Finnish Bible Society publishes new Finnish translations of the books of Ruth, Esther, Isaiah and Jonah

In October 2026, four new Finnish translations of books of the Bible were released at the Helsinki Book Fair: the books of Ruth, Esther, Isaiah and Jonah. They were published digitally as texts and as audiobooks read by Krista Kosonen. The complete new Bible translation, Raamattu 2028, will be completed in 2028.

The aim is to bring these ancient texts closer to today’s readers while preserving their meaning and rich expression. The new translation also looks to the future.

“Faith remains alive when it is spoken about in language that people can understand. The new Finnish Bible translation offers this opportunity to future generations as well,” says Matti Repo, Bishop of the Diocese of Tampere and Chair of the Finnish Bible Society.

A new Bible translation created through collaboration

Bible 2028 is a major translation project of the Finnish Bible Society in which the entire Bible is being retranslated into Finnish from the original languages. The translation process brings together expertise in biblical studies, professional expertise in the Finnish language and cooperation between different churches.

“The churches are making history by working together to create a new Finnish Bible translation. This collaboration is producing a translation that can speak to a broad range of people in Finland,” says Petri Merenlahti, Executive Director of the Finnish Bible Society.

In addition to the Finnish Bible Society’s full-time translators, other experts from the Finnish Bible Society and an ecumenical steering group take part in the translation process.

“The final translation bears the tangible imprint of the entire team of experts. At the same time, immediate reader testing of each translated section is a particular strength of the Bible 2028 translation,” says project director Terhi Huovari.

The Bible on your phone

Just as language changes, so do the ways we read. More and more people read books on a screen rather than in traditional print format, or listen to them as audiobooks. The Bible 2028 project takes these new ways of engaging with texts into account from the translation stage onwards.

The new translations will be published free of charge on raamattu.fi and in the Finnish Bible Society app (Piplia-sovellus). The audiobook versions are read by actor Krista Kosonen. Previous digital releases in the Bible 2028 project include the New Testament UT2020, Genesis, Psalms and Job. All these texts are available to read free of charge through the Finnish Bible Society’s digital services.

Read more: www.piplia.fi/raamattu2028