A lot of people with disabilities(PWD) often appear in the four Gospels and Acts in the NT. It is because Jesus did concentrate on curing and healing them in his early ministry. Jesus met them in their setting of life, cured and healed them, and had them return to their normal lives. They are usually represented as six Greek terms like χωλ??, κυλλ??, ?ν?πειρο?, κωφ??, ?λαλο?, and τυφλ?? in the UBS Greek New Testament.
As much as the Korean church is growing mature, newly revised Korean versions are continually being published and are widely and commonly being used in her. They are as follows: “New Korean Revised Version” transliterated as “Gae-yeok-gae-jung” in 1998, “Revised Common Translation” of the Holy Bible in 1999, and “Revised New Korean Standard Version” in 2001. In addition, the Catholic church in Korea produced its own Bible “Seong-kyung” recognized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea in 2005. This means that there were three newly revised Korean versions, and a brand new Korean translation during the last 15 years.
This essay compares six Greek terms for the people with disabilities appearing in the Greek NT and their translations in various Korean versions of the Bible mentioned above, and seeks to find out their alternatives. The problem of their titles in Korean versions is not simple at all. It is noticeable and significant that they are being changed from very negative, underestimated and mistreated meaning to more neutral and sound designations than the older Korean versions of the Bible. However, it is pointed out in this essay that there is still more to be done. Thus it is alternatively proposed in this paper that the terms especially in the four Gospels and Acts in the NT, be revised to ‘a physically challenged person’(지체장애인), ‘a speech-impaired person’(언어장애인), ‘a hearingimpaired person’(청각장애인) and ‘a visual impaired person’(시각장애인) according to the Welfare Law for Persons with Disabilities which became effective from 1990. The language of the Bible has the power and can greatly influence Bible readers because it is God’s Word. Therefore terms or titles of people with disabilities need to be revised into words with sound and neutral meaning and nuance according to the spirit of the times. Careful consideration is required so that translations are neutral and non-prejudiced in themselves at any case. This essay is aimed at it.