Genade Onbeskryflik Groot
Afrikaans gesang, after John Newton (1779) · Afrikaans
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“Genade, onbeskryflik groot…”
'Genade, onbeskryflik groot' is a modern Afrikaans text — twentieth-century and still in copyright — so we cannot print the words here. Check the hymnal your congregation uses and print the hymn number. Newton's English 'Amazing Grace' (1779) is public domain: some families print the English verses for overseas guests while the congregation sings the Afrikaans from the book.
The story of this hymn
John Newton — slave-ship captain turned priest — published 'Amazing grace' in 1779, the testimony of a man astonished that he, of all people, had been forgiven. Afrikaans congregations sing it as 'Genade, onbeskryflik groot', a free Afrikaans rendering rather than a word-for-word translation, set to the tune the whole world knows. At a funeral it does what it has always done: it lets everyone in the room, churchgoing or not, sing that grace held this life from beginning to end.
Where it sits in the service
One of the most flexible choices — it works as the opening hymn, after the tributes, or at the close, and it is often picked because everyone can sing it. One caution for the printed programme: the Afrikaans text does not match the English line for line, so print the Afrikaans title and hymn number rather than English words above an Afrikaans hymn.
In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Genade Onbeskryflik Groot” with the leader or choir named beside it.
How it is actually sung
The Afrikaans “Amazing Grace”, and it carries the same universal familiarity — an Afrikaans congregation that knows nothing else will sing this. It works unaccompanied and at a graveside, and it is the safe choice for a mixed or largely unchurched gathering.
Printing the words
Print the gesang number. If many guests are not churchgoers, ask the church whether the words may be reprinted as well, because this is the hymn where having them in front of people makes the most difference.
This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.
This is the Afrikaans form of Amazing Grace — the two share a tune, so bilingual congregations often sing alternating verses.
Ready to make the programme?
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