Northern Sotho is the home language of 4 208 980 people in South Africa and is mostly spoken in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng.
The translation of the Bible into Northern Sotho was first attempted by the missionaries of the Berlin Missionary Society. The pioneer translator was Pastor JFC Knothe.
Important dates in the history of the Northern Sotho Bible:
| 1890 | First Scripture to be published – The New Testament London: British and Foreign Bible Society Translated by JFC Knothe of the Berlin Evangelical Missionary Society. |
| 1904 | First Bible Berlin: Berlin Missionary Society After the death of Pastor Knothe in 1892, the translation work was continued by G Trümpelmann and H Kuschke, assisted by A Serote and G Eiselen. |
| 1951 | Revision of the Bible London: British and Foreign Bible Society The Bible translation was revised and put into a new orthography by Dr PE Schwellnuss and a committee. |
| 2000 | Latest translation of the Bible Cape Town: Bible Society of South Africa Translated by Rev JM Louw, the exegete and project co-ordinator, Fr M Teffo and Rev JS Ramoba, assisted by various scholars and linguists. |