Southern Ndebele is the home language of 711 821 people in South Africa. The largest percentage of Southern Ndebele speakers live in Mpumalanga.
This is the only official language in South Africa into which the complete Bible has not yet been translated.
Important dates in the history of the Southern Ndebele Bible:
| 1977 | First book of the Bible to be translated – The Gospel according to Mark Cape Town: Bible Society of South Africa Translated by Rev EA Hermanson, Mr JS Mabena and Mr R Ntuli. |
| 1986 | First New Testament and selected Psalms Cape Town: Bible Society of South Africa Translated by Miss H Eschen, Mr J S Mabena, Rev E K Mtshweni and others. A translation team consisting of Mr Peter Mabena, Pastor David Mahlangu and Prof Andries Breytenbach is currently working on the translation of the Old Testament. |