Shona Bibles

In January 2009, in partnership with the Trinitarian Bible Society, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland began to prepare a new translation of the Shona Bible from the Hebrew Masoretic and Greek Received Texts, with reference to the Shona Union Bible.

The new translation had to be acceptable to all five main Shona dialects. The TBS Shona New Testament was published in 2014 and the reception has been extremely positive. To date over 40,000 copies of it have been circulated.

In 2021, with the financial help of GBS, the completed Shona Bible was sent to the printers, and recently several thousand copies were sent to Zimbabwe. We would encourage your prayers that these Bibles will be accepted and will accomplish the purposes that God has for them (see Isaiah 55.10-11).

A total of 12,000 copies were printed and 10,000 of those were distributed to the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Free Grace Evangelistic Association (FGEA), and the remaining 2,000 copies were sent to the Trinitarian Bible Society for further distribution through grants contacts.

As shown in these photos from the FGEA, the distribution of the Shona Bibles has begun. We rejoice with grateful hearts to see the Lord’s Word going forth.

'And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven' — Matthew 8.11