From what I can see, it seems that the Dutch Bible developed along a branched path (I'm focusing here on the printed editions - there does not seem to have been any complete Dutch Bible before the printing press - nor even a single standard Dutch language.). From 1526-46 were the "twenty glorious years" of Dutch Bible production. Jacob van Liesvelt and Willem Vorsterman competed with one another in the Bible market (there is a fascinating article with more detail here).
Vorstermanbijbel (1528/1531) (link to page)
Apparently, the text of the Vorstermanbijbel may have been based on the Complutensian Polyglot, according to the article linked above. The same article notes that there were some changes in the various Vorsterman Bible editions (including differences between 1528 and 1531 - I have not verified whether the image above is from the former or latter date). However, the intent of the publisher seems to have been to align with the Vulgate, which may explain the more Latin-sounding reading of Revelation 16:5 with "was holy."
Liesveltbijbel (1542)(link to page)
You may notice that the Liesvelt Bible has "and holy," more closely matching the Greek. However, this more close match is not necessarily a result of translating directly from the Greek, but rather from Luther's German Bible, which was from the Greek.
Leuvense bijbel (1548)(link to page)
The Leuven Bible, translated by Nicolaas van Winghe, became the standard Catholic Bible for the Netherlands for centuries. This Bible (like Vorsterman's) provides a "were holy" reading, to align with Vulgate text. There were ultimately (apparaently) fifty editions of the Leuven Bible from 1548 to 1846 (this was also known as the Moerentorf Bible, because of the 1599 revision by Jan Moretus). The replacement Roman Catholic version, the Professorenbijbel, was published between 1894-1911, but only included the Old Testament. The Petrus Canisius translation of 1948 then provided a complete and more literal version.
Biestkensbijbel (1560)(link to page)
Nicolaes Biestkens aimed to provide a Bible for Mennonites, though Lutherans also used this Bible. For Mennonites, this Bible was the most widely read until the eighteenth century, despite inroads made by the Statenvertaling. It was the first Dutch Bible with numbered verses.
Deux-Aesbijbel (1562)(link to page)
Until the Statenvertaling, the Deux-Aesbijbel was the standard Bible for Dutch-speaking Reformed churches. The nickname for this Bible comes from a marginal note on Nehemiah 3:5 that includes a saying by Martin Luther that utilized the numbers of a die (for what appears to me to be a pun - see here).
Statenvertaling (1637)(link to page)
The "States Bible" aimed to provide a direct translation from the Greek (in the New Testament, and similarly from the original languages of the Old) rather than a translation from Latin or German.
The annotations contained in the Statenvertaling were voluminous. The English were interested in the wisdom of their Dutch brethren, and so commissioned an English translation of the Statenvertaling annotations, which annotations were published in 1657 (link).
At Revelation 1:4, the annotations read:
Meanwhile, back in Holland, Adolph Visscher (1605-1652) led a committee that produced the Lutherse Vertaling (1648), which came to be known in Holland as the Visscher Bible ("Visscherbijbel")
The Visscher Bible replaced the Biestkensbijbel (1560), not by retranslating from the original languages (as with the Statenvertaling) but by correcting the Biestkensbijbel on the basis of the High German Luther Bible. This became the standard Bible for the Lutherans in the Netherlands.
The Visscher Bible went under revisions in 1702, 1734, 1748, 1780, 1823 (apparently this was a significant revision), 1852, 1873, 1906, 1911, and 1939. The revisions apparently were based on original languages, developments of the Dutch language, and attempts to harmonize toward the Statenvertaling. In 1951, the Visscher Bible was replaced by a new translation, the NBG-vertaling 1951.
*** Appendix
1734 (also includes an impressive Psalter!)
1748
1780 (Old Testament and Apocrypha, New Testament and Psalter)
1823 (Old Testament, Apocrypha, [could not locate New Testament]) [Perhaps to be completed at a later date.]
1852
1873
1906
1911
1939.
No comments:
Post a Comment