I have the great privilege of living and working in South Asia, an area that is steeped in great missions history. Many men and women have come here and “poured themselves out like a drink offering” (Phil. 2:7) for the sake of the gospel among people and places where it is yet to be proclaimed.
For many of these missionaries, the results of their work were not seen in their own lifetimes. Yet, the impact of their faithful obedience continues to be felt even today. Henry Martyn is one of these faithful workers.
In 1806 Martyn was inspired by the American missionary David Brainerd to leave his life as a brilliant scholar and sail from England to South Asia. He took up the task of translating the Bible into the languages of Muslim people groups alongside William Carey and his colleagues.
This Englishman was a talented linguist and translated the New Testament into Urdu, Arabic, and Persian. With his health failing from tuberculosis, he took his translation to Persia (modern day Iran) to sit with scholars and ensure his translation was accurate and complete.
Henry gave his Persian New Testament to a trusted comrade who ensured it was passed into the hands of those who needed it: the lost from Central Asia to South Asia who spoke Persian.
He died only a short time later, but the fruit of his six years of labor is significant today. Believers in modern-day Persia still use Martyn’s translation and there has been rapid growth among the body of believers there. Believers coming from Muslim backgrounds have greatly benefitted from translations of the Scriptures into their heart languages. This man, who had such a deep conviction about the Word, the seriousness of lostness and the realities of eternity, never lived to see these fruits some 200 years later.