 | ||
There are many different translations of the Bible into Burmese (also known as the Myanmar language).
Contents
Judson (BJB)
Adoniram Judson made the first complete translation of the Bible from the original languages into Burmese, completed by 31 January 1834. After this, he continued to revise it. He completed a revision of the Old Testament on 26 September 1835, a revision of the New Testament on 22 March 1837, and a revision of the entire bible, published in quarto format, on 24 October 1840.
Judson was a Baptist when he performed his translation work, and his Bible translation is considered by some to be associated with the denomination's beliefs.
The Judson Bible is available in the YouVersion app, the Bible Society of Myanmar app, and on multiple websites, including Bible.com and the Bible Society of Myanmar website.
U Tun Nyein
A translation by U Tun Nyein, a government translator, of the New Testament from the English Revised Version was published by Hanthawaddy Press in 1903. This was later revised and published by the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1909.
Garrad
Another complete translation from Hebrew and Greek was started in 1923. It was published by the British and Foreign Bible Society and translated by Charles Edward Garrad, William Sherratt and George Kya Bin. It is generally believed to have been completed in 1926 and published in 1927. It is claimed to be mainly used within the Anglican denomination.
The New Testament might be a revision of the U Tun Nyein translation.
Garrad continued to document corrections to this translation after its publication. Anne Carter, his daughter, initiated the incorporation of these into the translation. This work was completed in 2012 and defined as a new edition of the translation.
Garrad's translation is available in the Bible Society of Myanmar app.
McGuire
Revision of the Judson translation by John McGuire and others began around 1904. It was published by American Baptist Mission Press in 1933.
Common Language (BCL)
Due to changes in the Burmese language since the Judson translation, work on a new one began in 1966. The translation was done by U Sein Pe and others. The complete Bible was published in 2005.
This translation was translated from the Good News Bible, which is an English paraphrase, with the intention of using modern Burmese.
The Common Language Bible is available in the YouVersion app, the Bible Society of Myanmar app, Bible.com, and the Bible Society of Myanmar website.
Eagle Edition
A revision of the Judson translation was published in 2006 by unknown authors. Apparently the key change is the way the word "eagle" is translated. However, this translation has been criticised for showing signs of being done hastily and without sufficient grounds for the changes.
Easy-to-Read Version
World Bible Translation Center, part of Bible League International, has produced a translation of the New Testament called "Easy-to-Read" version. This translation is said to be translated from the original languages to common, basic Burmese. Its translation method is equivalent to the English version with the same name. As the name implies, the translation process emphasised and prioritised convenient readability.
Myanmar Standard Bible (MSB)
Myanmar Standard Bible (New Testament) has been Published by the Global Bible Initiative on January 2014. The translation for OT is in progress and is scheduled for release in 2021.
The Myanmar Standard Bible is available at Bible.com and in the YouVersion app.
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT-Bu)(ကမ္ဘာသစ်ဘာသာပြန်ကျမ်း)
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in Myanmar language (သမ္မာကျမ်းစာ ကမ္ဘာသစ်ဘာသာပြန်ကျမ်း) has been published by Jehovah's Witnesses on 13 January 2017 during their regional convention entitled "Remain Loyal to Jehovah", held in Thein Phyu Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar. According to its foreword by the New World Translation Committee, where it says "Recognizing the importance of the Bible's message, our goal has been to produce a translation that is not only faithful to the original texts but also clear and easy to read", the translation has been done in day-to-day spoken form, whereas previous other versions, editions and translations has been done in written form (as in using တယ် instead of သည်/၏, မယ် for မည်, ပြီး for ၍, etc.). This bible was offered free of charge to every single one that attended the convention and will be so to all those who "desire an accurate, understandable translation of God's Word." (1 Timothy 2:4) Among other things, what makes this translation stand out from others is that it contains the divine name Jehovah (ယေဟောဝါ) in every place where the name occurs in the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Details on how the translation has been done are explained in its Appendix articles "Principles of Bible Translation," "Features of This Revision," and "How the Bible Came to Us."