Full Bilingual Hawaiian-English Bible to Be Released November 19, 2018

In partnership with the Atherton Family Foundation and Kamehameha Schools, we are thrilled to announce the release of a long-awaited project: the completed Ka Baibala Hemolele.

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.