KwaZulu Natal welcomes proposed Bible translation into IsiZulu

South Africa’s Father Sibusiso Mhlango of St. Patrick Catholic Church (Kwazulu Natal) has said a new Zulu Bible translation will help “enrich Christianity in the Zulu community since the 1953 version contains considerable isiXhosa references which many Zulu speakers struggle to understand.” Fr. Mhlango’s comments are contained in South Africa’s online ‘Zululandobserver’ publication.

The Jacob Zuma Foundation announced earlier this year that it would partner with the Catholic Diocese of Mariannhill, in KwaZulu Natal, to improve the existing translation of the Bible into the isiZulu language. The new version is expected to be ready after about ten years and will be closer to the original manuscript.

Last week, President Jacob Zuma, on behalf of his foundation handed over a donation of R500 000 ($40, 000) to Bishop Pius Dlungwane at the St Joseph’s Cathedral in Mariannhill, KwaZulu Natal. The funds will go towards the new translation. Cynics insinuated that the donation by Jacob Zuma was a gesture to appease the Church with whom he has not had the best of relations. Bishop Pius Dlungwane, recently told the “BBC’s Focus on Africa” that his Diocese viewed the donation by the Jacob Zuma Foundation merely as a start in their efforts to translate the Bible from the "Biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek" into isiZulu.

The ‘Zululandobserver’ publication notes that the South African Bible Society who are also working on their own isiZulu translation of the Bible welcomed the development. The Bible Society’s Head of Communications, Mims Turley, said the society did not have a problem with the Catholic Church undertaking the translation: “The more translations, the better the Word of God will spread.”

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