Bybelgenootskap van Suid-Afrika

The Bible Society of South Africa recently celebrated three major historical landmarks: the 150th anniversary of the first Bible translation in a South African language, the Bible in Tswana, the centenary of the Tsonga Bible and the 75th anniversary of the Bible in Afrikaans. In 2009, we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Bible in Xhosa!

Making the Bible’s message accessible and understood has always been an integral part of Bible Society work, and translating the Bible into the languages of South Africa’s many language groups remains one of the key means of achieving that goal.

Although the New Testament is available in Southern Ndebele, it remains the only official language in South Africa that does not yet have a complete Bible. Translators are currently working on the Old Testament and it is hoped that it will be completed by 2010.

The source-text-orientated translation in Afrikaans which was initiated in 2006 is well underway. Proof translations of several Bible portions are available from your nearest Bible House or click here for more information on this translation project.

A New Testament and Psalms was published in contemporary Zulu by the Bible Society os South Africa in 1986, but the translation of the Old Testament never went ahead. At the request of the Zulu churches the Bible Society began with the translation of the Old Testament in August 2009.