After two decades of earnest prayer, hard work, and radical generosity, the Afan Oromo Bible translation officially launched on September 16, 2023. Over 500 people attended the joyous launch celebration in Ethiopia — including local Oromo pastors and global ministry leaders.
For the largest people group in Ethiopia (35 million), this is an incredible milestone. The church in Ethiopia is growing at 9% per year — even faster in the Orominya region where Oromo is spoken. With an outdated Bible frustrating young people and new believers alike, the church was crying out for a Bible that all people could clearly understand in their hearts and apply to their lives.
Now, this labor of love is complete. The contemporary Oromo Bible is ready at last.
As we celebrate the new Oromo Bible, it seems fitting that the most famous Ethiopian in the Bible proclaimed the importance not just of reading the Scriptures but understanding them (Acts 8:26-40). In the same way, the Oromo believers who helped translate God’s Word for the people of Ethiopia and beyond celebrate the critical importance of possessing God’s Word in the language of your heart.
One Oromo pastor named Rev. Titus had this to say about the newly translated Oromo Bible: “Any believer can easily read it and understand the message to apply it in their day-to-day life activity.” An Oromo translation consultant named Worku agrees, “This version is more contemporary, more readable, and more accessible. People can use it without any problem. The purpose of Bible translation is for people to read it, understand it, and apply it.”
For some of the Oromo translators, this new access to God’s Word is extremely personal for their families. What good is God’s Word in a major trade language if the personal connection to God is lost?
“My kids and my wife are not good English speakers. They do not understand the English Bible as well,” explains one translator named Amanuel. “But then there is what we call heart language. Everybody wants to hear the message from God in their mother tongue! Being a Bible translator, I feel like I interpret the words coming out from God’s mouth for the people to understand.”
Although the contemporary Oromo Bible has been warmly received by the Christian community in Ethiopia, this new Bible is also set to make spiritual waves for the 31 percent of Ethiopians who practice Islam. Translator Amanuel says that because of the Oromo Bible translation project, some Muslim neighbors are expressing deep interest in a God who speaks not just Arabic but also their heart language of Oromo. (And every language!)
“They believe that the God they call Allah understands and accepts prayers only in Arabic. So, they have to struggle. They have to learn Arabic in order to communicate with God,” Amanuel explains. But after discovering the new Oromo Bible, some Oromo-speaking Muslims are saying, “‘If God can understand our prayers and petitions in our own mother tongue, then we will stop following Mohammed today and pray to the God who can speak our language!’”
So, the future looks bright in Ethiopia as God’s Word continues to increase and multiply. One generous couple who invested in this project had the privilege of attending the Oromo Bible launch celebration. They were so encouraged to see God’s Spirit at work in the hearts of the next generation.
“The young people were so bold in their profession of faith. They were not afraid to proclaim the name of Jesus. It was really exciting to see the next generation taking the torch and running with it,” they share. This English-speaking couple also discovered in a fresh way how important it is to translate God’s Word for every tribe and every tongue.
“Talking with the Oromo Bible translators made us realize how language is such a big part of who we are,” the couple shares. “Translating the Bible for a language group tells them, ‘God finds you important!’ Now they can say, ‘Jesus speaks my language!’ I don’t think we English speakers in the West have any idea just how important that is.”
Thank you to our generous investors and partners for bringing God’s Word to life in the heart language of Oromo speakers in Ethiopia and around the world. Because of you, a new generation can read and proclaim with faith, “Jesus speaks my language!”
