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A Bible society is a non-profit organization (usually ecumenical in makeup) devoted to translating, publishing and distributing the Bible at affordable costs. Traditionally Bible Society editions contain Scripture, without any notes or commentary; but in recent decades this principle has been relaxed somewhat, and such editions typically have at least some notes on alternate translations of words, or variations in the different available manuscripts. The word ecumenical comes from a Greek word that means pertaining to the whole world. ...
Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language—the source text—and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language—the target text, also called the translation. ...
The word Bible refers to the canonical collections of sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. ...
History of Bible production
The Bible has engaged the attention of the leaders of Christendom from early times. In an extant letter, dated 331, Emperor Constantine requested Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, to provide him with fifty copies of the Old and New Testaments for use in the principal churches in Constantinople. In 797, Charlemagne commissioned Alcuin to prepare an emended text of the Vulgate; multiple copies of this text were created, not always accurately, in the famous writing schools at Tours. This T-and-O map, which abstracts the known world to a cross inscribed within an orb, remakes geography in the service of Christian iconography. ...
Extant means still existing. It is the opposite of extinct, and can be applied to species, cultures and works of culture (e. ...
Head of Constantines colossal statue at Musei Capitolini Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus[1] (February 27, 272–May 22, 337), commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or (among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic[2] Christians) Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops on...
Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (c. ...
The Archbishop of Caesarea was one of the major suffragans of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem during the crusades. ...
Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ...
John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ...
St. ...
A portrait of Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer that was painted several centuries after Charlemagnes death. ...
Rabanus Maurus (left), supported by Alcuin (middle), presents his work to Otgar of Mainz Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus or Ealhwine (c. ...
The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century translation of the Bible into Latin made by St. ...
Tours is a city in France, the préfecture (capital city) of the Indre-et-Loire département, on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. ...
The first book printed in Europe was the Latin Bible, and Copinger estimates that 124 editions of the Vulgate had been issued by the end of the 15th century. The Italian Bible was printed a dozen times before 1500, and eighteen editions of the German Bible had already been published before Martin Luther's version appeared. Accompanying the Protestant Reformation, there was a marked increase in interest in the scriptures. Notwithstanding the oppositional attitude adopted by the Roman Catholic Church at and after the Council of Trent (1545-1563), the translation and circulation of the Bible were undertaken with greater zeal, and in a more systematic fashion. World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ...
Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...
(14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ...
Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ...
The Protestant Reformation was a movement in the 16th century to reform the Catholic Church in Western Europe. ...
Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...
The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and...
The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ...
Most Protestants have in common the principle of sola scriptura, and many believe that distributing affordable or free copies of the Bible is an effective part of evangelism this makes Bible Societies an attractive form of common action for Christians who take the Bible seriously. Sola scriptura (Latin ablative, by scripture alone) is the assertion that the Bible as Gods written word is self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter (Scripture interprets Scripture), and sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine. ...
The Four Evangelists, by Jakob Jordaens It has been suggested that Christian evangelism be merged into this article or section. ...
History of the Bible Societies The modern Bible Society movement dates back to the foundation of the British & Foreign Bible Society in 1804 when a group of Christians sought to address the problem of a lack of affordable Bibles in Welsh for Welsh-speaking Christians. This was highlighted by a young girl called Mari Jones who walked over 20 miles to get a Bible in Bala. For other persons of the same name, see Mary Jones. ...
Although perceived as Protestant, from the early days the British and Foreign Bible Society sought to be ecumenical and included groups such as Catholics and Unitarians, and from 1813 allowed inclusion of the Apocrypha. As a reaction to this broad-minded ecumenism the Trinitarian Bible Society was founded in 1831 for people who preferred a narrower strictly Trinitarian doctrine and strictly Protestant canon. Even so Catholics would seldom officially participate in or endorse vernacular translations until Vatican II in the 1960s. The British and Foreign Bible Society, known as Bible Society, is a Christian charity that exists to make the Bible heard throughout the world. ...
The Trinitarian Bible Society was founded in 1831 to promote the Glory of God and the salvation of men by circulating, both at home and abroad, in dependence on the Divine blessing, the Holy Scriptures, which are given by inspiration of God and are able to make men wise unto...
The British & Foreign Bible Society extended its work to England, India, Europe and beyond. Auxiliary branches were set up all over the world which later became Bible Societies in their own right. Today the United Bible Societies co-ordinates the work of these separate Bible Societies. Each Bible Society is a non-denominational Christian network which works to translate, revise, print, and distribute affordable Bibles in their own land, according to the demands of all the churches in that land. Nowadays Bible Societies print Bibles according to the canons of the countries they are in e.g. Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox, and ecumenical or inter-confessional versions. Today Bible Societies work with other Christian agencies and Bible translations are done on an ecumenical basis.
In the United States, Bible societies flourished in the first half of the 19th century. In addition to the American Bible Society, a number of state and regional Bible Societies were established prior to the Civil War and remain active to this day distributing Bibles and other literature to prisons, hospitals and shelters. Most of these regional societies are affiliated with the National Association of State and Regional Bible Societies The oldest Bible Society in the Uniteds States is the Philadelphia Bible Society, founded in 1808. The Bible society movement spread west as far as Chicago where the Chicago Bible Society was founded in 1840, making it only five years older than the city itself.
Catholicism and the Bible Societies Catholics traditionally believed that the Bible cannot be reliably interpreted without the aid of the tradition of Catholic Church teachings. Prior to Vatican II which authorised ecumenical Bible translations, Catholics were suspicious of vernacular Bible translations not compiled by Catholics with a good (Catholic) commentary.
Historically, opposition by Catholic bishops to Bible translation had been particularly strong in Latin America and in Quebec. These reasons led Pope Leo XII to condemn the work of Bible Societies in Ubi Primum (1824): Pope Leo XII (August 22, 1760 – February 10, 1829), born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829. ...
"...to allow holy Bibles in the ordinary language... would on account of human rashness cause more harm than good" Pope Pius IX in Qui Pluribus (1846) repeated and expanded on his predecessors reasoning. The Societa di San Geronimo was a Catholic Bible society which distributed Catholic translations of the Gospels in Italian. Blessed Pope Pius IX (May 13, 1792 – February 7, 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from his election in June 16, 1846, until his death more than 31 years later in 1878, making him the longest-reigning Pope since the Apostle St. ...
Full quote from Ubi Primum to show how often the Catholic Church is misrepresented by those who try to destroy her.
You have noticed a society, commonly called the Bible society, boldly spreading throughout the whole world. Rejecting the traditions of the holy Fathers and infringing the well-known decree of the Council of Trent,[16] it works by every means to have the holy Bible translated, or rather mistranslated, into the ordinary languages of every nation. There are good reasons for fear that (as has already happened in some of their commentaries and in other respects by a distorted interpretation of Christ's gospel) they will produce a gospel of men, or what is worse, a gospel of the devil! In virtue of Our apostolic office, We too exhort you to try every means of keeping your flock from those deadly pastures. Do everything possible to see that the faithful observe strictly the rules of our Congregation of the Index. Convince them that to allow holy Bibles in the ordinary language, wholesale and without distinction, would on account of human rashness cause more harm than good.
20. Experience also shows that this is true, and aside from other Fathers, St. Augustine states it in the following words: "Heresies and other wicked teachings which ensnare souls and cast them into the deep, arise only when the good scriptures are badly understood and when what is not well understood in them is affirm, d with daring rashness.[18]
21. Such is the object of this society and it leaves no means untried to achieve its objective. For it delights in printing its own translations, as well as in dashing through every city to distribute them itself to the common people. Indeed, to seduce the minds of the simple, it is careful to sell them in one place, while elsewhere it wants to give them as a gift with calculating generosity
As stated in 1 Timothy 3:15 "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" Since the Catholic Church is the pillar and ground of truth only she can faithfully translate and interpret the Bible.
Since the development of ecumenical translations, there has been an increase in co-operation between Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants with respect to Bible Societies; many Bible Societies include approved Catholic translations (with the entire Catholic canon) among the versions of the Bible they distribute.
Current Bible Societies The United Bible Societies (UBS) is a worldwide association of Bible societies. As of January 2006, the UBS has 141 member societies, working in more than 200 countries and territories. A Bible society is a non-profit organization (usually ecumenical Protestant in makeup) devoted to translating, publishing and distributing the Bible for free or at subsidized low cost. ...
2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Notable Bible societies include:
non-UBS Bible Societies The British and Foreign Bible Society, known as Bible Society, is a Christian charity that exists to make the Bible heard throughout the world. ...
1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
The American Bible Society (ABS) is a group, founded in 1816, that publishes, distributes, and translates the Bible. ...
1816 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...
Opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway 1825 (MDCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Gideons do not do any translate but only distribute the Bible. The International Bible Society (IBS) translates, publishes and distributes the Bible with the intent of helping people around the world become Christians. ...
1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
The Trinitarian Bible Society was founded in 1831 to promote the Glory of God and the salvation of men by circulating, both at home and abroad, in dependence on the Divine blessing, the Holy Scriptures, which are given by inspiration of God and are able to make men wise unto...
Leopold I 1831 (MDCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ...
1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...
A copy of a Bible distributed by Gideons International. ...
1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
References - This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- Truth Versus Dogma JC McAulay. Moody Press. 1946. Chicago.USA.
Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ...
The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...
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