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God’s Word speaks into the silence

Last year, the Bible Society of South Africa embarked on a mission to make specialised Bibles more freely available to the deaf community across the country.

And so the Scripture beyond Silence campaign was born. Coinciding with Deaf Awareness Month in September, the Bible Society launched the campaign with the goal of raising R100 000. This would allow 500 copies of the Bible for the Deaf to be distributed to schools, churches and organisations that serve the deaf community.

The support from donors was overwhelmingly positive and following the two-month long campaign, R135 000 was raised for this initiative. One particular donor was exceedingly gracious, contributing R60 000.

On 20 April 2026, the first 23 Bibles of the 560 that were funded by the campaign were distributed to learners of the De La Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester.

During the weekly assembly, Chanette Dreyer, an audiologist at the school, explained the reason for the Bible Society’s visit to the children.

“Every year we give a Bible to each Grade 7 learner, but we have fallen behind, so today we are giving Bibles to learners in Grades 7, 8, 9, 12 and in our vocational department.”

Ds Christo Kloppers informed the audience about the work of the Bible Society, including the number of languages across the world that are still awaiting Scripture.

“Being able to share these Bibles with you is a matter of the heart for us and we are so grateful that you invited us here for this occasion,” he said, before presenting the Bibles, each of which was inscribed with a personal message, to the learners.

School principal, Hilda Louw, encouraged the children to make good use of the Bibles they received.

“I don’t think our children realise the investment that you have just made in their lives. We are forever grateful and we pray that the work will continue and that all those remaining languages will receive the Word of God as well,” principal Louw stated.

She added that the Bible should be respected, and that it is of no use if it is not opened and read.

“We respect this Bible by reading it and treating it like our most valuable possession. It is the Word of God. Many of you who are deaf will be afraid to read it because you fear you won’t understand it. But then you must ask your boarding mother or teacher or Reverend Bettie at church or anyone of us to help you. Believe it or not, some of us adults sometimes also don’t understand it. But if we pray and we ask Jesus to explain it to us, he will explain it to us,” she reassured the children.

One of the learners who received a Bible was Grade 12 learner, Jade Cloete.

“I received this Bible today. I enjoy reading and this Bible will motivate me to read through the different books. Many people talk about the Bible and it helps me to know myself better,” he said.

Another recipient, Ainsley Jacobs, asserted the importance of the Bible in his life, saying, “It contains many words that I can learn more about. My favourite Bible Scripture is Psalm 23.”

Providing access to the Bible for everyone

By making the Bible available in various formats, like braille, audio and digital, the Bible Society helps to share God’s Word with those who struggle to read the Bible in its printed form.

The deaf community in South Africa is one such group that needs help with both these challenges. Research shows that most deaf adults who use a signed language to communicate demonstrate poor text literacy skills. In South Africa, only one in three deaf adults who use South African Sign Language (SASL) is functionally literate, with the average deaf school leaver having a written language comprehension ability equivalent to that of an eight-year-old hearing child.

Limited access to specialised education means that more than 60% of deaf South Africans remain unemployed. Those who are employed often earn a lower income than their non-disabled peers.

In light of this, it is clear that helping members of the deaf community better understand the biblical text requires a different approach to Bible translation.

Bibles for the Deaf

In 2006, Dr Rocco Hough, a minister who served the De La Bat congregation for the Deaf in Bellville, approached the Bible Society with the request for a Bible translation specifically aimed at the Afrikaans-speaking deaf community.

The Bible Society recognised the need for such a Bible and work on the translation project started in 2011.

The translation uses simple Afrikaans wording and sentence construction, considering the limited vocabulary of the Deaf. It also includes thousands of footnotes that explain words, clarify concepts and provide interesting background to the text. Combined with an extensive word list, maps and illustrations, these features make the biblical message much clearer than many existing translations.

In 2008, Die Bybel vir Dowes was published. The Bible was welcomed by the Afrikaans-speaking deaf community and found a loyal following among hearing individuals who resonated with the simplified language of this translation. This led to later reprints being retitled, Die Bybel vir almal.

Dr Hough also received requests from a group of ministers from all over Africa for a similar translation for the English-speaking deaf community. The Bible for the Deaf was an even more elaborate project, including thousands of footnotes and a more expansive illustration section. It was officially launched at the St George’s Cathedral in 2019.

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