Technologies for creating images have opened up new opportunities for the discussion of translation. This article reflects on a new challenge for translators: to rethink the relationship between word and image. It reports on a series of experimental multimedia translations for a youth audience, initiated by the American Bible Society. The experiments have enabled the author to identify and explore a number of theoretical and practical design issues, such as the basic distinctions between image and word. The article addresses the 20th century growth of genres, which combine words and images and the interrelationship of word and image as it is used in religious contexts. Furthermore a summary is given of the American Bible Society’s Multimedia Translations Programme.