The Bible in Xitsonga

Xitsonga 1929 and 1989

The pioneer translators of the Bible into Xitsonga were Paul Berthoud, his brother Henri, and Ernest Creux; missionaries of the Swiss-French Mission who came to South Africa in 1875.

In 1892, the first two books of the Bible – The Gospel according to Luke and the Book of Acts – were translated into Xitsonga. The first New Testament appeared in 1894 and the first complete Bible – printed in two volumes – in 1907. This translation was revised in 1929 and in 2012, it was published in a new orthography.

A new translation in Xitsonga was published in 1989.