The Bible in isiXhosa

IsiXhosa 1975 and 1996

The earliest Bible translation into isiXhosa was mainly the work of missionaries of the Wesleyan Missionary Society such as William Shaw, William Boyce and others.

The history of the isiXhosa Bible started in 1833 when the first book of the Bible (Luke) was translated in Grahamstown. The first complete Bible followed in 1859 but was published in one volume in 1864. The latest revision of this Bible was done in 1975 and is still widely used.

The latest translation of the Bible in isiXhosa was completed in 1996 and is a thought-for-thought translation.