UHUMIYA, or ASSAMESE. যিবিলাক্ লৌক্ অনুকাৰ বহিছিল সেই৷ বিলাকে মহা পহৰ দেখিবলৈ পাইছে যিবিলাক্ মূহুৰ্ দেশ থাৰু ছাঁৎ বহিল্ সেই বিলাকৰ ওচৰৎ পহৰ প্ৰজ্বলি হইছে BURMESE. ဌာဗူလန်ပြည်။ နဖ်ဘာလိမ်ပြာ၏အစွန်တို့တွင်ပင်လ ယ်အနီးရှိသောကာဖင်နခမ်မြိုင့်၌နေရာပြည့် တော်မူ ရလေ၏။ BULOCHA, or BULOSHEE. میجی آبند فات من تہاری یا نشنگ بیننت دایانا تے مزنی شروگ چاریت دگر مریت نا هلكين و من سايكا نشتگا مان زیبا شهم ظاهر شنگ * CHINESE VERSION. MOVEABLE METAL TYPES. TEXT. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. KURNATA, or CANARESE. గాలిలియ యజ్ఞమంది శక్తీ లియల్లి హరిద్దరిణ అవరు దడ్డ బిళశునన్ను నడిదరు యారు మృ త్యువినదికదల్లి సరళినల్లి హూరిద్దరి FAC-SIMILES OF SPECIMENS OF VERSIONS OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, IN THE Eastern Languages, PRINTED AT THE EXPENSE OF THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY, AND OF THE CALCUTTA AUXILIARY SOCIETY. TEXT.-"The people that sat in darkness saw great light: and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.' HINDOOSTANHEE VERSION, IN THE PERSIAN CHARACTER. MATT. iv. 16. امین لوگوں نے جو اندھیرے میں بیٹھے تھے بڑی روشنی دیکھی اور اُن پر جو موت کے ملک اور سایہ میں بیٹے تھے نور حلوہ گر ہوا PERSIAN. ان خلق که در ظلمت نشسته بودند نور عظمي را مشاهده نمودند و برانکسان که در مترو ظلال مرک ساكن بودند روشني تابید TAMUL. ஒருளிலிருக்குஞ் சனம பெரிய வெளிச்சத்தைக் கணடுது மானத்தின் திசையிலும் நிழலிலு மிரு கிறவர்களுக்கு வெளிசச முதித்து தெனறான. CINGALESE. අඳුරෙහි උන් දනන් හත්ව එලියක් දුටුහ තවද මරනෙ රටේද චයාවේද උන් ඇයට එලියක් උදාඋනේය. ARABIC. الناس الجلوس في الظلام فقد راو ضياء عظيها والجا نسون في ضلع الهوت وظله اضاء عليهم ضياء * MALAY, IN ROMAN CHARACTERS. KHawm' itu jang dûdolh pada kalàm, fudah melîhat fawâtu taràng jang besàr: dan bagi fegala 'awrang jang dûdolh pada tânah dan bajarg mawt itu, taràng pawn sudah terbit bagînja. MALAY, IN ARABIC CHARACTERS. TEXT." And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in GEN. iv. 16. مانی گلور اه قاین در ها داقی حضرت کو دودقله ی دینو نود دلیله تیر در عیدن § 5. MODERN VERSIONS IN THE LANGUAGES OF AFRICA. The version in the ecclesiastical or antient language of Ethiopia, noticed in the first part of this Volume, being confined to the churches, and understood by few comparatively besides the clergy, M. Asselin de Cherville, French consul at Cairo, was induced to undertake a version of the entire Bible in the Amharic, the royal 1 In Ludolph's Grammatica Linguæ Amharica (pp. 54,55), there is an Amharic translation, by Abba Gregorius, of thirteen verses of the eleventh chapter of Saint Luke's Gospel. dialect spoken at the court of Gondar, which is the dialect prevalent in the eastern parts of Africa bordering on the equator, and through which a considerable intercourse is maintained between the natives of Abyssinia and the Arabians and Negroes of the interior. For ten years M. Asselin employed an intelligent Ethiopian, named Abu-Rumi (who had been the interpreter of Mr. Bruce in Abyssinia, and the teacher of Sir William Jones in India), on this important work, to which he devoted two entire days in every week. In order to ensure correctness, he read with this person, slowly, and with the utmost attention, every verse of the sacred volume in the Arabic version, which they were about to translate. M. Asselin then explained to him all those words which were either abstruse, difficult, or foreign to the Arabic, by the help of the Hebrew original, the Syriac version, or the Septuagint, and also of some commentaries. After they finished the translation of one book, they collated it once more before they proceeded further. This version was purchased for the British and Foreign Bible Society by the Rev. Mr. Jowett; who undertook a voyage into Egypt from Malta, for the express purpose of completing the purchase. The printing of the four Gospels in Amharic and in Ethiopic, in two separate volumes, was commenced in 1822, under the editorial care of the Rev. Dr. Lee, professor of Hebrew in the university of Cambridge, and completed in 1824, under the superintendence of T. P. Platt, Esq. The Acts and Epistles were completed in 1828; the Book, of Genesis, in 1831; the Psalms, in 1832; and the entire Bible in 1838.1 During Mr. Jowett's residence in Egypt, in 1819, he employed the late Mr. Nathaniel Pearce, who had lived many years in Ethiopia; and who commenced a translation of the Gospels into the Tigré, the vernacular dialect of the extensive province of Tigré. The Gospels of Mark and John have been completed, together with a version of the Gospel of Mark, in Amharic, which is now superseded by the more accurate entire Amharic version of M. Asselin. These three versions are in the possession of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 2. Berber Version. A translation of the Gospel of Saint Luke into the Berber language (which is spoken by a very numerous tribe in North Africa) was made by Mr. Hattersley; and copies of the first twelve chapters have been printed, and sent to different individuals in the districts where this language is spoken, with a view of ascertaining the merits of the version.3 3. Bullom Version. The Bulloms are a numerous people on the western coast of Africa, among whom the missionaries sent out by the Church Missionary Society laboured for several years. Into the language of this people, the four Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, have been translated by the Rev. G. R. Nylander, a distinguished labourer in the service of that Society. The Gospel of Saint Matthew was printed, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in 1816.5 4. Susoo Version. The Susoos are also a numerous tribe on the western coast of Africa, in the vicinity of Sierra Leone; among whom the same Society's missionaries laboured for several years. By these missionaries the four Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and other parts of the New Testament, together with several books of the Old Testament, 1 Twenty-eighth Report, p. lxxvi. 2 Sixteenth Report of the Bible Mediterranean, pp. 197-213. Twenty-ninth Report, p. lxxii. Society, p. 169. Jowett's Christian Researches in the Twenty-eighth Report, p. lxxii. Twenty-ninth Report, p. lxxiv. 4 The Rev. Mr. Nylander has also rendered an additional service to such of the Bulloms as have embraced the Christian faith, by translating select portions of the Liturgy of the Anglican church into their vernacular language. These were printed in Bullom, and in Roman characters (that people having no characters of their own), in 1816, at the expense of the Prayer-book and Homily Society. 5 Owen's Hist. vol. iii. p. 126. have been translated into the Susoo language. But their further benevolent and pious labours were suspended among the Susoos and the Bulloms, by the revival of the nefarious slave-trade on those coasts. 5. Malagassé Version. A translation of the Scriptures into the Malagassé, or language of the island of Madagascar, was made by the Missionaries resident on that island. The New Testament was printed in 1830. The printing of the Old Testament was completed in 1833: but the Government of the country, under the auspices of the Queen, having proscribed Christianity, caused all Christian books and tracts to be burnt, in 1836. All further circulation of the sacred volume has been suspended, and the Christians most cruelly persecuted. 1 1 6. Mandingo Version. Issal'-Anjilo Kila Matti ye men safe. Mandingo Kangoto. London, 1837. 12mo. The Gospel of St. Matthew was translated into the Mandingo language, (which is spoken on the western coast of Africa) under the superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Macbrair." 7. South African Versions. The Gospel of Saint Luke has been translated into the Bechuana (or Sichuana) language by the Rev. Mr. Moffatt, and the four Gospels into the Namacqua language by the Rev. Mr. Schmelin. They have been printed at Cape Town: and the entire New Testament, besides great part of the Old, has been translated and printed in the Caffre language. § 6. MODERN VERSIONS IN THE Languages of America. [i.] NORTH AMERICAN VERSIONS. Although the multiplicity of dialects spoken by the Indian tribes of North America seemed to interpose an insuperable bar to the labours of those benevolent individuals who were desirous of communicating the Scriptures to them; yet this obstacle has been diminished by the discovery, that so close an affinity subsists among them, that a young unlettered Indian, of good capacity, can (it is said) make himself master of them all. The following are the dialects into which the whole or part of the Bible has been translated: 1. Virginian Indian Version. The Virginian Bible was translated by the Rev. John Eliot, who has justly been denominated the Apostle to the Indians, from his unwearied labours to diffuse the blessings of Christianity among them. The New Testament was published in 1661. The title-page states, that it was "ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies in New England, at the charge, and with the consent of the Corporation in England, for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Indians in New Twenty-eighth Report, p. lxxvi. Twenty-ninth 1 Twenty-seventh Report, p. lx. Report, pp. lxx. lxxi. Thirty-second Report, pp. lxv. lvi. Thirty-fourth Report, p. lxxxiii. 2 Thirty-fourth Report, p. 91. Twenty-eighth Report, p. lxxiv. Twenty-ninth Report, p. lxiii. Thirty-fourth Report, p. lxxxix. |