Noteworthy in some of those early translations was the inclusion of God’s name, not in just a few places but throughout the Hebrew Scriptures! Those translating in Zanzibar rendered the divine name “Yahuwa,” while the ones based in Mombasa translated it “Jehova.”

By 1895 the entire Bible was available in Swahili. In the following decades, several other translations were made available, though some of them did not receive a large distribution. During the early years of the 20th century, much effort was put into standardizing Swahili in East Africa. This led to the production of the Swahili Union Version of the Bible in 1952, which has become the translation with the widest circulation. This also resulted in “Yehova” becoming the most commonly accepted translation of God’s name in Swahili.

Regrettably, as those early translations ceased to be printed, the divine name began to disappear along with them. Some of the newer translations have removed it entirely, while others retain it in just a few locations. For example, in the Union Version, God’s name appeared only 15 times, and in its 2006 revision, that name is found but 11 times.b

While that translation omits nearly every occurrence of the divine name, it does have a noteworthy feature. Prominently displayed on one of the opening pages is a clear statement that God’s name is Jehovah. This has proved to be very useful in helping truth-seekers to learn the personal name of our heavenly Father from their own copy of the Bible.