Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, first edition - Volume I, A-B.pdf/660

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XXX (550) XXX

BIB (5 50 ) BIB dedicated to the emperor Charles V. by Francis Enzinas, Siuedifl) Bible. In 1534 Okus and Laurence pubotherwife called Driander, in 1543. The firft Bible lilhed a Swedilh Bible from the German verfion of Marwhich was printed in Spanifh for the ufe of the Jews, tin Luther. It was revifed in 1617, by order of king was that printed at Ferrara in 1553, in Gothic charac- Guftavus Adolphus, and was afterwards almoft univerters, and dedicated to Hercules d’Eft duke of Ferrara. fally followed. This verfion is very ancient, and was probably in ufe Bohemian, Polijh, Ruffian or Mufcovite, and Sclaamong the Jews of Spain before Ferdinand and Ifabella vonian Bibles. The Bohemians have a Bible tranfexpelled them out of their dominions in 1492. lated by eight of their doftors, whom they had fent to German Bible. The firft and moft ancient tranfla- the fchools of Wittemberg and Bafil, on purpofe to ftudy tion of the Bible in the German language, is that of Ul- the original languages. It was printed in Moravia in the philas oiftiop of the Goths, about the year 360. This year 1539. The firft Polilh verfion of the Bible, it is bifhop left out the books of Kings, which treat chiefly of faid,,was that compofed by Hadewich wife of Jagellon, war, left it ftiould too imsch encourage the martial hu- duke of Lithuania, who embraced Chriftianity in the year mour of the Goths. An imperfedt manufcript of this 1390. In 1599, there was a Polilh tranflation of the verfion was found in the abbey of Verden near Cologn, Bible publilhed at Cracow, which was the work of fewritten in letters of filver, for which reafon it is called veral Divines of that nation, and in which James Wieck, Codex Argenteus ; and it was publiftied by Francis Junius a Jefuit, had a principal lhare. The Proteftants, in 1596-, in 1665. The oldeft German printed Bible extant, is publilhed a Poliih Bible from Luther’s German verfion, that of Nuremberg, printed in 1447; but who the au- and dedicated it to Uladiflaus IV. king of Poland. The thor of it was, is uncertain. John Emzer, chaplain to Ruflians or Mufcovites publilhed the Bible in their lanGeorge duke of Saxony, publilhed a verfion of the New guage in 1581. It was tranflated from the Greek by Teftament in oppofition to Luther. There is a German St Cyril, the apoftle of the Sclavonians; but this old Bible of John Eckius in 1537, with Emzer’s New Te- verfion being too obfcure, Erneft Gliik, who had been ftament added to it; and one by Ulembergius of Weft- carried prifoner to Mofcow after the taking of Narva, phalia, procured by Ferdinand duke of Bavaria, and undertook a new tranflation of the Bible in the Sclavoprinted in 1630. Martin Luther, having employed ele- vonian ; who dying in 1705, the Czar Peter appointed ven years in tranflating the Old and New Teftament, fome particular divines to finilh the tranflation : But whepublifhed the Pentateuch in 1522, the hiftorical books ther it Was ever printed, we cannot fay. and the Pfalms in 15:24, the books of Solomon in 1527, Englijh-Saxon, and modern Englijh Bibles. If we Ifaiah in 1529, the Prophets in 1531, and the other inquire into the verfions of the Bible of our own country, books in 1530: He publilhed the New Teftament in 1522. we Ihall find that Adelm bilhop of Sherburn, who lived The learned agree, that his language is pure, and the in 709, made an Englilh-Saxon verfion of the Pfalms; verfion clear,, and free from intricacies: It was revifed and that Eadfrid, or Ecbert, bilhop of Lindisferne, by feveral perfons of quality, who were mafters of all who lived about the year 7 30, tranftated feveral of tire delicacies of the German language. The German the books of fcripture into the fame language. It is Bibles which have been printed in Saxony, Switzerland, faid likewife, that venerable Bede, who died in 785, and elfewhere, are for the moft part the fame as that of tranflated the whole Bible into Saxon. But CuthLuther, with very little variation. In 1604. John Pif- bert, Bede’s difciple, in the enumeration of his mafter’s cator publilhed a verfion of the Bible in German, taken works, fpeaks only of his tranflation of the Gofpel; and from that of Junius andTremellius: But his turn of ex- lays nothing of the reft of the Bible. Some pretend, preflion is purely Latin, and not at all agreeable to the that king Alfred, who lived in 890, tranflated a great genius' of the German language: The Anabaptifts have part of the fcriptures. We find an old verfion in the a German Bible printed at Worms in 1529. John Crel- Anglo-Saxon of feveral books of the Bible, made by Ellius publilhed his verfion of the New Teftament at Ra- fric abbot of Malmelbury : It was publilhed at Oxford, covia in 1630; andFelbinger his,.at Amfterdam, in 1660. in 1699. There is an old Anglo-Saxon verfion of the Ftemijh Bible. TheFlemilh Bibles of theRomanifts four Gofpels, publilhed by Matthew Parker, archbilhop are very numerous, and for the moft part have no au- of Canterbury, in 1571, the author whereof is unknown. thor’s name prefixed to them, till that of Nicolas Vinck, Dr Mill obferves, that this verfion was made from a Laprinted at Lovain in 1548. The Flemilh verfions made tin copy of the old Vulgate. ufe of by the Calvinifts till the year 1637, were copied As to the Englilh verfions of the Bible, the moft anprincipally from that of Luther. But the fynod of Dort cient is that of John de Trevifa, a fecular prieft, who having in 1618 appointed a new tranflation of the Bible tranflated the Old and New Teftament into Englilh, at into Flemilh, deputies were named for the work, which the requeft of Thomas lord Berkley: He lived in the was not finilhed till the year 1637. reign of Richard II. and finilhed his tranflation in the Danijh Bible.. The firft Danilh Bible was publilhed year 1357. The fecond author, who undertook this by Peter Palladius, Olaus Ghryfoftom, John Synningius, work, was the famous Wickliff, who lived in the reigns and John Maccabseus, in 1550, in which they followed of Edward III. and Richard II. The manufcript of his Luther’s firft German verfion. There are two other ver- verfion is in feveral libraries in England. In the year fiohs, the one by John Paul Refenius bilhop of Zealand, 1534, an Englilh verfion of the Bible, done partly by in 1605 ; the other, being the New Teftament only, by Willi,am Tindal, and partly by Miles Coverdale, was brought John Michel, in 1524.