Which Ethiopian languages currently have complete Bible translations and who produced them?
Executive summary
Multiple Ethiopian languages today have complete Bible translations, but the picture is fragmented: ancient Geʽez preserves a complete canonical Bible used liturgically, Amharic has had a complete Bible since the 19th century (with modern revisions), and contemporary translation agencies report that a number of minority languages now possess full Scriptures—most prominently SIL International reporting 16 complete Bibles—while other projects remain at New Testament or project stages [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. The ancient backbone — Geʽez: a complete canonical Bible preserved by the churches
Geʽez, the liturgical language of Ethiopia, has one of the world’s oldest and most complete biblical traditions: Geʽez manuscripts containing the full Ethiopian canon have existed since at least the first millennium and the complete collection remains the only historic Bible that includes the wider Ethiopian Orthodox canon in its original Geʽez form [1] [2].
2. Amharic — from Abu Rumi’s 19th‑century work to modern committee revisions
Amharic’s first complete Bible translation is attributed to Abu Rumi (early 1800s), whose manuscript formed the basis for printed editions of the New Testament and the full Bible ; later state‑sponsored revision committees and modern publishers produced updated Amharic Bibles in the 20th century, including the Haile Selassie–commissioned revision and subsequent translations published by national and international Bible societies [3] [5].
3. Contemporary evangelical efforts — SIL, Wycliffe, Seed Company and the expansion of vernacular Bibles
Modern evangelical translation agencies report sizeable gains: SIL Ethiopia states that since its arrival in 1973 collaborative work produced complete Bibles in 16 Ethiopian languages, with 23 New Testaments and dozens of translation projects underway as of its 50‑year report [4], while organizations such as Wycliffe Associates described dozens of languages engaged or ready to begin translation under programs like MAST [6]; Seed Company narratives single out specific language successes like Anuak as examples of community‑driven translation outcomes [7].
4. Institutional producers and publishers — who actually makes these Bibles
Producers vary by context: the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and historic monastic centers steward Geʽez manuscripts and canonical decisions [1] [2], state and ecumenical Bible committees and the Bible Society of Ethiopia have overseen Amharic and national editions [5], and international evangelical organizations—SIL International, Wycliffe Associates, Seed Company and partner churches—have driven many minority‑language translations and literacy programs [4] [6] [7].
5. What “complete Bible” means here and reporting limits
“Complete Bible” is used differently across sources: for the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition it can mean the full Ethiopian canon preserved in Geʽez (including books outside the Protestant 66), while SIL’s reporting of “16 languages have a complete Bible” does not, in the cited piece, list those languages or specify whether their canons match Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant canons—details the sources do not provide [1] [4]. Therefore, a strict catalog of which named Ethiopian languages possess complete Bibles and which specific editions or canons they contain cannot be fully compiled from the supplied reporting alone.
6. Where claims diverge and what to watch for
Sources reflect different agendas: ecclesial institutions emphasize canonical completeness and liturgical continuity (Geʽez, Ethiopian Orthodox sources, p1_s1), academic and commercial publishers promote English or printed editions of the Ethiopian canon for broader readerships (Thornbridge/Barnes & Noble listing of an English “Ethiopian Bible” edition, p1_s3), while evangelical NGOs focus on vernacular access and literacy metrics (SIL, Wycliffe, Seed Company, [4]; [6]; p1_s8). Readers should therefore distinguish between “complete” in the sense of Ethiopia’s wider canon versus “complete” as the Protestant 66‑book set, and should consult primary publisher lists or national Bible society catalogs for language‑by‑language verification—information not fully available in the provided sources.