‘God truly sees, hears, and values me’

‘I had often felt overlooked and invisible in society,’ reflects Mahilet.

That was his reality – a reality he had experienced throughout his life.

Put yourself in Mahilet’s place for a moment. Imagine feeling overlooked and invisible (indeed, perhaps already you do). Imagine many people in your country being unable to communicate with you in the language that you understand best, even though it is a language that you and many millions of people use. And imagine not having any of the Bible in your language.

That was Mahilet’s situation. But then imagine his joy as, one day, his life is transformed, thanks to God’s word finally being translated into his language:

‘However, seeing Jesus respond to the blind men in Matthew 9:27–38 in my own sign language helped me realise in a powerful way that God truly sees, hears, and values me. I was encouraged and filled with hope, and I wanted to share the story video with my Deaf friends so that they too could experience the same comfort and assurance.’

Image of a man signing in Ethiopian Sign Language

Signing in Ethiopian Sign Language is a source of joy

For many Deaf people around the world like Mahilet, feeling invisible and overlooked is a daily reality. Few people use the language that speaks to their hearts – sign language. And, shockingly, for the vast majority the complete Bible is not available in their own sign language.

But that is changing. Although the Bible is only available in one sign language (American Sign Language) and some Scriptures in a further 108, work is now underway in 239 of the 383 sign languages.

Including Mahilet’s sign language – Ethiopian Sign Language.

Greater access

Imagine the excitement for the Ethiopian Deaf community as they celebrated the latest developments in translating God’s word into their language. For in July 2026, they launched the latest set of 71 Bible stories to be translated into Ethiopian Sign Language. That means they now have a total of 239 Bible stories in their language.

Image of a man signing in Ethiopian Sign Language on a YouTube movie

God’s word being signed in Ethiopian Sign Language on YouTube

As a result, Deaf people across Ethiopia have greater access to Scripture in the language they use to communicate in and understand most naturally.

For example, Deuteronomy 6:1–25 focuses on the Great Commandment and the importance of passing on both faith and God’s word to the next generation. Matthew 9:27–38 tells the story of Jesus healing two blind men and showing compassion for the crowds.

Having these stories in Ethiopian Sign Language makes such a difference: Deaf people can now engage with the message of Scripture without it being filtered through another language.

Image of a man signing about the Ethiopian Sign Language programme

Signing about the programme and its history

‘Truly thankful’

There are about 5 million people in Ethiopia who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. At least half a million of them are profoundly deaf.

Having Scripture in Ethiopian Sign Language enables them to engage with God’s word in a much deeper way.

As Tegesen*, an Ethiopian Deaf person, can testify.

He came to faith in Jesus through seeing a portion of God’s word in Ethiopian Sign Language. He says:

‘I am so happy to be part of God’s family! I would not be a believer if God’s word were not available to me in a language I understand. God used the Bible in Ethiopian Sign Language to change my heart from destruction to hope, life, and peace in him. I am truly thankful for access to God’s word in my heart language.’

Image of a man worshipping in Ethiopian Sign Language

The translation work continues, and as it does so the impact among the Ethiopian Deaf community will grow too.

Currently, 36 additional Bible stories, comprising 744 verses, are being translated. The aim is to have these stories completed and launched in 2027 – and the whole Bible by 2045.

Join us below to pray for the ongoing work, as we look forward to the day when God’s word will be unlocked for all Deaf communities across the world.

Prayer points

Pray for the Ethiopian Sign Language Bible translation team, as they continue their vital work.
The team’s current consultant checker is retiring soon. Pray that the programme can find a new one, to avoid delays in the translation process.
Pray for many Ethiopian Deaf people to be impacted by the Scriptures in their own language, just as has been the case for Mahilet and Tegesen.
Pray for the work of translating the Bible into all sign languages, so that Deaf communities across the world will have access to God’s word in the language that they understand best.

*Tegesen’s story is kindly provided by Door International (doorinternational.org).

The video still is from ‘The End Times’ being signed in Ethiopian Sign Language. Ethiopian Sign Language Bible © 2013 by DOOR International is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. You can view the full video here.

Thank you to Rabumaa Shifaraw, EECMY Bible Translation Projects Supervisor, and Keith Doust for their contributions to this article.

Story by: Jeremy Weightman