World of the Bible Podcast, a Tyndale House Production S9E11 550 Letters, one Bible translation: Inside a modern Romanian Bible project
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Oct 23, 2026 Emmanuel Kontak is a Romanian biblical scholar, Greek teacher, and Bible translator. He recounts how 550 historical letters sparked a major Romanian Bible revision. They explore returning to Hebrew and Greek, preserving Cornilescu’s familiar voice, balancing accuracy with beautiful Romanian, translating wordplay and strong language, and the painstaking human work behind a modern translation.
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The Princess Who Helped Create A Romanian Bible
- Dumitru Cornilescu pursued a beautiful, fluent Romanian Bible with Princess Ralu Calimaki’s financial support.
- Calimaki had attempted the translation herself before recognizing that Cornilescu had the skills to complete it.
Why Cornilescu’s Revision Took A Century
- The British and Foreign Bible Society adopted Cornilescu’s popular translation despite concerns about paraphrase and reliance on foreign versions.
- Its planned revision never happened because Cornilescu became ill, left Romania, and died in exile.
The 550 Letters That Revived A Bible Project
- Emmanuel Kontak found 550 letters documenting repeated calls for a Romanian Bible revision.
- One 1924 letter predicted that better-trained scholars would eventually assemble a committee to undertake it.
