After St. Jerome the first to translate the Old Testament from the Hebrew into Latin appears to have been Cardinal Carton (d. 1307), Bishop of London, whose work has been lost. Of numerous versions, many of which have perished or are preserved only in manuscripts, noteworthy are the Psalms from the Hebrew by Felix Pratensis, O.S.A. (Venice, 1515). Another Psalter with a version of Job was made by Aug. Justinian, O.P. (Paris, 1516). Kantes Pagninus, O.P. (d. 1514), made an interlinear version of both the Old and New Testaments from the original languages, which by its literal fidelity pleased Christians and Jews and was much used by the Reformers. A revision of this translation resulting in a text even more literal was made by Arias Montano. His work appeared in the Antwerp Polyglot (1572). Another literal version was undertaken by Thomas Malvenda, O.P. (d. 1628), as the basis of an extensive commentary but death ended his labours at the fifteenth chapter of Ezechiel. His work was published at Lyons (1650). In 1763 the Oratorian F. Houbigant edited his "Biblia Veteris Testamenti", rendered from the Hebrew. In the "Biblia Maxima" (Paris, 1660), J. de la Haye, O.Min., collected a great number of variant readings of older Latin versions. A revision of the Vulgate (Venice, 1542, 1557) by Isadore Clarius gave offence on account of many arbitrary changes in the text and was put on the Index.

Among the Reformers, Latin Scriptural labours were largely confined to commentaries and the translation of single books, e.g. Melanchthon, Proverbs (1524); Luther, Deuteronomy (1525); Brentius, Job (1527); Drach, Psalms (1540), Daniel (1544), and Joel (1565). A complete Hebrew-Latin Old Testament was given out by Sebastian Münster (Basle, 1534-46). Another Latin version of the Old Testament (Zurich, 1543, and Paris, 1545), bearing the name of Leo Juda, was partly the work of Bibliander, who translated Ezechiel, Daniel, Job, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, and the last forty-eight psalms. Its Apocrypha were translated from the Greek by P. Cholin. A version whose author, Castalion, affected a style of classic elegance, was printed at Basle in 1551. Other versions were put forth by Tremellius and Junius or du Jon (Frankfurt, 1575-9), and by Luc and Andrew Osiander, who sought to correct the Vulgate after the Hebrew.

Hebrew versions of the New Testament

In 1537 Sebastian Münster published an old translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew, in a rabbinical Hebrew by Schemtob Isaac. Improved editions were made by Tillet (1555), and by Herbst (Göttingen, 1879). The four Gospels were done into classic Hebrew by a converted Jew, Giona, at Rome (1668). The first complete New Testament in Hebrew was made by Elias Hutter and was published in the Nuremberg Polyglot (1600), revised by Robertson (London, 1666). A corrected New Testament in Hebrew was given out by Caddock (London, 1798). A number of Bible Society versions have appeared since 1818, and in 1866 Reichhardt and Biesenthal edited a text with accents and vowels. This was revised by Delitzsch in 1877.

Mixed sources

Italian versions

Evidences of early versions of at least portions of the Scriptures for liturgical purposes, public readings, and private devotion are not wanting in the history of the Church among any of the peoples to whom her missionaries carried the Gospel. Leaving them and even many later recensions unnoticed, this article will touch on only the more important versions which have had some part and influence in national religious life. In Italy popular knowledge of the Bible in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was spread chiefly by the Franciscan and Dominican Friars. A complete version in the vernacular, a manuscript preserved in the National Library at Paris, was made by Nicholas de Nardò, O.P., in 1472. The first printed Bible (Venice, 1471) was due to Nicholas Malermi, O. Camald. A revision of this, with notes, rubrics, and résumés largely after the Biblical commentaries of Nicholas of Lyra, was made by Marine de Veneto, O.P. (Venice, 1477). Santes Marmochini, O.P. (d. 1545), corrected the heretical version of Bruccioli according to the Vulgate (Venice, 1538, 1547, etc.). Two noteworthy translations of the New Testament were made by Zaccaria Florentini, O.P. (Venice, 1542), and Domenico Gigli (Venice, 1551). The most widely used complete version was produced by Antonio Martini, Archbishop of Florence (Turin, 1776-81). It was approved by Pius VI and has been widely circulated.

The first complete Protestant Bible in Italian was printed at Geneva (1562). It was made up of the slightly revised heretical text of Bruccioli's Old Testament (1532), which was a perversion of the Latin of Kantes Pagninus, and not, as pretended, a translation from original sources, and of the apostate Massimo Teofilo's New Testament, first published at Lyons (1551), and revised by Gallars and Beza. This was adopted by the Bible societies. Martini's translation was also taken and shaped to Protestant purposes by the British and Foreign Bible Society (New Testament, 1813, and Bible, 1821).

Spanish versions

Several manuscripts of early Spanish versions, e.g. the Biblia Alfonsina, and some made from the Hebrew, are preserved at the Escurial, Madrid. A later work (sixteenth century) is called the Bible of Quiroga, a convert from Judaism, who rose to be cardinal inquisitor. The first printed Bible (Valencia, 1478), following an Old-Testament version from the French and Latin by Romeu de Sabruguera, O.P., was in the Catalonian dialect and was the work of the General of the Carthusians, Boniface Ferrer (d. 1417), a brother of St. Vincent Ferrer, O.P. His manuscript was revised and extensively corrected by Jaime Borrell, O.P. A later translation, of classic elegance and with copious notes, by Philip Scio de S. Miguel, was published at Madrid (1794). Another with a paraphrastic commentary in the text was given out at Madrid (1823) by Amat, but the work is said to have been taken from a manuscript of Father Petisco, S.J. A New Testament by Francisco do Enzinas (Antwerp, 1543) was later much used by the British and Foreign Bible Society. It also adopted a complete version from the Vulgate by the apostate Cassiodore Reyna (Basle, 1596), and a revision of this by the apostate Cypriano de Valera (Amsterdam, 1602). A Lutheran version, the so-called Biblia del Oso, was published by Juan de Valdes (Basle, 1567-69). The Bible of Ferrara, or the Bible of the Jews, was a Spanish version from the Hebrew by Abraham Usque, a Portuguese Jew. Under a pseudonym he issued an edition of the same for Christians. It gained considerable authority and was many times reprinted. A revision by Jos. Athias appeared at Amsterdam in 1661.

Portuguese versions

A Portuguese Bible for Catholics was issued by Ant. Pereira de Figueiredo at Lisbon (1784). A New Testament (Amsterdam, 1712), and the Pentateuch and historical books (1719) by J. Ferreira a Almeida, a "convert from Rome", supplied the Bible societies with a version for Portuguese Protestants.

Basque versions

A New Testament by Jean Licarrague (Rochelle, 1571) is probably the earliest Biblical work in the Basque tongue. The first Catholic New Testament, translated by Jean Haraneder and later revised by two priests, was published at Bayonne (1855). A complete Bible after the Vulgate was edited at London (1859-65), under the patronage of Prince Lucien Bonaparte. Various portions of the Scriptures and revisions have appeared since.

French versions

Versions of the Psalms and the Apocalypse, and a metrical rendering of the Book of Kings, appeared as early as the seventh century. Up to the fourteenth century, many Bible histories were produced. A complete version of the Bible was made in the thirteenth century; the translation of the various parts is of unequal merit. The fourteenth century manuscript Anglo-Norman Bible follows it closely. Independent of either in the manuscript Bible of King John the Good, which though unfinished is described as a "work of science and good taste". Done in the second half of the fourteenth century, it is largely the work of the Dominicans Jean de Sy, Jehan Nicolas, William Vivien, and Jehan de Chambly. Another incomplete version based on the thirteenth-century Bible was the work of Raoul de Presles and is known as the Bible of Charles V. About 1478, appearing at Lyons among the incunabula of France, is a New Testament by Julian Macho and Pierre Farget, and the books of the Old Testament history, published six times. A complete version done literally from the Vulgate and the Greek New Testament was given out by Lefèvre d'Etaples (Antwerp, 1530, 1534, 1541). After revisions by Nicolas de Leuze (Antwerp, 1548), and by Louvain theologians (1550), it remained a standard for over a century. Only verbal improvements were the versions of Pierre de Besse (1608), Pierre Frizon (1621), and Béron (1647). By order of Louis XIII, Jacques Corbin edited his version of the Vulgate (Paris, 1643-61), A translation by René Benoist (Paris, 1566) savoured of Calvinism and aroused much controversy. Well known and widely read were the Latin-French editions of Calmet (Paris, 1770-16) and de Carrières (Paris, 1709-17); the latter gave out the French alone (1741), but it was not without errors. A version from original sources (Cologne, 1739; Paris, 1753, 1777, 1819) was the work of Le Gros. Another popular French-Latin Bible was put forth by de Vence (Paris, 1748, 1750). It was revised and furnished with Carrières's translation and a commentary after Calmet by Rondet (Paris, 1767-73; Nîmes, 1779). A translation which went through some six editions despite inaccuracies was published at Paris (1821-2) by de Genoude. Bourassé and Janvier gave out a complete version at Tours in 1865. Arnaud published his translations at Paris (1881), but perhaps the most popular of the French versions is that of J.-B. Glaire (Paris, 1871-3, later edited with notes by M. Vigouroux. These complete versions but partially represent the extensive Biblical work of the French Catholics.

The first and nearest approach to a national Protestant version for France was made (Serrières, 1535) by Pierre-Robert Olivetan, Calvin's cousin. He was supposed on his own statement to have translated independently, but it is clear that he used almost wholly the New Testament with the interlinear version of Pagninus. Corrected by Calvin, it was republished at Geneva in 1545, and later in other editions, the principal one being the revision (1588) of the pastors of Geneva. This was supplanted by the recension of Osterwald (1744), an improvement in style, but a work replete with errors. Others differing but little from the Olivetan-Genevan versions were edited by Castalio (Basle, 1555) and Martin (Amsterdam, 1707). A version from original sources, and accepted by the Oxford University Press for national official use, was given out by Segond (Geneva, 1874; Nancy, 1877; and Geneva, 1879).

The Jansenists are represented in a New Testament translation (Amsterdam, 1667) by Isaac Le Maistre de Sacy and Antoine* Arnauld. The work contained many errors and the writers' bias appeared in frequent alterations. A version of the whole Bible was undertaken by de Sacy in 1666, but death intervened; it was completed by du Fossé and Huré (Paris, 1682-1706; Brussels, 1705-30; Nîmes, 1781). Whilst the work was never censured as a whole, several of its New-Testament books were condemned by individual bishops. A Jewish Bible by S. Cahen, presenting both the Hebrew and the French with notes philological, etc., was issued at Paris (1831-51), but its text has been found incorrect and its notes often contradictory. A Rationalist Bible after the Hebrew and Greek by Ledrain appeared at Paris (1886-96).

German versions

The history of Biblical research in Germany shows that of the numerous partial versions in the vernacular some go back to the seventh and eighth centuries. It also establishes the certainty of such versions on a considerable scale in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and points to a complete Bible of the fifteenth in general use before the invention of printing. Of special interest are the five complete folio editions printed before 1477, nine from 1477 to 1522, and four in Low German, all prior to Luther's New Testament in 1522. They were made from the Vulgate, differing only in dialect and presenting variant readings. Their worth even to this day has been attested by many scholars. Deserving notice as belonging to the same period are some fourteen editions of the Psalter and no less than ninety editions of the Epistles and Gospels for Sundays and Holy Days. On the authority of a Nuremberg manuscript, Jostes (Histor. Jahrbuch, 1894, XV, 771, and 1897, XVIII, 133) establishes the fact of a complete translation of the Bible by John Rellach, O.P., of Constance (before 1450), and thinks it was the first German version printed. A New Testament by Beringer (Speyer, 1526) was in part a correction of Luther's version. In 1527 another New Testament was put forth by Emser who worked from the Vulgate and an older version, likewise correcting Luther.

In 1534 John Dietenberger, O.P., gave out a complete version at Mainz based on a primitive translation with aid from Emser's New Testament and from the deuterocanonical books by Leo Juda. His agreement in places with Luther is due to the use by both of a common source. The Dietenberger Bible underwent frequent revision, and up to 1776 had fifty-eight complete editions. It was revised (1) by Caspar Ulenberg (Mainz, 1549, 1617; Cologne, 1630); (2) by the theologians of Mainz, i.e. Jesuits (1661, 1662, etc.), from whom it received the title of the Catholic Bible; (3) by Th. Erhard, O.S.B. (Augsburg, 1722, 6th ed., 1748); (4) by G. Cartier, O.S.B. (Constance, 1751); (5) by Ignatius Weitenauer (Augsburg, 1783-89), whose version with notes was valued even by Protestants for its fidelity and literary excellence. An important new translation of the Vulgate was published at Augsburg (1788-97) by H. Braun, O.S.B. This was revised by Feder (Nürnberg, 1803) and by Allioli (Landshut, 1830, 1832). In successive editions the last named has almost wholly changed the original so that it is now known only by his name. It is much esteemed as a literary rendering and is widely read. An excellent version made from the Vulgate and compared with original sources was put forth by Loch and Reischl (Ratisbon, 1851-66). From original sources D. Brentano began and Th. A. Dereser finished a version (Frankfurt, 1799-1828), with notes savouring of Rationalism. A second edition was emended by J.M. Scholz. This account includes only the most representative versions made by German Catholics.

Luther's Biblical translations, begun in 1522, when he issued his New Testament, and carried on to 1545, when he finished the deuterocanonical books and the first complete edition of his Bible, have retained a strong hold on German and other Protestants and by many are esteemed as little less than inspired. He saw to many corrections and revisions himself, and his work went through some ten editions in his own lifetime. Though supposed to translate from the originals, he made use of the Latin version of Lyra, the Hebrew-Latin interlinear of Pagninus, and an older German translation of the Vulgate whose order he retained. His renderings were often excessively free and at times he arbitrarily changed the sense of the original. The Swiss Zwinglians adopted such portions of Luther's work as had appeared before 1529. That year they added their own version of the Prophets and the deuterocanonical books by Leo Juda, the whole being called the Zurich Bible. In 1860-8 this work was revised and is still in use. An Anabaptist version was made by Hetzer (Worms, 1529), and Calvinist versions by Parens (1579) and by Piscator (Herborn, 1602-4). A Socinian Bible was given out by Crellius (Racovia, 1630). In the eighteenth century versions reflecting different beliefs and doctrinal attitudes were put forth by Michaelis (1709), Moldenhauer (1774), Grynæus (1776), and Vögelin (1781). Of several nineteenth-century versions the most important is that of de Wette and Augusti (Heidelberg, 1809-14). A complete revision by Wette was published in 1831-3 and later. It is considered a good translation but excessively literal.

A Jewish-German Bible (Old Testament) by Athias appeared in 1666. It was reproduced in the Biblia Pentapla (Hamburg, 1711). Another Jewish version (Berlin, 1838) was the work of Arnheim, Füchs, and Sachs.

Dutch and Flemish versions

The first Bible for Catholics in Holland was printed at Delft in 1475. Among several issued from the press of Jacob van Leisveldt at Antwerp, one (1540) with the text of the Vulgate is called the Biblia Belgica. The first authoritative version for Catholics was translated from Henten's Vulgate by Nicholas van Wingh, Peter de Cort, and Godevaert Stryode, O.P. (Louvain, 1545). After seventeen complete editions it was revised according to the Clementine Vulgate and became the celebrated Bible of Moerentorf or Moretus (1599). This revision reached more than a hundred editions, and is still used. Among several unfinished versions, one by Th. Beelen was carried out by a group of ecclesiastics, viz. Old Testament (Bruges, 1894-6). Beelen's New Testament had previously appeared at Louvain (1859-69).

A complete Bible based largely on Luther's version was given out by Jacob Van Liesveldt at Antwerp in 1526. In 1556 it was superseded by Van Utenhove's version after Luther and Olivetan. The Calvinists of Holland completed in 1637 a so-called state Bible, a version said to be from original sources, but greatly influenced by the English Authorized Version, reproducing in a great measure its remarkable felicity of style.

Scandinavian versions

In the fourteenth century, versions of the Sunday Epistles and Gospels were made for popular use in Denmark. Large portions of the Bible, if not an entire version, were published about 1470. The historical books of the Old Testament and the Apocalypse in Swedish are all that are preserved of a complete version made in the fifteenth century and derived from earlier translations in use in the time of St. Bridget (d. 1373). In the beginning of the fourteenth century, King Hakon V provided for a Norwegian translation of the historical books of the Old Testament, with glossary. (Cf. Danish Heptateuch edited by Molbech, Havnian, 1828.) Scandinavian Protestant Bibles for the most part are translated from Luther's version. A complete Danish Bible was published 1550 under the direction of Christian Pedersen (revised in 1824). Two independent versions were given out by Lindberg and Kalkar. In 1541 the first Swedish version appeared; it has been frequently revised. An Icelandic version was published at Holum in 1584.

Finnish version

A translation of the New Testament by Michael Agricola, a Lutheran, was made for the Finns and published at Stockholm (1548), and a complete Bible from original sources by several scholars was put forth in 1642, 1758, 1776, etc. A less successful version of the Bible was issued by Henry Florin at Abo (1685). Numerous Bible Society editions of both Testaments appeared later. In the Esthonian dialect, a New Testament by John Fisher (1686), and the Old Testament by Fisher and Gosekenius (1689), are noteworthy. Other complete Bibles from partial versions of an earlier date were made in the Esthonian dialect of Reval (Berlin, 1876) and in the Esthonian of Dorpot (1850). A Laplandish version of the whole Bible was published it Hernösand (1811).

Hungarian versions

A fourteenth-fifteenth-century manuscript in Vienna gives parts of the Old Testament from the Vulgate by the Friars Minor, Thomas and Valentine. A fifteenth-century manuscript of the whole Bible at Gran, the Codex Jordanszky, is believed to contain at least in part a version that was made by Ladislaus Bathory, Hermit of the Order of St. Paul (d. 1456). John Sylvester, or Serestely, O.P., is credited with a translation of the New Testament which was published at Novæ Insulæ (1541) and Vienna (1574). A complete version was made towards the end of the sixteenth century by Stephen Szántó (Latin, Arator). In 1626 a translation after the Vulgate was put forth at Vienna by George Káldi, S.J. Having ecclesiastical approbation, it gained a wide circulation and is still in use after having been printed in many editions. A version after the Protestant Genevan Bible was made by Caspar Károly in 1590. It was revised by Albert Molnar (Hanau, 1608). Other translations appeared by Caspar Heltai (Klausenberg, 1551-64) and by George Csipkés (Leyden, 1717). Andrew Torkos (Wittenberg, 1736) and G. Bárány (Lauban, 1754) gave out Lutheran versions.

Celtic versions

Irish

Ancient Gaelic versions of the Psalms, of a Gospel of St. Matthew, and other sacred writings with glosses and commentaries are found as early as the seventh century, Most of the literature through subsequent centuries abounds in Scriptural quotations. A fourteenth-century manuscript, the "Leabhar Braec" (Speckled Book), published at Dublin (1872-5), contains a history of Israel and a compendious history of the New Testament. It has also the Passion of Jesus Christ, a translation from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. Another fourteenth-century manuscript, the "Leabhar Buide Lecain", also gives the Passion and a brief Old-Testament history. Some scholars see in these writings indications of an early Gaelic version of the Scriptures previous to the time of St. Jerome. A modern Protestant Gaelic New Testament, begun from the original Greek by John Kearney, 1574, Nicholas Walsh (later Bishop of Ossory), and Nehemias Donellan (later Archbishop of Tuam), and finished by William O'Donnell and Mortogh O'Cionga (King), was printed in 1602. An Old-Testament version from original sources by Dr. Bedell was published at London (1686). A second edition in Roman characters was published (1790) for the Scottish Highlanders. A version of Genesis and Exodus was made by Connellan (London, 1820), and also by John MacHale, later Archbishop of Tuam (1840).

Scottish

In Scotland the Synod of Argyll gave out a Gaelic version of fifty psalms (Glasgow, 1659), and all the psalms in 1715. A Psalter was also made by Robert Kick (Edinburg, 1684). A complete Bible, based on earlier versions of the Testaments, was published for the London Bible Society (London, 1807), and a revision of it was ordered by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church at Edinburgh (1826). A New Testament from the Latin for Catholics by P. MacEachain appeared at Aberdeen in 1875.

Breton, or Armoric, Versions

A New Testament was in existence at the end of the fifteenth century, but the first complete Bible was published by Le Gonidec at St. Brieuc (1866), and a Protestant version by M. Le Coat appeared at London in 1890. These versions differ in dialect.

Welsh, or Cymric, Versions

Partial versions were made before the fifteenth century, but a translation by Celydd Sfan was known to be in existence about 1470. A New Testament, decreed by Parliament in 1526, was edited by several scholars in 1557. A revision of this and an Old Testament version by William Morgan appeared at London in 1588. This was got out in a revision which was practically a new translation by Richard Parry and John Davies (London, 1620). It was the standard for later reprints. A more convenient edition, including the Book of Common Prayer, etc., was published by Pryce (London, 1630). A version made at Oxford (1690) was called the Bishop Lloyd's Bible and was the first to be printed in Roman characters. The Moses Williams' Bible (London, 1718) was put forth by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge. The British and Foreign Bible Society grew out of the efforts of Thomas Charles to provide Bibles for the people of Wales. Its first Welsh Bible following an edition of 1752 was printed in 1806.

Miscellaneous versions

Aleutian

An Aleutian version of St. Matthew was made by the Russian priest, Ivan Veniaminoff, in 1840 for the Aleutian Islanders.

Aniwa

The Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke were translated into the dialect of the Island of Aniwa by Paton (Melbourne, 1877).

Aneitumese versions

For the inhabitants of the Island of Aneiteum, New Hebrides Islands, a New Testament was made by Geddie and Inglis (1863), and an Old Testament version by Inglis (1878).

Battak versions

A New Testament for the Battaks of Sumatra was made in the Toba dialect by Nommensen (Elberfeld, 1878); another by Schreiber, revised by Leipoldt, was made in the Mandeling dialect (1878).

Benga versions

A version of St. Matthew in 1858, and of the other Gospels and the Acts later, revised by Nassau in 1874, was provided for the people south of the Congo River, who use the Benga dialect.

Bengali versions

This was a New Testament by Carey (Serampur, 1801; 8th ed., 1832), and an Old-Testament version (1802-09). The Old Testament also appeared at Calcutta (1833-44). Revisions of both Testaments were made by Wenger (1873) and by others.

Chinese versions

Among earlier translations is a version of St. Matthew by Anger, a Japanese Christian (Goa, 1548). The Jesuit Father de Mailla wrote an explanation of the Gospels for Sundays and feasts in 1740, and it is still used. The four Gospels with notes were edited by J. Dejean, Apostolic missionary (Hong-Kong, 1892). Other partial versions were made by missionaries, but the first Bible for Protestant use was the work of Lassar and Marshman (Serampur, 1815-22). Another version is credited to Dr. Morrison. Aided by Milne he translated the Old Testament, to which he added the New Testament of Hodgson; the whole was published at Malacca (1823; new edition, 1834). A company of Protestant missionaries gave out a new translation of the New Testament in 1850 and of the whole Bible in 1855 at Shanghai and Hong-Kong. This, which was the generally adopted version, came out in a new edition at Shanghai (1873). An Old Testament in the Mandarin colloquial dialect was made by Schereschewsky and published at Pekin (1875). These translations in general are unsatisfactory.

Gypsy or Romany version

A Gospel of St. Luke by G. Borrow was published at Madrid (1837). It is said to have been the first book ever printed in this tongue. It was revised and reissued in 1872.

Hindi version

A New Testament was published by Carey (Serampur, 1811); and the whole Bible, after the Hindustani, by Bowley (1866-69).

Hindustani versions

A translation of the Psalms and the New Testament was made by Schulze, a Danish missionary, and published at Halle (1746-58). another New Testament by Henry Martyn appeared at Serampur (1814). There was also a Bible Society edition at Calcutta (1817) and one at London (1819); the Pentateuch (1823), and the Old Testament (1844). Other editions have followed.

Japanese versions

A version of St. John's Gospel and of the Acts was edited in katakana (square type) at Singapore (1836) by Charles Gutzlaff. The four Gospels and the Acts were put forth in a very imperfect hiragana (round type) version at Vienna (1872) by Bettleheim, who was aided by an American student of Japanese origin. A company of revisers and translators gave out the Gospels of Saints Matthew, Mark, and John and the Acts at Yokohama in 1871 and a New Testament in 1879. A later and better version was provided by the Baptists, and the Old Testament (except the deuterocanonical books) was published in 1888. A version of Saints Matthew and Mark (1895) and of Saints Luke and John (1897), edited at Tokio, was made by Fathers Péri and Steichen, aided by a native littérateur, M. Takahashigorô.

Javanese version

Gottlob Brücker published a New Testament at Serampur in 1831. This was made a Bible Society revision in 1848, and under the same auspices an Old-Testament version appeared in 1857 and later.

Mexican versions

The first known Biblical undertaking in Mexico was a version of the Gospels and Epistles in 1579 by Didacus de S. Maria, O.P., and the Book of Proverbs by Louis Rodríguez, O.S.F. A Bible Society version of the New Testament was made in 1829, but only the Gospel of St. Luke was printed.

Modern Greek version

A New Testament for Catholics was made by Colletus (Venice, 1708). A Protestant edition by Maximus of Kallipoli was published at Geneva or Leyden in 1638. It appeared in later revisions. A Bible Society version of the Old Testament was published in England (1840); a New Testament at Athens (1848).

English versions

What prevented the earliest English missionaries from translating the Scriptures into the vernacular, or what caused the loss of such immediate translations, if any were made, is hard to determine at this late date. Though Christianity had been established among the Anglo-Saxons in England about the middle of the sixth century, the first known attempt to translate or paraphrase parts of the Bible is Cædmons's song, "De creatione mundi, et origine humani generis, et tota Genesis historia etc." (St. Bede, "Hist. eccl.", IV, xxiv). Some authors even doubt the authenticity of the poetry ascribed to Cædmon. The English work in Bible study of the following nine centuries will be conveniently divided into three periods comprising three centuries each.

Eighth to tenth century

In the first period extending from the eighth to the tenth century we meet: (1) St. Bede's translation of John 1:1-6:9; (2) interlinear glosses on the Psalms; (3) the Paris Psalter; (4) the so-called Lindisfarne Gospels; (5) the Rushworth version; (6) the West-Saxon Gospels; (7) Ælfric's version of a number of Old-Testament books.

(1) The proof for the existence of St. Bede's work rests on the authority of his pupil Guthberht who wrote about this fact to his fellow-student Cuthwine (see Mayor and Lumby, "Bedæ hist. eccl.", 178).

(2) The "Glossed Psalters" have come down to us in twelve manuscripts, six of which represent the Roman Psalter, and six the Gallican. The oldest and most important of these manuscripts is the so called Vespesian Psalter, written in Mercia in the first half of the ninth century.

(3) The Paris Psalter advances beyond the glosses in as far as it is a real translation of Psalm 1:1-50:10, ascribed by some scholars to King Alfred (d. 901), though others deny this view. Cf. William of Malmesbury. "Gesta regum Anglorum", II, 123.

(4) The Lindisfarne Gospels, called also the Durham Book, the Book of St. Cuthbert, present the Latin text of the Gospels dating from Redfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne (698-721), with the so-called Northumbrian Gloss on the Gospels, added about 950 by Aldred. Cf. Dr. Charles O'Conor, "Bibl. stowensis", II (1818-19), 180.

(5) The Rushworth version of the first Gospel, with glosses on the second, third, and fourth Gospels, based on the Lindisfarne glosses. Faerman, a priest of Harewood (Harwood), made the translation of St. Matthew and furnished the glosses on Mark 1:1-2:15 and John 18:1-3; the rest of the work is taken from Owun's glosses.

(6) The West-Saxon Gospels are a rendering of the Gospels originating in the south of England about the year 1000; seven manuscripts of this version have come down to us. Cf. W.W. Skeat, "The Gospels in Anglo-Saxon etc." (Cambridge, 1871-87).

(7) Ælfric himself states in his work "De vetere testamento", written about 1010, that he had translated the Pentateuch, Josue, Judges, Kings, Job, Esther, Judith, and the Books of the Machabees. The translator frequently abridges, slightly in Genesis, more notably in the Book of Judges and the following books; he adopts a metrical form in Judith. Cf. Nieder in "Zeitschrift für historische Theologie" (1855-56).

Eleventh to fourteenth century

The second period coincides with the Anglo-Norman time, extending from the tenth to the thirteenth or fourteenth century. During this time, French or the Anglo-Norman dialect reigned supreme among the upper classes, and in academic and official circles, while English was confined to the lower classes and the country-districts. The Bible renderings during the twelfth, thirteenth, and early fourteenth centuries were in French, whether they were made in England or brought over from France. Before the middle of the fourteenth century the entire Old Testament and a great part of the New Testament had been translated into the Anglo-Norman dialect of the period (cf. Berger, "La Bible française au moyen âge", Paris, 1884, 78 sqq.). As to English work, we may note two transcripts of the West-Saxon Gospels during the course of the eleventh century and some copies of the same Gospels into the Kentish dialect made in the twelfth century. The thirteenth century is an absolute blank as far as our knowledge of its English Bible study is concerned. The English which emerged about the middle and during the second half of the fourteenth century was practically a new language, so that both the Old English versions which might have remained, and the French versions hitherto in use, failed to fulfil their purpose.

Fourteenth century and after

The third period extends from the late fourteenth to the sixteenth or early seventeenth century, and has furnished us with the pre-Wyclifite, the Wyclif, and the printed versions of the Bible.

(1) Pre-Wyclifite Translations

Among the pre-Wyclifite translations we may note:

(2) Wyclifite Versions

The Wyclifite versions embrace the earlier and the later version of this name.

The Early Version was probably completed in 1382, the Later Version about 1388 (cf. Madden and Forshall, "The Holy Bible . . . made from the Latin Vulgate by John Wycliffe and his Followers", Oxford, 1850; Gasquet, "The Old English Bible and other Essays", London, 1897, pp. 102 sqq.). It is quite uncertain what part Wyclif himself took in the work that bears his name. As far as the New Testament is concerned, Wyclif's authorship of the Early Version is based on his authorship of the "Commentary on the Gospels", the text of which is said to have been used in the Early Edition; the style of this text is claimed to resemble the style of the translation of the Book of Acts, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse. But the style of the text of the "Commentary" resembles that of the Later Version rather than that of the Early Version; besides, passages from both the Old and the New Testament of the Early Version are quoted in the "Commentary on the Gospels". It would be folly, therefore, not to assign the authorship of the "Commentary" to a time posterior to the Early Edition. As to the Old Testament, the translator's original copy and a coeval transcript are still extant, but both break off at Baruch 3:19, with the words: "explicit translacionem Nicholay de Herford". It is claimed that the similarity of style and mode of translating shows that Nicholas of Herford translated the Old Testament up to Baruch 3:19. It is claimed, furthermore, that the remaining portion of the Old Testament was translated by one hand, the one who made the version of the New Testament. But both these claims rest on very slender evidence. The extant translator's copy is written in not less than five hands, differing in orthography and dialect. Nicholas, therefore, translated at most only the portion ending with Baruch 3:19. Besides, the magnitude of the work renders it most probable that other translators beside Wyclif and Nicholas took part in the work, and that already existing versions were incorporated or utilized by the translators.

The Early Edition was complete indeed, as far as the translators considered the books canonical, but it was soon found lacking in the necessary qualities of style and English idiom. It is at times unintelligible and even nonsensical from a too close adherence to the Latin text. A revision was, therefore, found necessary and taken in hand shortly after the completion of the Early Version. The principles of the work are laid down in the prologue of the so-called Later Version. We do not know either the revisers or the exact date of the revision. John Purvey, the leader of the Lollard party, is generally assumed to have taken a large part in the work. The style and idiom of the Later Version are far superior to those of the Early, and there can be little doubt as to its popularity among the Wyclifites. But the Lollards soon introduced interpolations of a virulent character into their sacred texts; violence and anarchy set in, and the party came to be regarded as enemies of order and disturbers of society. It is small wonder that the ecclesiastical authorities soon convened in the Synod of Oxford (1408) and forbade the publication and reading of unauthorized vernacular versions of the Scriptures, restricting the permission to read the Bible in the vernacular to versions approved by the ordinary of the place, or, if the case so require, by the provincial council.

(3) Printed English Bibles

We are now entering the period of printed English Scriptures. France, Spain, Italy, Bohemia, and Holland possessed the Bible in the vernacular before the accession of Henry VIII; in Germany the Scriptures were printed in 1466, and seventeen editions had left the press before the apostasy of Luther. No part of the English Bible was printed before 1525, no complete Bible before 1535, and none in England before 1538.

(a) William Tyndale was the first to avail himself of the new opportunities furnished by the press and the new learning. Tyndale went early to Oxford, thence to Cambridge; he was ordained priest, and professed among the Franciscan Fathers at Greenwich. In 1524 he went to Hamburg and from there to Wittenberg to visit Luther. Assisted by William Roye, like himself an apostate Franciscan from the monastery at Greenwich, he translated the New Testament, and began to have it printed in Cologne in 1525. Driven from Cologne, he went to Worms where he printed 3000 copies, and sent them to England in the early summer of 1526. The fourth edition was printed at Antwerp (1534). In 1530 Tyndale's Pentateuch was printed, in 1531 his book of Jonas. Between the date of Tyndale's execution, 6 Oct., 1536, and the year 1550 numerous editions of the New Testament were reprinted, twenty-one of which Francis Fry (Biographical Descriptions of the Editions of the New Testament, 1878) enumerates and describes (see Westcott, "Hist. of the English Bible", London, 1905).

(b) Miles Coverdale, born about 1488, educated at the Augustinian monastery at Cambridge, was ordained priest in that order about 1514. After 1528 we find him on the Continent in Tyndale's society. He was favoured by Edward VI, but was imprisoned under Queen Mary in 1553; after obtaining his freedom, he remained on the Continent till the death of Mary, after which he returned to England, and died in February, 1569. He prepared a complete English Bible, the printing of which was finished 4 Oct., 1535. He was the first to omit the deuterocanonical books in the body of the Old Testament, adding them at the end as "apocrypha". His work is a second-hand eclectic translation, based on the Latin and the German versions.

(c) The London booksellers now became alive to the ready sale of the Bible in English; Grafton and Whitchurch were the first to avail themselves of this business opportunity, bringing out in 1537 the so-called Matthew's Bible. Thomas Matthew is an alias for John Rogers, a friend and fellow-worker of Tyndale. The Matthew's Bible is only a compilation of the renderings of Tyndale and Coverdale.

(d) In 1539 the Matthew's Bible was followed by Taverner's edition of the Bible, a work which in our day would be considered a literary "piracy", being nothing more than a revision of the Matthew text. Though Taverner was an accomplished Greek scholar and somewhat of an English purist, his edition had no influence on the subsequent translations.

(e) About 1536 Cromwell had placed Coverdale at the head of the enterprise for bringing out an approved version of the English Bible. The new version was based on the Matthew's Bible. Coverdale consulted in his revision of the Latin Version of the Old Testament with the Hebrew text by Sebastian Münster, the Vulgate, and Erasmus's edition of the Greek for the New Testament. The work was ready for the press in 1538, and the printing was begun at Paris, but had to be transferred to London on 17 December of the same year. In April of the following year the edition was finished, and owing to its size the version was called the Great Bible. Before 1541 six other editions issued from the press.

(f) During the reign of Mary a number of English reformers withdrew to Geneva, the town of Calvin and Beza, and here they issued in 1557 a New Testament with an introduction by Calvin. It was probably the work of William Whittingham, and it was the first English Bible which had its text divided into "verses and sections according to the best editions in other languages".

(g) Whittingham's work was soon superseded by an issue of the whole Bible, which appeared in 1560, the so-called Geneva Bible, also known as the Breeches Bible from its rendering of Genesis 3:7, "they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves breeches". The Old Testament represented the text of the Great Bible thoroughly revised with the help of the Hebrew original and other sources, while the New Testament consisted of Tyndale's latest text revised in accordance with Beza's translation and commentary. The handy form and other attractive features of the work rendered it so popular that between 1560 and 1644 at least 140 editions were published.

(h) After the accession of Elizabeth an attempt was made to improve the authorized Great Bible and thus to counteract the growing popularity of the Calvinistic Geneva Bible. Bishop Parker divided the whole Bible into parcels, and distributed them among bishops and other learned men for revision. The resultant version was ready for publication on 5 October, 1568, and became generally known as the Bishops' Bible. Several editions were afterwards published, and the Great Bible ceased to be reprinted in 1569, excepting its Psalter which was introduced into the Bishops' Bible in 1572, and admitted exclusively in 1585. The Bishops' Bible is noted for its inequality in style and general merit; it could not replace the Geneva Bible in the English home.

(i) In October, 1578, Gregory Martin, assisted chiefly by William (later Cardinal) Allen, Richard Bristow, Thomas Worthington, and William Reynolds began the work of preparing an English translation of the Bible for Catholic readers. Dr. Martin rendered into English one or two chapters every day; the others then revised, criticised, and corrected the translation. Thus the New Testament was published at Reims in 1582 with a preface and explanatory notes. The notes were written chiefly by Bristow, Allen, and Worthington. The Old Testament was published at Douai (1609-10) through the efforts of Dr. Worthington, then superior of the seminary. The translation had been prepared before the appearance of the New Testament, but the publication was delayed "for lack of good means" and "our poor estate in banishment". The religious adherence to the Latin text is the reason of the less elegant and idiomatic words and phrases found in the translation. The original Douai Version has undergone so many revisions that "scarcely any verse remains as it was originally published". Dr. Challoner probably merits the credit of being the principal reviser of the Douai Version (1749-50); among the many other revisers we may mention Archbishop Kenrick, Dr. Lingard, Dr. John Gilmary Shea.

(j) The Reims Version had its influence on the Authorized Version, which was begun in 1604 and published in 1611 (see Carleton, "The Part of the Reims in the Making of the English Bible", Oxford, 1902). The work was distributed among six committees of scholars, the Bishops' Bible being taken as the basis to work on. A body of rules was drawn up which contained both a scheme of revision and general directions for the execution of their work. The actual work of revision occupied about two years and nine months, and an additional nine months were required for the final preparation of the press. But even after its publication in 1611 deliberate changes were introduced silently and without authority by men whose very names are often unknown.

(k) In February, 1870, the Convocation of Canterbury appointed a committee to consider the subject of an authorized revision of the Authorized Version. After the report of the committee had been presented in May and had been adopted, two companies were formed for the revision of the Old and the New Testaments respectively. The members of each company were partly appointed, partly invited. The revision of the New Testament was completed in 407 meetings, distributed over more than ten years, and was finally presented to Convocation on 17 May, 1881; the revision of the Old Testament occupied 792 days, and was finished on 20 June, 1884. The revised Apocrypha did not appear until 1895. At first the work of the revisers satisfied neither the advanced nor the conservative party, but in course of time it has grown steadily in popularity.