(1) English Translation
1.1 Onesimos to Kolmodin (one of his theological teachers in Sweden), Geleb 1891.07.13
I have not revised Krapf’s translation but have translated from the Amharic and the Swedish versions […]. Krapf’s translation […] is very difficult to revise, and this would have taken much longer time than to make a new translation from a foreign language. I have followed the latter method but I have all the time kept Krapf’s translation in front of me. Krapf had a fairly large store of [Oromo] words but [h]e does not seem to have been able to use them at the right place […] He uses a lot of foreign words, so a pure [Oromo] must be disgusted at reading it [Krapf’s version]. This does not mean that I am looking down at Krapf and his work. He did as well as he could, and nobody can ever surpass his own ability […]
* P. Persson, ed. More than Hope: An Onesimos Nesib
Anthology, Addis Ababa 2024, p. 157.
1.2 Onesimos to Kolmodin, Geleb 1892.01.22
Dr Krapf’s translation of the NT in [Oromo] is full of errors. There is no doubt about it. All the brackets he uses from beginning to end let even a stranger, not to say an [Oromo], see how uncertain he was about the use of synonyms […] The dialect is not wrong, but we criticize its syntax, conjugation of the verbs, spelling and so on.
I have personally been among such people as Dr Krapf was in contact when he was in Shoa. Their idiom is the same as ours. This word ‘ours’ refers to the [Oromos] who live here in the mission. We are here fifteen pure [Oromos] from different [p. 158] provinces in the interior of [Oromoland]. All of them are unanimous that my humble translation is good […]. It is now the third time that I go through this work.
In reply to questions addressed to Onesimos about his work,
he makes several statements:
The language of Hedenström’s boy [i.e., Bonaya] is mixed with Suahili and Pokomo. He understands us better than we understand him.
Hailu‘s translation of Matthew’s gospel into Ittu [Oromo], made under Professor Reinisch’s supervision, is written with Latin characters and cannot reproduce difficult sounds. Besides, Ittu [Oromos] are a border people whose language has been influenced by Issas [i.e., a northern Somali clan], Dankalis [i.e., Afar] and Amharas.
I do not know anything about the translation into Bararetta [Oromo] mad by the Free Methodists. I have been told that it is written with the Latin alphabet.
* P. Persson, ed. More than Hope: An Onesimos Nesib
Anthology, Addis Ababa 2024, p. 157‒58 [emphasis added].
(2) Swedish Texts
2.1 Onesimos to Kolmodin, Geleb 1891.07.13
The letter is located in Uppsala Univ. Library [Ref. Code: T 3 I.14]
It was not published before.
2.2 Onesimos to Kolmodin, Geleb 1892.01.22
The letter is located in Uppsala Univ. Library [Ref. Code: T 3 I.14]
It was first published in SEM Missions-Tidning 1892, p. 58‒59:
Cross-references
Amharic New Testament
The New Testament in Amharic. [Krapf’s edition, revised by J.M. Flad, with the assistance of Mika’el Arägawi]. St. Chrischona: Mission Press, 1886. [HathiTrust]
Oromo Bible Trexts
The New Testament in Oromo, translated by Onesimos Nesib.
- 1st edition: Imkullu (near Massawa): Swedish Mission Press,1893. [View online]
- 2nd edition: St. Chrischona: Mission Press,1899. [View online]
The New Testament in Oromo, edited by Johann Ludwig Krapf. St. Chrischona: Mission Press, 1876. [View online]
The Gospel of Matthew in Oromo, translated by Hailu]. Vienna: Adolf Holzhausen, 1886. [View online]
The Gospel of St. John in Bararetta (or Southern) Oromo, translated by Thomas Wakefield. London, 1899. [View online]