{"id":57211,"date":"2026-04-25T09:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T09:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=57211"},"modified":"2026-04-25T09:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T09:56:10","slug":"revised-isixhosa-bible-last-updated-in-1975-goes-to-print","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/04\/25\/revised-isixhosa-bible-last-updated-in-1975-goes-to-print\/","title":{"rendered":"Revised isiXhosa Bible, last updated in 1975, goes to print"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The revised isiXhosa Bible has officially been handed over for printing in South Africa, marking a major milestone for one of the country\u2019s most widely spoken languages.<\/p>\n<p>The handover took place on 16 April 2026 between the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), the isiXhosa Bible Review Committee and the Bible Society of South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>PanSALB said the project forms part of its ongoing mission to \u201cpreserve, protect and promote multilingualism\u201d and strengthen the use of South Africa\u2019s official languages.<\/p>\n<p>The organisation also said the revised text supports correct spelling and writing standards in isiXhosa.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-isixhosa-bible-revision-heads-to-printers\">isiXhosa Bible revision heads to printers<\/h2>\n<p>The Bible Society of South Africa lists a formal isiXhosa Bible edition first published in 1975, meaning the new revision updates a version that has been in use for decades. It also offers a newer 1996 translation separately.<\/p>\n<p>PanSALB described the handover as a \u201csignificant milestone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It said the book remains one of the most read works in African-language literature in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t        <iframe title=\"bj_embed\" class=\"dx-embed\" id=\"dxIframe-0\" style=\"width: 100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Because of that reach, updates to spelling and orthography could have a wide impact beyond churches.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdhering to the revised isiXhosa spelling and orthography rules in the Bible is very crucial for the development and standardised use of the language,\u201d the board said.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-the-bible-still-matters-for-language-development\">Why the Bible still matters for language development<\/h2>\n<p>PanSALB said the Bible played an important role in shaping written isiXhosa over time.<\/p>\n<p>It added that the text helped establish early isiXhosa orthography and continues to influence formal writing today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis revision, therefore, will have an impact on the improvement and promotion of proper isiXhosa language use,\u201d the board added.<\/p>\n<p>Representatives from the South African Council of Churches, PanSALB language bodies and Bible Society executives attended the event.<\/p>\n<p>The isiXhosa Bible Review Committee also presented PanSALB with a certificate in recognition of its contribution to the project.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-who-are-pansalb\">Who are PanSALB?<\/h2>\n<p>PanSALB is a constitutional body tasked with promoting multilingualism and supporting the development of previously marginalised languages in South Africa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Revised #isiXhosa #Bible #updated #print<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The revised isiXhosa Bible has officially been handed over for printing in South Africa, marking a major milestone for one&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57213,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57211\/revisions\/57213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}