
We work across organizational and disciplinary boundaries, bringing together complementary expertise that rarely sits in the same room. We use advanced technologies responsibly—always with strong human oversight—and we prioritize open sharing so that resources can travel, adapt, and serve widely.
We are currently developing and maintaining these key resources for biblical scholarship and translation practitioners.
Oral Bible Translation Using Cornerstone/Calao Formula
The Nida Institute is involved in more than 30 Oral Bible Translation projects using the so-called Cornerstone formula. These projects serve languages in Guatemala, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Philippines. The Cornerstone approach for Oral Bible Translation works with clusters of related minority languages (typically three or four at a time) and helps mother-tongue translators internalize and translate biblical texts in a workshop setting, after which the translations are recorded. The workshops also equip translators to perform these translations in their home communities. When desired, we assist language communities in developing their own orthographies and converting the translations into written form. A typical Cornerstone project takes three years and results in the translation and verification of at least 25 chapters of Scripture.
Project MARBLE
The Nida Institute, in close collaboration with United Bible Societies, is stewarding Project MARBLE (Modular Aggregation of Resources on the Bible). MARBLE links
Bible translations in languages of wider communication to their Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek source texts, which are in turn connected to a wide range of background resources. The Nida Institute, in close collaboration with United Bible Societies, is stewarding Project MARBLE (Modular Aggregation of Resources on the Bible). MARBLE links Bible translations in languages of wider communication to their Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek source texts, which are in turn connected to a wide range of background resources that have been localized into multiple languages, including: → Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (Reinier de Blois) → Semantic Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (based Louw & Nida's lexicon) → Textual commentaries such as the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project → Nearly 200 video clips → Thousands of vetted images These resources can be accessed in a variety of ways, including through: → Bible translation tools such as Paratext, AVTT, SLTT → A freely accessible website, which also contains a user-friendly interface that allows complex searches in the ETCBC4 database
Bible Online Learner
The Nida Institute is a leading partner in Bible Online Learner (Bible OL), which provides free access to the Hebrew Bible in the ETCBC4 database and to Nestle’s 1904 Greek New Testament text with grammatical annotations. The Nida Institute is a leading partner in Bible Online Learner (Bible OL), which provides free access to the Hebrew Bible in the ETCBC4 database and to Nestle’s 1904 Greek New Testament text with grammatical annotations. Teachers can use the platform to create exercises and exams for their students. In addition, the site offers a complete and free Hebrew course, including video lectures and exercises, covering all essential vocabulary, grammar, syntax, and translation skills required by several accrediting institutions (VU, AU, PThU, ETF).
Linguistic Tools for Paratext 10
The Nida Institute, together with our partners at SIL, are working on an extension for Paratext 10, which is to add additional linguistic functionality to this tool for Bible translators. Our goal is to integrate FLEx technology into tools, making it possible to view the target-language text in an interlinear format. The functionality will make it possible to: → perform a linguistic analysis of the target text and store grammatical data → automatically propose parsings for words and phrases → search the target text for specific grammatical patterns → maintain a concordance and lexicon of the target language
Other Projects Include:Â
Kairos Project
Paratext 10 Co-pilot
Scripture Pipelines
Videos
