South African President Zuma To Sponsor Bible Translation

South African President Jacob Zuma has agreed to financially sponsor a Bible translation through his JG Zuma foundation.

President Zuma, who speaks isiZulu, wants a more accurate and complete translation of the Bible than the one currently in use. According to the Times Live, the latest isiZulu translation of the Bible was written in 1959, and leans on other languages rather than isiZulu, reports the foundation.

“As a speaker of isiZulu, President Zuma has long felt that the existing isiZulu translation of the Scriptures is inadequate and a new version will now be directly translated from Biblical languages such as Hebrew and Aramic straight into isiZulu,” the foundation said in a statement.

The Sunday Times reports the foundation of President Jacob Zuma will partner with the Roman Catholic Church to improve the existing translation of the Bible into isiZulu.

“This work will culminate in a more relevant Zulu Bible, which is considered a critical evangelisation tool for both worshippers and scholars,” the foundation said.

Zuma handed over a $50,000 check towards the translation project, during a prayer service held at the St Joseph Cathedral in Marianhill (Durban) in Durban on Sunday.

isiZulu is the language of the Zulu people, and has about 10 million speakers, the vast majority (over 95 percent) of whom live in South Africa, where it is the most spoken native language (24 percent of the population). It is the second most widespread Bantu language after Shona, like other languages of this group is written with the Latin alphabet, and is well understood in Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, and Swaziland.

According to its website, the Jacob Zuma Foundation prides itself on its ethics, integrity, and credibility, and is respected both locally and internationally for its commitment to the socio-economic support and encouragement of the poor. The foundation is committed to broadening its network of donor partners to enable positive life changes of impoverished South Africans. Some of the programs sponsored by the foundation include education, housing, and sports.

South Africa has been the subject of controversy over religious matters when it denied a visa to the Dalai Lama earlier this year, as reported previously by the Inquisitr.

[Image via the Telegraph]