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 VERSIONS

374

VERSIONS

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 Inghs (1878).

Battak Versions. — A New Testament for the Bat- taks of Sumatra was made in the Toba dialect by Nommensen (Elberfeld, 1878) ; another by Schreiber, revised by Lcipoldt, was made in the Mandeling dia- leet (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 (183.3-44). Revisions of both Testaments were made by Wenger (1873) and by others.

Chinese Versions. — Among earher translations is a version of St. Matthew by Anger, a Japanese Chris- tian (Goa, 1.548). The .Jesuit Father de Mailla wrote an explanation of the Go.'^pels 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 Protest- ant use was the work of Lassar and Marshman (Ser- ampur, 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 Hodg.son; the whole was published at Malacca (1823; new edition, 1834). A company of Protestant mis- sionaries gave out a new translation of the New Testa- ment in 1850 and of the whole Bible in 1855 at Shang- hai and Hong-Kong. This, which was the generally adopted version, came out in a new edition at Shang- hai (1873). An Old Testament in the Mandarin col- loquial dialect was made by Schereschewsky and pub- lished at Pekin (1875). These translations in general are unsatisfactory.

Gipsy 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. — \ version of St. John's Gospel and of the Acts was edited in kalnkana (square type) at Singapore (1836) by Charles Gutzlaff. The four Gospels and the Acts were put forth in a very imper- fect hiragana (round tjT)e) version at Vienna (1872) by Bettleheim, who was aided by an American stu- dent 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 P^ri and Steichen, aided by a native litteratevr, M. Takahashi- goro.

Javanese Version. — Gottlob Briickner pubhshed 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 un- dertaking in Mexico was a version of the Gospels and Epistles in 1579 by Didacus de S. IMaria, O.P., and the Book of Proverbs by Louis Rodriguez, 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 ^Iaximus of Kallipoli was pub- lished 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).

ViGonHoux, Diet, de la Bible (Paris, 1895) : Cornelt. Hislorica et crit. introd. in libros saeros (Paris. 1885) ; GinoT, Gen. Introd. to the Study of the Holy Script. (New York. 1901) : Bbiggs. Gen. Introd. to the Study of Holy Script. (New York. 1899) ; Davidsox. Treatise on Bibl. Criticism (Boston, 1853); S.^UL, Das Bibel- studium im Prediger Orden in Der Katholik, XXVII (Mainz, Oct. and Nov., 1902); Nestle. Vrtext und Uebersetzungen der Bibel (Leipzig, 1897); Marsh, Hist, of the Translations. ., of the Scriptures from the earliest to the present age (London, 1812); Schroder, Thesaurus ling, armenica (Amsterdam, 1711); Hrv-ERNAT, Elude sur les versions copies de la Bible in Rerue biblique. III, IV, 6, 1 ; Whittakeb, Hist, and Crit. Inquiry into the Interpretations of the Hebr. Script. (London. 1819-20); Swete, Introd. to the Old Test, in Greek (Cambridge, 1900); Hodt, De bibliorum textibus originalibus, rersioyiibus gracis, et latina Vul- gata (Oxford, 1705) ; Ziegler, Die lateinische BibelUbersetzungen vor Hieronymus (Munich, 1879); Sabatier, Bibliorum sarr. latino: vers, antiq. seu Vetus Itala (Reims, 1739-49); Wiseman, Two letters on I John, v. 7, in Essays. I (London, 1853); Ronsch. Itala und Vulgata (Marburg. 1869) ; BrRKlTT. The Old Latin and Itala in Texts and Studies (Cambridge, 1896); KArLEN, Gesch. der Vulgata (Mainz, 1868) ; Berger. Hist, de la Vulgate (Paris, 1893); Rerue biblique (1893), 307, 544; (1903), 633; (1908), 159, treats of the Vulgate; LAGARnE, Probe einer neuen Ausgabe der latein. Uebersetzungen des .ilten Testaments (1870); Batiffol, Chrysostome et la version gothique in Rev. biblique, VI (1899), 566-72; Westcott and Hoht, New Test. (Cambridge, 1882). introduction; Kehrein, Gesch. der deutschcn Bibelabersetzutigin vor Luther (Stuttgart, 1851); W.'^hTuiiR, Die Bibeliibersetzung irn Mittelaller (Brunswick. 1889-92) ; Hinlapen, Hist, van den AVrfrr/. Overzetlinge des Bybels (Leyden. 1777); Reid, Bibtiotheca scoto- ceUica (Glasgow, 1833); The Bible in Every Land (London, 1860). (See also Manuscripts of the Bible.)

A. L. McMahon.

English Versions. — ^^"hat 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 Ca^dmon'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 C:rdmon. The English work in Bible study of the following nine centuries may be conve- niently divided into three periods comprising three centuries each.

A. 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, i, 1-vi, 9; (2) interlinear glosses on the P.salms; (3) the Paris Psalter; (4) the so-called Lindisfarne Gospels; (5) the Rushworth version; (6) the West-Saxon Gospels; (7) ^Ifric'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

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