The Bible Society of Malawi has launched a new Tumbuka Common Language Bible. The launch was attended by leaders from different churches.

The translation of the Bible started in 1994 and was completed in 2013 under the supervision of UBS Translation Consultant, Dr Ernst Wendland and later Dr Gerrit van Steenbergen.

Translators involved were: Late Rev S P Kamanga, late Mr H Banda, Late Pastor L Wowa, Rev PK Nyirenda, Mr B H Chirwa and Rev KRM Nyirenda. The project also involved 15 external reviewers.

The Bible Society commended the church for its participation in the translation project, like the CCAP Livingstonia Synod for provision of the translation office for free.

“We thank the church for their contributions towards the project, especially the Livingstonia Synod for providing office space for free, for the years the translation project was running,” said Mr Clapperton Mayuni, Executive Director of the Bible Society.

The new translation has two versions, the Protestant Version and the Catholic Version.

Receiving the Bibles on behalf of the church, Rev Dr L Nyondo of the CCAP Livingstonia Synod and Bishop Magangani of the Anglican Diocese, thanked the Bible Society for making the Bible available to Tumbuka speaking people and promised that the Bible will be used by effectively by the church and its members.

Tumbuka is widely spoken in the northern region of Malawi. This Tumbuka Common Language Bible is the third version of the Tumbuka Bible.