Sage-Tips

How many languages and dialects has the Bible been translated into?

The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. As of September 2020 the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,551 languages and Bible portions or stories into 1,160 other languages.

Who translated the Bible into different languages?

But it was the work of the scholar William Tyndale, who from 1525 to 1535 translated the New Testament and part of the Old Testament, that became the model for a series of subsequent English translations.

What happened to the translators of the Bible?

In March 2016, four Bible translators working for an American evangelical organisation were killed by militants in an undisclosed location in the Middle East. Bible translations, then, may appear to be a harmless activity.

Why was it so difficult to translate the Bible into the vernacular language?

The Bible is addressed to a huge variety of people and was written for different ‘uses’ e.g. listening, reading etc. This makes the Bible hard to translate since it is very difficult—for some people impossible—to transfer all these features from the Source Languages into the Target Language.

How many times has the Bible been translated before English?

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Partial Bible translations into languages of the English people can be traced back to the late 7th century, including translations into Old and Middle English. More than 100 complete translations into English have been written.

Who was the first person to translate the entire Bible into English?

William Tyndale (1494?-1536), who first translated the Bible into English from the original Greek and Hebrew text, is one such forgotten pioneer. As David Daniell, the author of the latest biography of Tyndale, writes, “William Tyndale gave us our English Bible” and “he made a language for England.”

What happened to the man who translated the Bible into English?

Condemned for heresy, he was executed by strangulation and then burned at the stake at Vilvoorde in 1536.

Who started the trend of translating the Bible into English?

William Tyndale
William Tyndale (1494?-1536), who first translated the Bible into English from the original Greek and Hebrew text, is one such forgotten pioneer. As David Daniell, the author of the latest biography of Tyndale, writes, “William Tyndale gave us our English Bible” and “he made a language for England.”

What effect did translating the Bible into the vernacular have?

The many vernacular Bible translations at this time made it possible for the common people in England, Germany, France, and Switzerland to read or have the Bible read to them in their own language. No longer would the elitist class of priests be the only ones in possession of the truth of the Word of God.

Why did Erasmus translate the Bible?

Erasmus decided in 1515 to offer a new edition of the New Testament to the Christian Europe of his time. Deeply inspired by this text, and seeking to bring about the rebirth of apostolic times, those blessed times of Christianity, he wanted to correct the Vulgate more so than offer a new translation of the work.