My recollection of “Jack”, as he was best known, was a man of very few meaningless words or “small talk,” but he was very thoughtful and he never lacked in response to an invitation to engage in a stimulating discussion; he was an independent thinker and initiator who believed in little “fuss” but rather results. He had a voice that was clear and reflected his strength of character and he would happily engage in a good debate with those around him.

Jack’s tenacious spirit championed in many instances the Baibala project with Partners in Development Foundation. His conviction to the “Word” in Hawaiian was indeed an important project to him and he dove into it full of zeal and conviction. Jack played a major role in seeking out the early grants to move the project forward and worked diligently to support the project and its staff led by Project Director Helen Kaupu Kaowili. He worked to develop partnerships with many including the United Church of Christ Hawaiian churches and community groups to build interest and support of the project.  Jack was the external face of the project to the community in its early years and served an integral role in the Baibala Hemolele project.

Jack was not only the nurturer of the Baibala Hemolele, but an avid student spending many hours researching the scriptures in Hawaiian and English and would often call me to discuss a certain issue or question encountered in his studies. Even after moving to Oregon to be closer to his granddaughter, Jack would call and we would then engage in a healthy discussion.

Jack was “one of a kind,” kind and gentle in his aloha and stalwart in his convictions. He is a soul I am proud to have known in the most noble of circumstances— a true “keiki ‘imi na‘auao” or child in search of knowledge. He shall be missed by his many friends at Partners in Development Foundation!

I always joke that Jack Keppeler was my bodyguard. I imagine Jan Dill calling Jack to his small, corner office on Bachelot Street to call in a favor; and keep an eye on me. It was 2004 and I had inherited a working role with PIDF that involved two entities with a long, fractured history; church and state. I was a go-getter and chomping at the bit to make a difference… but oh so young and oh so “green”. So, the Project Director of Baibala Hemolele met me at every meeting with decision makers in the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Division. He would bellow out a joke during tense introductions and agendas. He also never hesitated to bellow out a loaded question and directly challenge every leader at the table. I would sit quietly through leadership meetings, observing the amazing rhythm Jan and Jack had between them. These two big, strong pillars of PIDF would alternate between banter, mindful pauses, then straight shot talk about changes they would be making in Hawai’i. Jack taught me to be tough, challenge old ways, and when it was a really bad day…to laugh. Jack cared about the Hawaiian people.  He was a tough guy and teddy bear wrapped up in one. He loved his wife. He loved God.  Jack Keppeler was my mentor, my defender, my teacher and my uncle. 

He po‘i na kai uli, kai ko‘o ‘a‘ohe hina pūko‘a. Though the sea be deep and rough, the coral rock remains standing.  Pūku‘i, M.K. and Varez, D. ‘Ōlelo No‘eau:  Hawaiian proverbs and Poetical Sayings.  Bishop Museum Press. 1983.

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You can view Jack Keppeler’s obituary on The Oregon Live.

The Hawaiian language bible is now available to mobile users worldwide. Hawaiian nonprofit Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) granted a license for the use of the diacritically marked Hawaiian text from Ka Baibala Hemolele, (the Holy Bible) on YouVersion’s “Bible App”, a free mobile and online Bible platform. After completing the Hawaiian Bible translation project this year, PIDF explored opportunities to make the publication available via online, mobile platforms, marking the YouVersion contract as the first mobile app to host the Hawaiian Bible text.

The YouVersion Hawaiian Bible brings app users access to a wide range of features that are now fully available in the diacritically marked Hawaiian text, such as display of the text in searchable format, sharing options of portions of text by electronic means like text messages and social media, daily Bible verse text messages, and more. The Hawaiian Bible text can be enabled through the YouVersion language settings, along with over 1,300 other languages. 

To find the free, mobile Ka Baibala Hemolele text, go to your app store and search “Bible App,” the free Bible app by YouVersion. To change your Bible to ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, go into the more tab and click language, then Bible Text. Search or scroll for the Hawaiian option and simply click it to enable.

Ka Baibala Hemolele project began in 2002 with support from initial funders such as Dwayne Steele, Strong Foundation and Frear Eleemosynary Trust, and under the direction of Project Director Helen Kaupu Kaowili, it preserved the original editions of the Hawaiian Bible. Continued critical support from partners such as the Atherton Family Foundation and the Kamehameha Schools enabled the project to complete the diacritically marked Hawaiian Bible text in a printed and digital format to the public. The Hawaiian text available on the YouVersion app is a transliteration (respelling) of the original editions of the Hawaiian Bible, whose authors worked to translate into Hawaiian directly from the original source languages of Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament).  

For additional support or to find out more information about Partners in Development Foundation and Ka Baibala Hemolele, go to pidf.org/language/baibala/

On October 15th, representatives from Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) had the opportunity to present a copy of our completed Baibala Hemolele to the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. for their permanent collection. This Baibala is the first complete, fully bilingual and diacritically-marked Hawaiian Bible. They also presented the original 1839 “Clark” Bible for a temporary exhibition.

The presentation included a dramatic one-person play, “My Name is ʻŌpūkahaʻia” by Hawaiian actor Moses Goods. Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia was one of Hawaiʻi’s most influential historical figures who helped form the mission to the Islands that would bring Christianity and the Bible to Hawaiʻi in 1820. Further performances of the play were held across New England as part of “Hawaiʻi Week in New England.”

Kaulana Park, a PIDF Board Member and attendee of the D.C. presentation, gave a short message about the importance of the Baibala to Hawaiians. He explained that ʻŌpūkahaʻia knew education – especially literacy – was a key component to make the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi competitive. The Bible was used as the primary means for Hawaiian families to become literate. By 1834, the population in Hawaiʻi was 95% literate!

In Boston, a large contingent from Hawai’i helped to commemorate the start of the mission from Park Street Church. Helen Kaowili, the Baibala Hemolele Project Director, led a workshop teaching more about the translation efforts.

Baibala Hemolele began in 2002 as a way to electronically preserve the original editions of the Hawaiian Bible and make them available to the public in a digital format.  The project has since broadened into an entire rewriting and re-publishing of Baibala Hemolele. 

The latest development with the project has been the long-awaited publishing of the first fully bilingual Hawaiian-English Bible in 2018. That Baibala, along with other editions, is currently on sale at the Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF) main office in Honolulu. 

For more information on the upcoming bicentennial celebrations here in Hawaiʻi nei, visit the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives website here.

Bible Offers Parallel Text in Hawaiian and English
This year, Good Friday and the start of Passover fell on the same day, April 19, also coinciding with a full moon that etched a metallic shimmer on the black Hawaiian sea. This rare conjunction of the Christian and Jewish holidays and the moon brings to mind the way the Old Testament and New Testament are brought together in a new, bilingual edition of “Ka Baibala Hemolele: The Holy Bible” (Mutual Publishing, $69.95).

The keepsake volume lovingly folds both books between night-black, gilt-lettered leather covers. Hawaiian and English language texts lie side by side, facing each other for easy cross-reference on every moon-white page.

It was stirring to open ka buke to “Kinohi” or “Genesis,” and begin reading “I kinohi hana ke Akua i ka lani a me ka honua”/“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Darkness was upon the waters until God said “I malamalama”/“Let there be light.” One can easily imagine how it must have felt to the Hawaiian scholars, including John Papa Ii, David Malo, Hoapili kane, Kuakini and Samuel M. Kamakau, who worked with the missionaries on the original, 1839 Hawaiian translation of the Bible that meant the key to literacy for their people.

A preface by Helen Kaowili, the Hawaiian Bible project director, gives a history of previous editions of both the English and Hawaiian language bibles that precede this one. “In 1868 the text went through a major revision,” Kaowili said in an email. “The current text is a transliteration and revision of the 1868 text.”

Previous versions have taken out the Hawaiian diacriticals ‘okina and kahako, here replaced, while “w”s have been removed in some cases, for instance, changing the spelling of “auwe” to “aue.” Lovely 19th-century maps of the Holy Land and other places illustrate the endpapers and several interior pages. The book opens flat, inviting easy perusal, and the way that the design enhances the simplicity and directness of the language makes this Baibala a surprisingly quick read.

The 10-year process of producing this bible with a team of scholars and volunteers was led by Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF), a nonprofit that provides a range of free programs in education, social services, environmental sustainability, and integrating Hawaiian language/culture for at-risk communities in Hawaii.

At the season of renewal, it’s timely to have this beautiful new edition of “Ka Baibala Hemolele,” available at local bookstores, Queen Emma Summer Palace shop, and Target as well as through mutualpublishing.com and pidf.org.

This latest edition of the Baibala is fully bilingual with parallel text in Hawaiian and English. It is the first Hawaiian Bible to have diacritical markings in the new orthography. Great care and consideration was taken by dozens of scholars, teachers and volunteers into perfecting the Baibala Hemolele.

The Baibala will be released at a free, public event tomorrow night (Tuesday, November 20) at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives. The event will run from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and include tours, special exhibitions, a short program (at 6:00 PM), and pūpū.

Hawaiian Mission Houses will have trade editions of the Baibala ready for purchase at the event. We also have a PIDF version of the Baibala available for a special pre-sale price of $50. See the flyer below for more information.

Although it is a religious text, Ka Baibala Hemolele is also a vital resource for families and students of the Hawaiian language. Hawaiian families have traditionally used the Baibala as a way to practice and perfect Hawaiian language reading and comprehension.

Baibala Hemolele, or the Hawaiian Bible Project, has been a program of Partners in Development Foundation since 2002. It initially started as a way to preserve the original editions of the Hawaiian Bible and make them available in a digital format to the public.

The project has since evolved to include a complete rewriting of the Hawaiian Bible to a standardized modern orthography. Efforts to digitally preserve the Baibala will continue, as will the creation of audio recordings online to help with pronunciation, cadence and intonation.

Parking for the launch event will be available at the nearby Kamehameha Schools’ Kawaiahaʻo Plaza parking structure after 5:00 PM. Enter on Kawaiahaʻo Street, and be sure to remove your vehicle before the parking closes at 8:30 PM. We hope you will join us in celebration at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives.

Ka Baibala Hemolele published by Partners in Development Foundation. The first three books of the original Hawaiian Bible – Matthew, Mark, and John – were printed by ABS in New York shortly after the completion of their translations in 1828. Although the remaining 63 books of the original translation, Ka Palapala Hemolele, were printed in Honolulu and Lahainaluna, ABS continued to support the Sandwich Island Mission with funds to assist in continued production of the Baibala.

The trip to ABS headquarters in New York allowed the Baibala Hemolele project the opportunity to bring the translation and transliteration work full circle. The missionary companies sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions left the shores of New England almost 200 years ago with an English Bible to present to Kamehameha I and the goal of creating a new translation of the Bible for the Hawaiian people. 195 years later, it seems fitting that we present the American Bible Society a new edition of the work first printed by their founders, in thanksgiving for their faithfulness and their aloha for the people of Hawai‘i.

(The New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs)

The Hawaiian Bible project began in 2002 to preserve the Hawaiian Bible and make it available online, free of charge, for anyone interested in reading and studying scripture in Hawaiian. At the time, the American Bible Society, the publisher of record since the early 1800’s, had decided to discontinue printing the Baibala Hemolele. Ten years later, in 2012, the first Hawaiian Bible in the modern Hawaiian orthography was printed.

This is not the first time a Hawaiian-English bilingual Bible has been produced. The first Baibala to include both Hawaiian and English was a New Testament printed in 1857 and reprinted a number of times since then. However, this is the first time the Psalms and Proverbs will appear in parallel Hawaiian-English form and the first bilingual edition to include the modern Hawaiian text.

The newest publication marks the second printed work of the project. The purpose of this phase was to create a bilingual Hawaiian-English edition with parallel text to offer readers in both languages a better understanding of Scripture and to allow for comparative study. This edition includes the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.

The original translation of the Bible into Hawaiian by missionary translators and their Hawaiian counterparts was done directly from the original languages (Hebrew – Old Testament and Greek – New Testament) into Hawaiian. It is important to know that no words were changed, nor any additional translation added as the modern Hawaiian text was developed. The modern Hawaiian text is a transliteration from the old Hawaiian orthography to the new orthography – complete with diacritics.

You may purchase the Bible through Mutual Publishing or by calling 808-595-2752 or e-mail pid@pidfoundation.org.

As facilitator, Mahi also brought his own knowledge of the Hawaiian language to the fore of the discussion. His panel consisted of Kahu William Kaina, Kahu David Kaupu, and the daughter of the latter, Helen Kaupu Kaowili.

Kaowili is the Project Director of Baibala Hemolele which worked toward the reprinting of the Hawaiian Bible with the inclusion of diacritical markings, for use in the home and places of worship. But, it also serves as a resource that makes it easier for students of ‘Olelo Hawai‘i to learn the language.

Ms. Kaowili worked on the reprinting project since its inception in 2002 and persevered for a decade before the new version of the Hawaiian Bible was published and released in 2012.

Kahu Kaina shared his love of the Hawaiian language and how he learned it as a youngster without his parents knowing. He chuckled, sharing that it was customary at that time to switch to Hawaiian when adults wanted to speak of things “in secret,” but his mother realized after a time by the expressions on his face that he understood what they were saying.

He also spoke of “family worship” or the gathering of the ‘ohana to read passages from the Bible in both English and Hawaiian and discuss the particular lesson of the day.

Kahu Kaupu in turn, took us back to the beginning, with the death of Mo‘i Kamehameha the Great. He spoke of the looming and great spiritual void that was left with the King’s passing, and the arrival of the missionaries a year later.

Kamehameha’s son Liholiho was not sure about these newcomers at first, but relented when he found out that they had taken the time to learn the Hawaiian language, and put it into a written form.

After being accepted by the young King, Rev. Bingham held his first sermon at a site upon which Kawaiaha‘o Church now sits. The first passage that was translated into ‘Olelo Hawai‘i was from the Gospel of Luke 2:10, “Fear not: for behold, I bring tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

A fascinating discussion for all who were in attendance…

A few weeks ago, Barbara contracted the stomach flu and was admitted to Tahlequah City Hospital. She was able to recover and felt great when Joe brought her home. However, Barbara passed away on March 01, 2014. She suffered a stroke last May, leaving the past ten months very trying as most of her independence was stripped away.

Barbara was married to Joe for 62 years with three children and seven grandchildren. Some of her biggest accomplishments involved translating the Bible into the Huichol language of Mexico and the Hawaiian Pidgin language. Barbara was also one of the major editors of the Ethnologue, the first large-scale register of known languages (a reference work known to virtually every linguist in the world). She authored many technical articles on language survey topics and much more. Barbara also traveled twice around the world with her husband as they attended linguist workshops in many different countries and taught phonetics, phonology, and anthropology. She was a lover of truth, Jesus, and all people. Now, she is home at last.

“Den I hear one voice from da sky tell, ‘Write dis: From now, erybody dat trus da Boss Up Dea, dey goin stay good inside when dey mahke.’ God’s Spirit tell, ‘Yeah! Dey goin res from all dea hard work, an erybody goin know da good stuff dey wen do.”

Wat Jesus Show John 14:13 in Hawaiian Pidgin

The presale price of US $26 will continue until the 15th, after which it will rise to $45, a savings of $19.

Partners in Development Foundation in partnership with Kamehameha Schools is also releasing a special edition of Ka Baibala Hemolele for the same introductory price over the same limited period.

The Pauahi Edition of Ka Baibala Hemolele commemorates the 125th Anniversary of the Kamehameha Schools. This edition includes introductory material relating to the life and faith of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. With a blue bonded leather cover with silver foil stamping on front and spine, it is a perfect gift for a Kamehameha Schools student or graduate.