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GloriaDeo
Guest
I seriously don’t know the answer to this. Which version of the Bible was the first English-language used? And wouldn’t that make all the rest (except for the Amplified) based on the first one?
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S
squirt
Guest
Here’s a link about the Douay-Rheims English translation that you might find interesting. (It wasn’t the first translation.)
newadvent.org/cathen/05140a.htm
Anyway, you’ll see that it was a translation from the Latin Vulgate. More recent versions have gone back to the original Hebrew and Greek, leading to some revisions, as a translation of a translation can be problematic.
Many current English translations are by groups of scholars, based on Hebrew and Greek texts.
newadvent.org/cathen/05140a.htm
Anyway, you’ll see that it was a translation from the Latin Vulgate. More recent versions have gone back to the original Hebrew and Greek, leading to some revisions, as a translation of a translation can be problematic.
Many current English translations are by groups of scholars, based on Hebrew and Greek texts.
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Pax
Guest
You might want to read Henry Graham’s book, Where We Got The Bible. It is quite informative and will answer many more questions than just your present inquiry.
As far as English translations are concerned the following is the basic outline:
1st complete Catholic ‘‘modern’’ english translation was the Douay Rheims NT 1582, OT 1610.
The English Language as we know it today did not emerge as a definite language until the 15th century.
King James version was first published in 1610. The seven dueterocanonical books were included at the back of the 1610 edition and there was a penalty of one year in prison if a KJV bible was printed without these books.
Reformation began in 1517
Wyclif’s was a pre-Ref.
Old English translation written around 1380.
Aelfric, Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury from 994 to1005, translated 1st seven books and the Book of Job into old English.
Between 721 and 901, various writers (i.e. Bede, Eadfrith, Alcuin, and King Alfred are believed to have translated parts or all of the bible into ‘‘Old English.’’
As far as English translations are concerned the following is the basic outline:
1st complete Catholic ‘‘modern’’ english translation was the Douay Rheims NT 1582, OT 1610.
The English Language as we know it today did not emerge as a definite language until the 15th century.
King James version was first published in 1610. The seven dueterocanonical books were included at the back of the 1610 edition and there was a penalty of one year in prison if a KJV bible was printed without these books.
Reformation began in 1517
Wyclif’s was a pre-Ref.
Old English translation written around 1380.
Aelfric, Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury from 994 to1005, translated 1st seven books and the Book of Job into old English.
Between 721 and 901, various writers (i.e. Bede, Eadfrith, Alcuin, and King Alfred are believed to have translated parts or all of the bible into ‘‘Old English.’’
C
copland
Guest
I do believe that the first was done by John Wycliffe. He made a horrible NT translation from the Latin Vulgate (1380’s). William Tydale made a translation of the NT from Erasmus’s Greek text(shabby Greek text!) in 1526.
But what alot of people don;t understand is that the world of ancient Greek manuscripts has evolved and we have better manuscripts to work with now then ever for translating the Bible into English. Some of the main differences between translations are simply the different readings among ancient manuscripts, which is really not much difference at all, only 2.8%.
The greatest manuscript discoveries happened in the 1800’s and 1900’s, thanks to archelology. We have manuscripts NT manuscripts that date back to 120AD compared to 10th century manuscripts as the oldest used by the KJV translators. The date of an English translation does not mean that it is closer to the original, actually the opposite. Today we have much older manuscripts to work with then at any point in time where attempts were made to make an English translation of the Bible.
As for the OT, today we have the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in 1947. And they go as far back as 200BC. At least a 1000 years further then any ancient manuscript used by any other who attempted to make an English translation. And also our understanding of these ancient dialects have gotten better within the last 60-70 years!
But what alot of people don;t understand is that the world of ancient Greek manuscripts has evolved and we have better manuscripts to work with now then ever for translating the Bible into English. Some of the main differences between translations are simply the different readings among ancient manuscripts, which is really not much difference at all, only 2.8%.
The greatest manuscript discoveries happened in the 1800’s and 1900’s, thanks to archelology. We have manuscripts NT manuscripts that date back to 120AD compared to 10th century manuscripts as the oldest used by the KJV translators. The date of an English translation does not mean that it is closer to the original, actually the opposite. Today we have much older manuscripts to work with then at any point in time where attempts were made to make an English translation of the Bible.
As for the OT, today we have the Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in 1947. And they go as far back as 200BC. At least a 1000 years further then any ancient manuscript used by any other who attempted to make an English translation. And also our understanding of these ancient dialects have gotten better within the last 60-70 years!
B
Bernard_Jones
Guest
Don’t forget that King Alfred the Great commissioned a translation into English in the late ninth century. Don’t let anyone tell you that the Dark Ages were all dark!
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agname
Guest
Hi Gloria…I seriously don’t know the answer to this. Which version of the Bible was the first English-language used? And wouldn’t that make all the rest (except for the Amplified) based on the first one?
The oldest copy of the Bible that we possess…due to the ravages of time…(if I remember correctly) is the Codex Vaticanus (~ 325 A.D.)…which resides in the Vatican. Then there is the Codex Sinaiticus (~ 350 A.D.) and the Codex Alexandrinus(~ 400 A.D.) which reside in the British Museum.
~ 400 A.D…St. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin. As a matter of fact…the translators of the 1611 KJV called St. Jerome, “a most learned father, and the best linguist without controversy, of his age, or of any that went before him.”
The oldest version of the Bible in English… was the John Wycliffe version (~1380).
If you’re interested in purchasing a Bible…I recommend the following…
tanbooks.com/index.php/page/shop:flypage/product_id/644/
It’s the English version based upon the Latin Vulgate.
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