List of Bible translations

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This list gives information about Bible translations in various languages, in alphabetical order by language. At the end of some of the sections you will find tables comparing the same verses in various translations.

Contents

[edit] Afrikaans

The Bible was translated into Afrikaans in 1933, revised in 1953 by the Bybelgenootskap van Suid Afrika, a South African bible society. There is also a 1983 translation.

Gen 1:1-3 in Afrikaans (1953)
Afrikaans translation Gen. 1:1-3
Old Testament In die begin het God die hemel en die aarde geskape. En die aarde was woes en leeg, en duisternis was op die wêreldvloed, en die Gees van God het gesweef op die waters. En God het gesê: Laat daar lig wees! En daar was lig.

[edit] Arabic

In the 10th century AD Saadia ha Gaon produced a now mostly lost translation of the Tanach.

In 1671 the Roman Catholic Church published the whole Bible at Rome. The translation was done under the direction of Sergius Risi, the Catholic Archbishop of Damascus. Francis Britius aided the translation.

The most popular translation is the Van Dyck Version, funded by the Syrian Mission and the American Bible Society. The project was the brainchild of Eli Smith, and started around 1847, centred in Beirut. After Eli Smith's death it was completed under the direction of Cornelius Van Allen Van Dyck. Others involved included Nasif al Yaziji and Boutros al Bustani. The New Testament was completed on March 9, 1860, followed by the Tanach on Friday, March 10, 1865. About 10 million copies of this version have been distributed since 1865. It has been accepted by the Coptic Church and the Protestant churches. This translation was based mostly on the same Textus Receptus as the King James Version of the Bible, and follows a more literal style of translation. Most printings of the Van Dyck version use the same basic printing plates which have been employed for years (possibly the same plates that were made when the translation was first adopted; maybe somebody can verify that fact). These plates employ the "stacking" version of writing Arabic, in which, for example, letters that precede other specified letters, such as "Jeem," are written vertical to rather than horizontal to that letter. This style of Arabic can be hard to read at times, especially for non-native students of Arabic. More recently, newer printings of the Van Dyck have been made which employ a more common, straightforward Arabic font.

While most of the Arabic in the Van Dyck version is pretty standard, there is some terminology in it that Muslim or other non-Christian readers may not understand (e.g. "As-hah", the word for a chapter of the Bible; "tajdif", the word for blasphemy.) It should also be noted that an Arab Muslim reading the Bible in Arabic (especially if he is reading the New Testament) will find the rather straightforward style quite different from the more cryptic tone that he is used to in the Qur'an (this is more or less true of all Arabic translations of the Bible). Also of note is the fact that Qur'anic/Islamic terminology was not very much used in this version of the Bible (as it is in most versions of the Bible).

In 1973 the International Bible Society began to work on a new translation, this project was named the Arabic Life Application Bible. The Injil (New Testament) was released in 1982, and the whole Bible was completed in 1988.

In 1992 the Bible Society, released Today's Arabic Version, an Dynamic equivalence translation designed to be as easy to understand as possible. It is the Arabic equivalent of the English Good News Translation.

The Old Testament, Van Dyck Version

The Injil (New Testament), Van Dyck Version

Arabic Life Application Bible

[edit] Azeri

The first Azeri translation was that of several books from the Bible and was published in 1842. The New Testament was fully translated and published in 1878 and the entire Bible - in 1891. In 1982, the Russian Institute for Bible Translation released a revised Azeri translation, which is presently used in Azerbaijan. Azeris in Iran follow a slightly different translation.

A Comparison of Matthew 6:9-13 in Azeri Translations
Translation Mətta 6:9-13
Institute for Bible Translation, 1982 (commonly used in Azerbaijan) Ey göylərdə olan Atamız! Adın müqəddəs tutulsun. Səltənətin gəlsin. Göydə olduğu kimi, Yerdə də Sənin iradən olsun. Gündəlik çörəyimizi bizə bu gün ver; Və bizə borclu olanları bağışladığımız kimi, Bizim borclarımızı da bağışla; Və bizi imtahana çəkmə, Lakin bizi şərdən xilas et. Çünki səltənət, qüdrət və izzət Əbədi olaraq Sənindir. Amin.
Unknown translation (commonly used in Iran) Ey göylərdə olan Atamız! Sənin adın müqəddəs olsun. Səltənətin gəlsin. Sənin iradən Göydə olduğu kimi, Yerdə də olsun. Gündəlik çörəyimizi bu gün bizə ver; Və bizim borclarımızı bizə bağışla, Necə ki, biz də bizə borclu olanları bağışlayırıq; Bizi imtahana çəkmə, Lakin şərdən xilas et. Çünki səltənət, qüdrət və izzət Əbədə kimi Sənindir. Amin.

External Links:
http://www.yeniheyat.com/
http://www.azerincil.net/
http://www.korpu.net/ (Sound Bible)

[edit] Burmese

Adoniram Judson made the first translation of the Bible into the Burmese language, completed in 1834.

[edit] Catalan

Middle Ages to the XIXth century

The first translation of the whole Bible into Catalan was produced between 1287 and 1290. It was entrusted to Jaume de Montjuich by Alfons II of Aragon. Remains of this version can be found in Paris (Bibliothèque Nationale). Also, in the same French library, we can find another translation into Catalan, which Jaume II of Aragon received on November 23rd, 1319.

In the early fifteenth century appeared another whole Bible translation by Bonifaci Ferrer. In 1490 a psalter by Joan Roís de Corella came to light in Venice. The Catalan Bible by Bonifaci Ferrer was printed before any Bible was printed in English or Spanish, in 1478.

The prohibition, in Spain and other Catholic countries, of vernacular translations, along with the decadence of the Catalan language until its renaissance in the nineteenth century, explain why there were no translations into Catalan from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century.[1]

In 1832 a Catalan exiled in London, J.M. Prat Colom, sponsored by the British and Foreign Bible Society, translated the New Testament (Lo Nou Testament de nostre Senyor Jesu-Christ), which was published afterwards in Barcelona (1836) and Madrid (1888).

XXth century and forward

In the twentieth century many new translations flourished, both Catholic and Protestant.

Catholic Translations

  • 1948 Bíblia de Cambó, by Fundació Bíblica Catalana, started in 1927.
  • 1968 Bíblia de Cambó, 2nd Edition.
  • 1970 Bíblia dels Monjos de Montserrat, by the Monks of Montserrat.

Protestant Translations

  • 1988 Nou Testament, New Testament by Institució Bíblica Evangèlica de Catalunya, with the help of the International Bible Society.
  • 2000 Bíblia Evangèlica Catalana (aka La Bíblia del 2000), by Institució Bíblica Evangèlica de Catalunya. Translators: Pau Sais and Samuel Sais. BEC

An Ecumenical Translation

Something very unusual happened with this translation: Catholic and Protestant translators worked together and produced a Bible. Nevertheless, there are two editions: a Catholic edition with the deuterocanonical books (Apocrypha for the Protestant) and a Protestant edition, without the aforementioned books.

  • 1993 Bíblia Catalana Interconfessional , by Associació Bíblica de Catalunya, Editorial Claret and Societats Bíbliques Unides. BCI
Catalan Translation Biblical Text in Catalan
Gen 1:1-3 (BCI) Al principi, Déu va crear el cel i la terra. La terra era caòtica i desolada, les tenebres cobrien la superfície de l'oceà, i l'Esperit de Déu planava sobre les aigües. Déu digué: -Que existeixi la llum. I la llum va existir.
Gen 1:1-3 (BEC) En el principi, Déu va crear el cel i la terra. La terra era caòtica i desolada, les te­nebres cobrien la superfície de l’abis­me i l’esperit de Déu planava per da­munt les aigües. I Déu digué: “Que hi hagi llum”; i hi hagué llum.
John 3:16 (BCI) Déu ha estimat tant el món que ha donat el seu Fill únic perquè no es perdi cap dels qui creuen en ell, sinó que tinguin vida eterna.
John 3:16 (BEC) Ja que Déu ha estimat tant el món, que ha donat el seu Fill únic perquè tot el qui creu en ell no es perdi, sinó que tingui vida eterna.

[edit] Chinese

(See also: Chinese Bible Translations) The first translations of the Bible into Chinese were made by Roman Catholic missionaries. However, they were only manuscript copies. Beginning with Robert Morrison in 1807, Protestant missionaries in China sought to translate the vernacular dialects and publish the Scriptures as broadly as possible. The most popular version used in Chinese Protestant Church today is the Chinese Union Version (和合本). Although this version has been translated for nearly a century and the Chinese language has changed a lot, the Chinese Union Version is still widely used.

The first Roman Catholic Chinese Bible to be published was started by a young Franciscan friar named Gabriele Allegra, he began translating the Old Testament from the original Hebrew and Aramaic languages in 1935. 10 years later he recruited Frs. Solanus Lee, Antonius Lee, Bernardinus Lee, and Ludovicus Liu in Beijing. However, due to the Chinese civil war in 1948, the friars were forced to move the Studium Biblicum in Hong Kong. After 20 years of effort, the first Old Testament was published in 1954. In 1968 the New and Old Testaments were published in a single volume.

Notable Chinese Bible Translations

External links

[edit] Croatian

The first complete translation was Jesuit Kasić's manuscript. The work was done from 1622 to 1637, but remained unpublished until 2000. It was in 1831 that the first published Croatian Bible appeared, translated by a Franciscan Matija Petar Katančić. After a few other versions, the most widely accepted and praised is modern language translation from 1968, the so called "Zagreb Bible", which is partially based on the Jerusalem Bible.

External links

[edit] Czech

The first translation of the whole Bible into Czech, based on the Latin Vulgate, was done in 1360. The Bible is called the "Bible of Dresden". This manuscript was lost during World War I. Many other translations followed this Bible of Dresden, and from the linguistic point of view they can be divided in four different redactions. The last one was finally printed.

The first printed Czech New Testament is the "New Testament of Dlabač", printed in 1487. The first printed complete Bible is the "Bible of Prague" from 1488. Another Czech Bible printed before the year 1501 is the "Bible of Kutná Hora" (printed in 1489).

All these texts were translated from the Vulgate.

The first translation from the original languages into Czech language was the Bible of Kralice, first published in years 1579 – 1593. The translation was done by the Unity of the Brethren. The third edition from 1613 is considered classical and is one of the most used Czech Bible translations.

[edit] Dutch

The first translation into Dutch directly from Greek and Hebrew sources was the Statenvertaling. It was ordered by the States-General at the Synod of Dordrecht in 1618/19, and first published in 1637. It soon became the generally accepted translation for Reformed churches in the Netherlands and remained so well into the 20th century. It was supplanted to a large extent in 1951 by the NBG (Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap) translation, which still uses relatively old-fashioned language.

Modern language translations are Groot Nieuws Bijbel, Het Boek, the Roman Catholic Willibrordvertaling. In 2004, the NBV (Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling) translation appeared, which was produced by an ecumenical translation team, and is intended as an all-purpose translation for pulpit and home use; however, there has been much criticism on its accuracy.

Around the same time, there has also been much work on very literal, idiolect translations, such as the Naarden translation of 2004, Albert Koster's translation of the Old Testament, a work in progress since 1991, and the Torah translation of the Societas Hebraica Amstelodamensis.

External link

[edit] English

Main article(s): English translations of the Bible

[edit] Esperanto

The initiator of Esperanto, L. L. Zamenhof translated the entire Old Testament into Esperanto. A monograph by D. B. Gregor, La Esperanta traduko de la Malnova Testamento, compares Zamenhof's translation in some detail with a wide variety of major versions in other languages. A committee, consisting primarily of British clergy and scholars, was formed to translate the New Testament and review Zamenhof's translation for eventual publication by the British and Foreign Bible Society. The New Testament was published in 1910. A translation of the entire Bible, often referred to in Esperanto as the "Londona Biblio", was published in 1926. The most recent printing of the "Londona Biblio", issued in 2003, includes the Berveling translation of the Roman Catholic Deuterocanonical Books (see next paragraph).

An Esperanto organization devoted to Biblical and Oriental Studies, the Internacia Asocio de Bibliistoj kaj Orientalistoj, beginning in the 1960s, attempted to organize the translation of a new, ecumenical Esperanto Bible version, but this project eventually lapsed, with only Gerrit Berveling's translation of Numbers (Nombroj, 1999) published. Dr. Berveling (a Dutch Free Church theologian and classical linguist) has, however, translated most of a new version of the New Testament, eschewing the syntactically overliteral tendencies of the B&FBS version, which is perhaps most akin among English versions to the Revised Version of 1881. His gospels have been published as La bona mesaĝo de Jesuo: laŭ X [X = Mateo, Marko, Luko, Johano, all 1992], and the first volume of his projected New Testament has appeared as Leteroj de Paŭlo kaj lia skolo (2004). He has also published a three-volume edition of the Deuterocanonical Books (La duakanonaj libroj), the first two of which (those included in the Roman Catholic Canon) are incorporated in the latest printing of the Londona Biblio.

There have also been other translations of specific books of the Bible and of shorter portions.

The Bible in Esperanto
Brita kaj Alilanda Biblia Societo
Genezo 1:1-3 En la komenco kreis Dio la ĉielon kaj la teron. Kaj la tero estis senforma kaj dezerta, kaj mallumo estis super la abismo; kaj la spirito de Dio ŝvebis super la akvo. Kaj Dio diris: Estu lumo; kaj fariĝis lumo.
Johano 3:16 Ĉar Dio tiel amis la mondon, ke Li donis Sian solenaskitan Filon, por ke ĉiu, kiu fidas al li, ne pereu, sed havu eternan vivon.

External link

[edit] Finnish

The first Finnish translation of the New Testament was Mikael Agricola's Se Wsi Testamenti Somexi (The New Testament in Finnish), which was translated from Greek originals into Finnish 1548. Agricola is today considered the father of the Finnish written language.

The first translation of the whole Bible was the so-called Vanha kirkkoraamattu (Old Church Bible), titled Biblia, Se on: Coco Pyhä Ramattu Suomexi. This edition was translated by committee led by Bishop Erik Rothovius 1638-1641, and published 1642. It was revised 1683-1685 (Florinus).

As the Finnish written and spoken language evolved during the centuries and literacy became commonplace also amongst the laypeople, need for a new edition arose. The so-called Biiblia or Vuoden 1776 raamattu (Year 1776 Bible) was published in 1776. It was the first edition meant not only to ecclestical but also to domestic use, and first written in Modern Finnish. It was revised 1859. The 1776 Bible is the version in use by certain sects even today.

Again a new translation was needed in the early 20th century, and a committee for translation was set 1911. It had its work ready 1933. Full edition of Bible was published in 1938. This edition is often referred as Vuoden 1938 kirkkoraamattu (year 1938 Church Bible). It was translated by the Finnish Lutheran Church, and intended to Lutheran use. As the translationary principle was "one source language word - one Finnish word", its text is very archaizing, and it uses dialectal terms obsolete even during the era. The 1938 edition consisted of Old Testament, deuterocanonicals and New Testament.

The latest official Finnish translation dates to 1992, the so-called Uusi kirkkoraamattu (New Church Bible). It is the first Finnish ecumenical edition; the translation committee consisted not only of the representants of the Finnish Lutheran Church, but also of academics and representants of Finnish Orthodox Church and Finnish Catholic Church, and is intended to use of all Christian denominations. the principle of 1992 edition is contextual translation; instead of verbatim translation, translation in context has been attempted as accurately as possible. The initial edition consisted of only New and Old Testament: the translation of the Old Testament deuterocanonicals were finished only 2004.

Of the non-official Finnish translations the most important is Uuden Maailman käännös (New World Translation) used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The principle in translation of this edition has been same as on 1938 edition: as verbatim translation as possible. Unfortunately the translation of the "Uuden Maailman käännös" has been done from English instead of original Aramaic and Greek, making the edition somewhat inaccurate. It should be noted that the New World Translation is considered by experts[2][3][4][5] to be a "heretical" version containing obvious faults in translation primarily of an eisegetical nature due to their rejection of many of the central doctrines of Christianity, such as the deity of Christ.

Johanneksen evankeliumi 3:16
Finnish translations Johannes 3:16
1776 Sillä niin on Jumala maailmaa rakastanut, että hän antoi ainoan Poikansa, että jokainen, joka uskoo hänen päällensä, ei pidä hukkuman, mutta ijankaikkisen elämän saaman.
1938 Sillä niin on Jumala maailmaa rakastanut, että hän antoi ainokaisen Poikansa, ettei yksikään, joka häneen uskoo, hukkuisi, vaan hänellä olisi iankaikkinen elämä.
1992 Jumala on rakastanut maailmaa niin paljon, että antoi ainoan Poikansa, jottei yksikään, joka häneen uskoo, joutuisi kadotukseen, vaan saisi iankaikkisen elämän.

[edit] French

The first printed translation of the Bible into the French language was the work of the French theologian Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples in 1530 in Antwerp, Belgium. This was substantially revised and improved in 1535 by Pierre Robert Olivétan. This bible, in turn, became the basis of the first French Roman Catholic bible, published at Leuven in 1550, the work of Nicholas de Leuze and François de Larben. Finally, the Port-Royal version, prepared by Antoine Lemaistre and his brother Louis Isaac Lemaistre, finished in 1695, achieved broad acceptance among both Roman Catholics and Protestants. Jean-Frédéric Ostervald's version (1724) also enjoyed widespread popularity.

Many Francophone Protestants now use the Louis Segond version, which was finished in 1880, and revised substantially between 1975 and 1978. The Revised Louis Segond Bible is published by the American Bible Society.

Another modern French Bible is the Bible du Semeur finished in 2000. This is a more thought-for-thought translation than Segond's, and it uses more contemporary language. It is published by the International Bible Society.

Among Roman Catholics, the most notable contemporary French translation is La Bible de Jérusalem, available in English as The Jerusalem Bible, which appeared first in French in 1954 and was revised in 1973. Its copious but concise footnotes and apparatus have won respect among both Protestant and Catholic readers. This translation has served as the basis for versions in many other languages besides French.

The chief Jewish version of the Hebrew Scriptures in French is La Bible du rabbinat français, which was finished in 1906 and was revised in 1966.

More information on French translations is available on wikipedia.com's French article. (English readers can use a free translation tool to read further.)

External link

[edit] German

Main article: German Bible translations

[edit] Gothic

The only translation of the Bible into the extinct Gothic language was made by the bishop Ulfilas and is preserved in one hand-written copy, known as the Codex Argenteus.

[edit] Greek (Modern)

In 1901, Alexandros Pallis translated the Gospels in Modern Greek. The publishing of the translation in a newspaper caused riots in Athens, known as Evangelika (Ευαγγελικά).

[edit] Gullah

Main article: Gullah

There has been a translation of Bible into Gullah, a creole language spoken by residents of the Sea Islands. The effort began in 1979 with a team of Gullah speakers from the Penn Center with the assistance of Pat and Claude Sharpe, translation consultants for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Pat Sharpe died in 2002, and that person was replaced by David and Lynn Frank. The Gospels of Luke and John were released in 1995 and 2003, respectively. The New Testament was released in 2005.

John 3:16 in Gullah
Translation John 3:16
De Nyew Testament Cause God lobe all de people een de wol so much dat e gii we e onliest Son. God sen we um so dat ebrybody wa bleebe on um ain gwine ded. Dey gwine libe fa true faeba mo.

Sources and links

[edit] Hawaiian

A Hawaiian translation was done by New England Christian missionaries and the Reverend Hiram Bingham in the early 1800's. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) were translated in 1828. The rest of the New Testament was translated in 1832. The Old Testament was translated in 1839. The translation was revised in 1868. A new translation of the New Testament in Hawaiian Pidgin, titled Da Jesus Book, was published in 2000 by Wycliffe Bible Translators.

External link

Reference

Most of the information in this section comes from Jacquelyn Sapiie, Supervisor of Library Services at the American Bible Society on January 14, 2004.

[edit] Hebrew

[edit] Apocrypha

The books of the apocrypha were not preserved in the Jewish tradition (as reflected in the Hebrew masoretic text). Though many of them were originally composed in Hebrew, they have reached us only in Greek form, as found in the Septuagint and preserved by the church. In modern times there has been renewed Jewish interest in these books, which has resulted in a few translations into Hebrew:

  • The standard modern, academic Hebrew translation of the apocrypha is Avraham Kahana, ed. and trans., Ha-Sefarim ha-Hizzonim. Tel-Aviv: Masada, 1956 (2 vols.). This translation includes a commentary by Kahana, and incorporates the parts of the original Hebrew for Ben Sira that were found in the Cairo Geniza and at Qumran.
  • The Hebrew website Da`at, which collects texts related to Jewish education, has published an online version of public domain Hebrew translations of the apocrypha from the 19th century. The translation for most of the books is that of Yizhak Zelik Frankel, Ketuvim Aharonim. Warsaw, 1885. The online translations have been formatted and slightly modernized.

[edit] New Testament

The Greek New Testament has been translated into Hebrew several times, and is often distributed by missionary groups targeting Jews.

  • The translation by Franz Delitzsch (1813-1890), first published in 1877. Available online in two versions (with and without vowel points).
  • The translation by Isaac Salkinson (c. 1820-1883) and edited by Christian David Ginsburg (1831-1914), first published in 1885 and distibuted by the Trinitarian Bible Society. Now distributed by The Society for Distributing Hebrew Scriptures. Background information on the translation is available here; a revised version by Eri S. Gabe (2000) is available in a vowelized online version here (PDF) and here (HTML). The translation is issued in bilingual versions (such as Hebrew-English on facing pages) with the explicit aim of making it appealing to Jews.
  • Modern Hebrew translation by The Bible Society in Israel (website), 1976 (revised 1991). Available online in two versions (with and without vowel points). Apparently based on the Delitzsch translation (above).

[edit] Hungarian

The first significant Bible translations into Hungarian are as follows:

  • Hussite Bible (probably 1436–1439, only fragments remained)
  • New Testament (1541, János Sylvester): the first full New Testament in Hungarian
  • Gáspár Károli's translation (also known as Vizsolyi Biblia and its translator as Károlyi, 1590, Protestant): the first complete version in Hungarian, which gained wide popularity and is occasionally used even today as the "classic" translation (similarly to the KJV in English)
    • Revised last time in 2003
  • György Káldi's translation (1626, the first full Catholic version)
    • Revised in 1835, 1851, 1865, 1934, 1973, and 1997

John 3:16 in Hungarian

Hungarian translations János 3,16
Károli's translation Mert úgy szerette Isten e világot, hogy az ő egyszülött Fiát adta, hogy valaki hiszen ő benne, el ne vesszen, hanem örök élete legyen.
Magyar Bibliatársulat új fordítású Bibliája
New translation Bible of the Hungarian Bible Society (Protestant)		 Mert úgy szerette Isten a világot, hogy egyszülött Fiát adta, hogy aki hisz őbenne, el ne vesszen, hanem örök élete legyen.
Szent István Társulati Biblia
Saint Stephen Society Bible (Catholic)		 Mert úgy szerette Isten a világot, hogy egyszülött Fiát adta oda, hogy aki hisz benne, az el ne vesszen, hanem örökké éljen.
Szent Jeromos Bibliatársulat
Saint Jerome Bible Society (Catholic, based on Káldi's translation and the Nova Vulgata)		 Mert úgy szerette Isten a világot, hogy egyszülött Fiát adta, hogy mindaz, aki őbenne hisz, el ne vesszen, hanem örök élete legyen.

External links and resources

[edit] Icelandic

The New Testament was the first book printed in Icelandic. It was translated by Oddur Gottskálksson (whose father was Norwegian) and published in 1540. 44 years later the whole Bible was printed in Icelandic thanks to Guðbrandur Þorláksson, a Protestant bishop at Hólar. The current publisher of the Icelandic Bible is Hið íslenska Biblíufélag (The Icelandic Bible Society).

An example from the Icelandic Bible
Translation John 3:16
Hið ísl. Biblíufélag, 1981 Því svo elskaði Guð heiminn, að hann gaf son sinn eingetinn, til þess að hver sem á hann trúir glatist ekki, heldur hafi eilíft líf.

[edit] Irish

The first Irish translation of the New Testament was begun by Nicholas Walsh, Bishop of Ossory, who worked on it until his untimely death in 1585. The work was continued by John Kearny, his assistant, and Dr. Nehemiah Donellan, Archbishop of Tuam, and it was finally completed by William O'Domhnuill (William Daniell, Archbishop of Tuam in succession to Donellan). Their work was printed in 1602.

The work of translating the Old Testament was undertaken by William Bedel (1571-1642), Bishop of Kilmore, who completed his translation within the reign of Charles the First, however it was not published until 1680, in a revised version by Narcissus Marsh (1638-1713), Archbishop of Dublin.

[edit] Italian

The first printed translation of the Bible into Italian was the Malermi Bible in 1471 from the Latin version Vulgata.

Giovanni Diodati in 1607 translated the bible from Latin and Jewish documents; its versions is the reference version for the Italian Protestanism.

The Bible of CEI (Conferenza episcopale Italiana) is the official version of the Italian Catholic Church. It was first printed in 1971 (editio princeps) as the work of only three translators in order to keep the text more consistent, and revised in 1974 (editio minor).

In 1997 the New Testament has been revised considering newly discovered documents. A revision of the Old Testament is expected for 2007.

[edit] Jèrriais

The Bible has not yet been translated into Jèrriais, but several Biblical passages have been translated.

John 3:16 in Jèrriais
Jèrriais Translation Jean 3:16
Lé Nouvieau Testament Car Dgieu aimait tant l'monde qu'i' donnit san seul Fis, à seule fîn qu'touos les cheins tchi craient en li n'péthissent pon, mais qu'il aient la vie êtèrnelle.

[edit] Klingon

Parts of the Bible have been translated into the Klingon language - the artificial language spoken by Klingons in the fictional Star Trek universe.

John 3:16: toH qo' muSHa'pu'qu'mo' JoH'a', wa' puqloDDaj nobpu' ghaH 'ej ghaHbaq Harchugh vay', vaj not Hegh ghaH, 'ach yIn jub ghajbeH ghaH.

Klingon Translation Project

[edit] Korean

  • Korean Living New Testament
  • Korean Common Language Bible. 1977
  • Pyongyang Bible. 1984

In 1866, an American merchant ship, the General Sherman, was sunk as it tried to enter Pyongyang along the Daedong river. All on board were killed in the ensuing battle, including Protestant missionary from the British Congregation Church to Korea – a young man called Robert Thomas. He had managed to get to shore, holding a copy of the Chinese Bible, which he gave to one of the Korean soldiers before he died. [1]

[edit] Latin

There were a number of piecework translations into Latin during the period of the early Church. Collectively, these versions are known as the Vetus Latina. In the Old Testament, they follow the Greek Septuagint closely, it being their usual source, and reproduce its variations from the Hebrew Masoretic Text. They were never rendered independently from the Hebrew or Greek; they vary widely in readability and quality, and contain many solecisms in idiom, some by the translators themselves, others from literally translating Greek language idioms into Latin.

All of these translations were made obsolete by St. Jerome's Vulgate version of the Bible. Jerome knew Hebrew, and revised and unified the Latin Bibles of the time to bring them into conformity with the Hebrew as he understood it. The liturgical Psalms, however, are often taken from the older Latin bibles.

As discussed in the Vulgate article, there are several different versions of the Vulgate: the Clementine Vulgate, the Stuggart Vulgate, the Nova Vulgata. These represent various attempts to either revise or modernise the Vulgate, or to recover Jerome's original text.

In the Protestant Reformation, Theodore Beza produced a new Latin version of the Old Testament, the Apocrypha and the New Testament. Demand for a Latin Bible among Protestants declined steadily, and Beza's translation never achieved wide circulation. However, Beza's Latin translation, with its many exegetical margin notes, influenced the translation of the famous Geneva Bible.

Secundum Ioannem 3:16 Latine
Latin Translation John 3:16
Vulgate Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret, ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam.
Theodore Beza Ita enim Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum illum dederit, ut quisquis credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam.

[edit] Malayalam

The Malayalam New Testament was first published in 1829. First complete Malayalam Bible was printed by Benjamin Bailey, the Anglican missionary, in 1841.

The newest Complete Malayalam version Vishudha Sathyavedapusthakam was released on 2000 by Bro. Dr. Mathews Vergis. An interactive CD of Vishudha Sathyavedapusthakam was also produced by Bro. Dr. Mathews Vergis, and this is the first of its kind in any Asian language.

 Bible Society of India
 http://www.authenticbooksindia.com/specialnewadvt.html

[edit] Manx

The Bible was translated into the Manx language, a dialect of Gaelic, by a committee of clergy from the Isle of Man. The New Testament appeared in 1767, and the complete Bible in 1772.

The Bible in Manx Gaelic
British Bible Society text, 1819
Genesis 1:1-3 Ayns y toshiaght chroo Jee niau as thalloo. As va'n thalloo gyn cummey, as feayn; as va dorraghys er eaghtyr y diunid: as ren spyrryd Yee gleashagh er eaghtyr ny ushtaghyn. As dooyrt Jee, Lhig da soilshey 've ayn; as va soilshey ayn.
Ean 3:16 Son lheid y ghraih shen hug Jee d'an theihll, dy dug eh e ynyrcan Vac v'er ny gheddyn, nagh jinnagh quoi-erbee chredjagh aynsyn cherraghtyn, agh yn vea ta dy bragh farraghtyn y chosney.

[edit] Maori

The Bible was translated into the Maori language in the 19th century by missionaries sponsored by the Church Missionary Society. [2]

[edit] Pashto

The New Testament was first published in the Pashto language in 1818, with the first complete Bible in 1895. In 1991 the Pakistan Bible Society produced a modern New Testament, most recently revised in 1996.

External Link:

[edit] Persian

The Bible was translated in the early 19th century. One major figue in this work was Henry Martyn, a contemporary of William Carey, who translated the New Testament. In 1811 he journied into Persia (now Iran). There he sent a copy of his translation of the New Testament to the Shah [3]. The translation was completed in 1838 [4].

[edit] Polish

Main article: Slavic translations of the Bible#Polish versions

An early and influential Polish translation of the Bible was made by the Polish Jesuit, Jakub Wujek (1541-97). This translation shaped the style of Polish Biblical language.

[edit] Portuguese

The principal translator of the Bible into Portuguese was Joao Ferreira de Almeida, who began the translation in 1644, at the age of 16, and continued until his death in 1691. He translated all of the New Testament and a majority of the Old Testament. Those portions he did not translate before his death were completed by Jacob op den Akker.

[edit] Romanian

The first complete translation to Romanian was done in 1688 (called "Biblia de la Bucureşti") by Radu and Şerban Greceanu with the help of Şerban Cantacuzino and Constantin Brâncoveanu.

Before the Greceanu brothers, have been other partial translation like the Slave-Roman Gospel (1551), Coresi's Gospel (1561), The Braşov Psalm Book (1570), Palia from Orăştie (1582), The New Testament of Alba Iulia (1648) and others.

Two main translations are currently used in Romanian. The Orthodox church uses the "Biblia Sinodală" (Bible of the Holy Synod) version, the standard Romanian Orthodox Bible translation, published with the blessings of Patriarch Teoctist, whereas Protestant denominations mainly use the more widespread translation of Dumitru Cornilescu, first published in 1928. In 1989 "Biblia Cornilescu Revizuită" (Revised Cornilescu Version) appeared; it tried to get the existing translation closer to the original manuscripts, in a form grammatically corrected and adapted according to the evolution of the modern Romanian language.

John 3:16 in Romanian
Romanian translations Ioan 3:16
Cornilescu (reprint with 1928 text) Fiindcă atît de mult a iubit Dumnezeu lumea, că a dat pe singurul Lui Fiu, pentruca oricine crede în El, să nu piară, ci să aibă viaţă vecinică.
Biblia Cornilescu Revizuită (1990 reprint of the 1989 edition) Fiindcă atît de mult a iubit Dumnezeu lumea, că a dat pe singurul Său Fiu, pentru ca oricine crede în El să nu piară, ci să aibă viaţă veşnică.
Biblia Sinodală (as published on Biblia Ortodoxă Online) Căci Dumnezeu aşa a iubit lumea, încât pe Fiul Său Cel Unul-Născut L-a dat ca oricine crede în El să nu piară, ci să aibă viaţă veşnică.
Traducerea lumii noi (Romanian edition of the New World Translation, 2000) Fiindcă atât de mult a iubit Dumnezeu lumea, încât l-a dat pe Fiul său unic-născut, pentru ca oricine exercită credinţă în el să nu fie distrus, ci să aibă viaţă veşnică.

[edit] Serbian

Atanasije Stojković translated the New Testament to Serbian in 1830. More published translation by Vuk Karadžić was next (1847), completed by the Old Testament translation by Đuro Daničić (1865).

More recent translations are the following:

  • Lujo Bakotić 1933, complete Bible,
  • Dimitrije Stefanović 1934, NT,
  • Emilijan Čarnić 1973, NT,
  • the Synod with the Bible Society 1984, complete Bible
  • Aleksandar Birviš 1987, four Gospels.
Translation John 1:1-1:5
Aleksandar Birviš 1987

1) У почетку беше он, Реч,
и Реч беше код Бога
и Он, Реч, беше Бог.
2) Он, Реч, беше у почетку код Бога.
3) Дејством његовим све је постало
и без њега ништа није постало
што је постало.
4) У њему је био живот
и живот је био светлост људима.
5) И светлост светли у тами
и тама је не обузе.

External links

[edit] Spanish

The first complete translation from the originals into Spanish was published in 1569 (called "Biblia del Oso") by Casiodoro de Reina.

  • Biblia Alfonsina, 1280.
  • Biblia del Duque de Alba, 1430.
  • Antiguo Testamento del rabino Salomón, 1420.
  • Antiguo Testamento de traductor anónimo, 1420.
  • Nuevo Testamento de Francisco de Enzinas, 1543.
  • Nuevo Testamento de Juan Pérez de Pineda, 1556.
  • Reina o "Biblia del Oso" (RV), 1569, reviewed in 1602 by Cipriano de Valera.
  • Biblia del padre Scío de San Miguel, 1793.
  • Versión Moderna, 1893.
  • Biblia de Petisco y Torres Amat, 1825.
  • Nuevo Testamento versión hispanoamericana, 1916.
  • Biblia Nácar-Colunga, 1944.
  • Biblia Bóver-Cantera, 1947.
  • Nuevo Testamento de monseñor Straubinger, 1948.
  • Nuevo Testamento traducción del Nuevo Mundo, 1963. Translation from English.
  • Biblia de Jerusalén, 1966.
  • Biblia traducción del Nuevo Mundo, 1967. Translation from English.
  • Biblia de Editorial Labor, 1968.
  • Biblia edición pastoral para Latinoamérica, 1972.
  • La Biblia de editorial Herder, 1975.
  • Nueva Biblia Española, 1976.
  • Biblia Interconfesional, 1978.
  • Dios Habla Hoy o Versión Popular (DHH), 1979.
  • La Biblia al Día, 1979.
  • Biblia el libro del pueblo de Dios, 1980.
  • Nuevo Testamento de la Universidad de Navarra, 1983.
  • Biblia de las Américas (BLA), 1986.
  • Biblia, versión revisada por un equipo de traductores dirigido por Evaristo Martín Nieto. 1989.
  • Biblia Casa de la Biblia, 1992.
  • Biblia del Peregrino, 1993.
  • Nuevo Testamento versión Recobro, 1994.
  • Nueva Versión Internacional (NVI), 1999.
  • Nuevo Testamento traducción de Pedro Ortiz, 2000.
  • Nuevo Testamento la Palabra de Dios para Todos (PDT), 2000.
  • Biblia traducción en lenguaje actual (TLA), 2003.
  • Biblia la Palabra de Dios para Todos (PDT), 2005.
John 3:16 in Spanish
Translation Juan 3:16
La Palabra de Dios para Todos (PDT Version) 2005 Dios amó tanto al mundo que dio a su Hijo único para que todo el que crea en él no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna.
Reina-Valera 1960 Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que ha dado a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que en él cree, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.
Nueva Versión Internacional Porque tanto amó Dios al mundo, que dio a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo el que cree en él no se pierda, sino que tenga vida eterna.
Dios Habla Hoy Pues Dios amó tanto al mundo, que dio a su Hijo único, para que todo aquel que cree en él no muera, sino que tenga vida eterna.
La Biblia de las Américas Porque de tal manera amó Dios al mundo, que dio a su Hijo unigénito, para que todo aquel que cree en Él, no se pierda, mas tenga vida eterna.

External links

[edit] Slavonic

Main article: Slavic translations of the Bible

In 862, a pair of monks named Saints Cyril and Methodius were commissioned by Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, to take the Gospel to Great Moravia. They translated the Bible and many liturgical service books into Slavonic, which was spoken in various dialects throughout much of Eastern Europe. Their translation was later used to evangelize Bulgaria and Kievan Rus in the tenth century. As there was no written form of Slavonic prior to their translation, they created what became known as the Glagolitic alphabet, loosely based on Greek, and their disciples derived from it the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used by Russian and other East European languages. The Slavonic used in their translation is now known as Old Church Slavonic and its later version as the Church Slavonic still used in liturgical services in Russian Orthodox and several other Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic churches.

[edit] Slovene

Both Old and New Testaments were first translated to Slovene by Protestant writer and theologian Jurij Dalmatin. The translation was printed in Wittenberg, Germany in 1584 and was smuggled back to Slovenia hidden in barrels so that Catholic authorities could not discover it. The Slovenes thus became the 12th nation in the world with a complete Bible in their language, overtaking many much larger European nations. The Bible translation was the major achievement of Slovene Protestant literature.

Slovene Biblical Society

[edit] Swahili

The first translation of parts of the Bible into Swahili was accomplished by 1868, with a complete New Testament translation following in 1879 and a translation of the whole Bible in 1890. Since that time, there have been several translations into different dialects of Swahili as spoken in different regions of East Africa; these include the Union translation published by the Bible Society of Tanzania in 1950 and the Swahili Common Language version.

John 3:16 in Swahili Translations
Translation Yohana 3:16
Union Translation Kwa maana jinsi hii Mungu aliupenda ulimwengu, hata akamtoa Mwanawe pekee, ili kila mtu amwaminiye asipotee, bali awe na uzima wa milele.

[edit] Swedish

Several translations to Swedish have been performed over the years. Until the reformation, a Latin Bible was used, but Gustav Vasa who converted Sweden to Protestanism ordered the first translation into the Swedish tongue.

Several translations has been made since then, including:

Translation Första Mosebok 1:1-1:4
1917 translation I begynnelsen skapade Gud himmel och jord.
Och jorden var öde och tom, och mörker var över djupet, och Guds Ande svävade över vattnet.
Och Gud sade: "Varde ljus"; och det vart ljus.
Och Gud såg att ljuset var gott; och Gud skilde ljuset från mörkret.
Bibel 2000 I begynnelsen skapade Gud himmel och jord.
Jorden var öde och tom, djupet täcktes av mörker och en gudsvind svepte fram över vattnet.
Gud sade: ”Ljus, bli till!” Och ljuset blev till.
Gud såg att ljuset var gott, och han skilde ljuset från mörkret.
Svenska Folkbibeln I begynnelsen skapade Gud himmel och jord.
Jorden var öde och tom, och mörker var över djupet. Och Guds Ande svävade över vattnet.
Gud sade: "Varde ljus!" Och det blev ljus. Gud såg att ljuset var gott, och han skilde ljuset från mörkret.

External link

[edit] Tagalog

  • Ang Dating Biblia (1905).
  • Ang Salita ng Diyos 1998. Produced by Bibles International.

[edit] Tongan

A translation of the Bible into Tongan was completed by James Eagan Moulton in 1902 after serving there as a Methodist minister for eleven years. His translation is still in use today. [5]

[edit] Turkish

The Bible was translated into Turkish by Wojciech Bobowski, a Polish convert to Islam, in the 17th century. It was known as the Kitabı Mukaddes ("Holy Book"). For many years it was the only Turkish Bible.

Following Atatürk's orthographic reforms in 1923, the Bible was rewritten in the new Latin alphabet. This project was completed in 1941.

However the Turkish authorities were determined to remove as many foreign words from Turkish as possible, consequentially the language underwent a dramatic transformation. In just sixty years, the language went through the equivalent of three hundred years of changes, thus many foreign words used in the Bible were no longer used. Because of this the United Bible Society and the Translation Trust joined together to produce a translation suited to the new language. This work would be called the Colloquial Version. The translators included Ali Simsek, Behnan Konutgan and Mahmud Solgun. The translation consultants included the Rev. Dr. Manuel Jinbachian and Dr. Krijn van der Jagt. In 1989 the New Testament was published, one journalist saying the work "flows like music." The complete Bible was dedicated on October 21 2001 [6].

[edit] Vietnamese

  • 1926 Vietnamese Translation (VT), (Cadman)
  • 1934 Vietnamese Bible
  • 1995 Republication of the 1926 VT

Although, the Chu Quoc Ngu had been written in the 17th century, it took more than 250 years (1872) for Vietnamese Bibles to be translated for common teaching use in Vietnam. And in 1963 the Catholic officials published Vietnamese Bibles for the Vietnamese people's use.

A group of pastors are working to translate the Bible to Vietnamese using the English New International Version (NIV).

[edit] Welsh

See Welsh Bible

The first translation of the Bible into Welsh was the New Testament translation of William Salesbury in 1567, closely followed by William Morgan's translation of the whole Bible in 1588. This occupies a similar place in the Welsh language to that of the King James Version in English. A new translation, y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd was published in 1988 and has largely replaced the William Morgan translation, although there is some disagreement as to the accuracy of the translation. Both versions are in very literary Welsh and there is still a need for a translation in a more colloquial register.

A revision of y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd (Revised New Welsh Bible) was released in March 2004.

A Comparison of John 3:16 in Welsh Translations
Translation Ioan 3:16
Beibl William Morgan, 1588 Canys felly y carodd Duw y byd fel y rhoddodd efe ei unig-anedig Fab, fel na choller pwy bynnag a gredo ynddo ef, ond caffael ohono fywyd tragwyddol.
Y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd, 1988 Do, carodd Duw y byd gymaint nes iddo roi ei unig Fab, er mwyn i bob un sy'n credu ynddo ef beidio â mynd i ddistryw ond cael bywyd tragwyddol.

[edit] Zulu

The entire Bible was first translated into Zulu in 1917. It was updated in 1957 but it was still considered quite difficult to understand for the average Zulu person. A Zulu New Testament that is easier to understand was completed in 1986 but no Old Testament is currently available (as at 2006) but a project is open (by the Bible Society of South Africa) to complete this Old Testament. The project should be complete around 2016.

External link

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