The Bible was translated into Turkish by Wojciech Bobowski, a Polish convert to Islam, in the 17th century. It was known as the title 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, as the Turkish authorities were determined to remove as many foreign words from Turkish as possible, the language consequently 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.[1]
| Translation | John (Yuhanna) 3:16 |
|---|---|
| Old, transliterated translation | Zira Allah dünyayı öyle sevdi ki, biricik Oğlunu verdi; ta ki ona iman eden her adam helâk olmasın, ancak ebedi hayatı olsun. |
| Lütuf Yayinlari | Çünkü Allah dünyayı öyle sevdi ki, biricik oloğımış olan Oğlu'nu verdi; öyle ki, O'na ıman eden herkes mahvolmasın, ama sonsuz hayatı olsun. |
| Modern Translation (1989) | Çünkü Tanrı dünyayı o kadar çok sevdi ki, biricik Oğlunu verdi. Öyle ki, O'na iman edenlerin hiçbiri mahvolmasın, ama hepsi sonsuz yaşama kavuşsun. |
| Thomas Cosmades translation | Çünkü Tanrı dünyayı o denli sevdi ki, biricik Oğlu’nu verdi. Öyle ki, her kim O’na iman ederse mahvolmasın, sonsuz yaşama kavuşsun. |