When you open a Bible in the Heiban language, you’re not just holding a translation—you’re stepping into a story that begins at the very dawn of the Scriptures.
From Cush to the Nuba Mountains
The Bible first mentions the land of Cush in Genesis 2:13, when the river Gihon is said to flow out from Eden into the land of Cush. This is the same Cush who was a son of Ham, grandson of Noah, and father of Nimrod, the mighty hunter who founded Babel and Akkad.
This means that the land we now call Sudan is woven into the very beginnings of the Biblical story. From Eden, through Noah’s family, into the world’s earliest kingdoms—Cush has always been there.
And within this ancient land rise the Nuba Mountains, home to many peoples and languages, including Heiban, spoken today by a few thousand people.
A translation decades in the making
In 1931, the Sudan United Mission published the first tentative editions of the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John in Heiban. For local believers, it was the first time they could hear the words of Jesus in their heart language.
But this was only the beginning. For more than 35 years, translators worked patiently, verse by verse, chapter by chapter, until finally, in 1966, the Heiban New Testament was published by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
For a small language community in the Nuba Mountains, this was a historic moment: God’s Word in Heiban, alive and accessible.
Rediscovered for a new generation
Fast forward to 2022. With the help of MissionAssist, the Heiban New Testament was digitised for the Bible Society in Sudan. What began as handwritten notes and printed pages has now entered the digital age—ready to be shared on phones and devices, reaching a new generation of Sudanese readers.
In a time when war has displaced many families, when people feel cut off from their roots and their land, this translation is a bridge. It tells every Heiban speaker: your language matters to God.
Hope from an ancient heritage
It is nothing short of amazing that the Heiban language has a New Testament with decades of love and dedication behind it. And it is even more amazing that this language comes from a region tied directly to the earliest pages of Scripture.
From Eden’s rivers, to Noah’s sons, to the Nuba Mountains—the story of Cush is the story of Sudan. And the Heiban New Testament is proof that God’s Word continues to take root in every corner of our nation.
So whether you speak Heiban or Arabic, or any of Sudan’s many languages, let this heritage inspire you: Sudan is not on the margins of the Bible. From the very beginning, it has always been at the heart of the story.
Read the Heiban Bible.
This is an article in a series about Sudan language Bible translations, which are highlighted for the International Translation Day on 30 September. Read more articles in the series: