A controversy that has developed over how to translate the Bible into Klingon, an artificial language for a fictitious warlike alien race that was developed for the "Star Trek" science fiction series, will result in not one, but two translations of the scriptures.

Citing deep philosophical differences with fellow scholars, Glen Proechel, a language instructor at the University of Minnesota, has resigned from a group that has been developing a literal translation. "It's not going to make any sense," Proechel said of the literal approach, "It will be describing things that don't exist in their culture." Dr. Lawrence Schoen, a linguist overseeing the literal translation, disagrees. "You don't mess around with the Bible."

The following line from Mark exemplifies the differing approaches to translation: "We have five loaves and two fishes." Since Klingon has no words for loaves or fish, literalists use generalized words for "grain food" and "water animal." The paraphrased version, however, uses concepts that Klingons would be familiar with: "We have only five blood pies and two serpent worms." Also, since there are plenty of lambs in the Bible but reportedly none on the Klingon world, Proechel substitutes the word "targh"—a vicious, ugly, piglike animal.

The translation itself appears much like the following passage from John 3:16, which no doubt loses some of the beauty of the language:

"toH qo' muSHa'qu'mo joH'a', wa' puqloDDaj nobpu' ghaH 'wj ghaH Harchugh vay', vaj not Hegh ghaH, 'ach yIn jub ghajbej ghaH."

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