Bible translations into the languages of Indonesia and Malaysia

Bible translations into the languages of Indonesia and Malaysia have a lot of common history up until the modern era. Apart from the shared Malay language which historically was the lingua franca of the Malay Archipelago and forms the basis for the national languages of Indonesia and Malaysia today, portions of the Bible have been translated into a variety of indigenous languages in the region.

The translation of the Bible into the Malay language was one of the first extant translations of the Bible in an East Asian language.

Albert Cornelius Ruyl, a Protestant, first translated the Gospel of Matthew in 1612 into the Malay. This was followed by the translation of the Gospel of Mark in 1638. The full canonical gospels and the Acts of the Apostles was revised and published in 1651 by Justus Heurnius, the chaplain of Batavia. The main early Translators of the Bible into the Malay language were Melchior Leydekker, H. C. Klinkert, and W.G. Shellabear. Leydekker was appointed to the ministry of the Dutch churches at Batavia in 1678.Report of the British and foreign Bible society:11-13 p50

The 3 volume Leydekker translation in the Jawi script was published by J. Willmet in 1824.Catalogus van boeken en plaatwerken meerendeels nagelaten door wijlen de WelEerw. Heeren S. G. Jorissen, ... en W. N. Stort, ... Waarvan de verkooping zal plaats hebben op Maandag 11 December 1865 ...

Today, there are more than 112 indigenous languages in use in Malaysia, while indigenous Indonesian languages consist of more than 701 languages.

Languages of Indonesia

In addition to Indonesian, Bible translations (complete or partial) also available in more than 70 languages of Indonesia, some could be accessed online. In 2020, Jehovah's Witnesses published 4 complete bible translation into Batak Toba, Batak Karo, Javanese, and Nias language, also 1 NT translation into Sundanese.

Indonesian

Since Indonesia gained its independence, there have been at least ten Bible translations made, due to the rapid changes in the Indonesian language; every few years each translation's language becomes outdated. The most widespread translation used by Indonesian speakers right now is the Terjemahan Baru, or "New Translation" (1974), published by LAI ("Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia," or Indonesian Bible Society).

List of modern (1945 onward) translations: Alkitab Terjemahan Lama (1958): called the Old Translation after the New Translation (1974) came out. Before that it was the only translation in the Indonesian language. However, it was not an original translation; rather, it was a combined translation from Klinkert's Old Testament (1879), in Malay language, and Bode's New Testament (1938) also in Malay language, which was called "an emergency publication" Alkitab Bouma/Ende (1968): first Catholic translation in Indonesian language by P.Y. Bouma, printed in Ende, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur Alkitab Terjemahan Baru (1974): first fresh Protestant translation in Indonesian language by Indonesian Bible Society's team of translators, printed in Jakarta Alkitab Kabar Baik (BIS) (1985): first dynamic translation in Indonesian language (since Terjemahan Baru was translated in formal Indonesian) by IBS, based on Today's English Version Firman Allah Yang Hidup (1989) by Yayasan Kalam Hidup: printed in Bandung, this translation is based on The Living Bible, and paraphrased by a team led by Dr. Ganda Wargasetia Kitab Suci Terjemahan Dunia Baru (Edisi 1999) - Based on English edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures released in 1984, produced by Jehovah's Witnesses. Kitab Suci Injil (2000): a revision of 1912 Malay New Testament by Shellabear, printed side-by-side with its Greek text Kitab Suci Komunitas Kristiani (2002) by Yayasan OBOR: a new Catholic translation, printed in Jakarta Alkitab Versi Mudah Dibaca (2005) by World Bible Translation Center: a new translation based on the Easy to Read Version Indonesian Literal Translation (2008) by Yayasan Lentera Bangsa: a new translation aimed primarily at the wording of "Yahweh" instead of "Allah" (used in every other Indonesian Bible) Wasiat Baru - King James Indonesia (2011): a new translation based on the King James Version and other English versions such as the New International Version Kitab Suci Terjemahan Dunia Baru (Edisi 2017) - This Bible is based from the English 2013 revision of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, replacing the previous Indonesian edition released in 1999, produced by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Languages of Java Javanese

Gottlob Brückner (1783–1857) translated the Bible into Javanese language, the largest local language of Indonesia, in 1820.Timeline of BIble translation in local languages of Indonesia Brückner Bible: printed 1829 in Serampore Gericke Bible: 1848 Janz Bible: 1893 Indonesian Bible Society: 1994 (OT and NT in Today Java's Version) and 2006 (NT in Javanese Formal Translation) Kitab-Kitab Yunani Kristen Terjemahan Donya Anyar (New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures): 2018, produced by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Sundanese J. Esser translated the Matthew into Sundanese language of western Java (1854). Then G.J. Grashuis translated Luke in 1886. In 1877, the whole New Testament was finished by Sierk Coolsma, and followed by the whole Bible in 1891. Coolsma also published some books of the NT in Arabic script (Jawi script) in 1871. TranslationJohn 3:16Javanese, Formal (2006 rev.)Awitdéné Allah anggoné ngasihi marang jagat iku nganti masrahaké Kang Putra Ontang-anting, supaya saben wong kang pracaya marang Panjenengané aja nganti nemu karusakan, nanging nduwènana urip langgeng.Javanese (1994)Awit saka gedhéning sih-katresnané Gusti Allah marang jagad, nganti Panjenengané ngurbanaké Putrané ontang-anting, supaya saben wong sing precaya marang Sang Putra mau ora nemu karusakan, nanging ngalamana urip langgeng.Sundanese, Formal (1997)Sabab dunya teh, pohara nya diasihna ku Allah; nepi ka Putra Tunggal-Na oge dipasrahkeun, supaya sing saha anu percaya ka Anjeunna ulah nepi ka binasa; tapi sabalikna, bisa tinemu jeung hirup abadi.Sundanese (1991)Karana kacida mikaasihna Allah ka alam dunya, nepi ka masihkeun Putra tunggal-Na, supaya sakur anu percaya ka Anjeunna ulah binasa, tapi meunang hirup langgeng.

Madurese The Madura-language Bible, known as Alketab, is a translation of the Bible into the Madurese language. It was first published by the Indonesian Bible Society (Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia, LAI) on Sunday, August 28, 1994.

Initially, the Madurese Bible was available only in the form of the gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, translated by J. P. Esser, a Dutch missionary. This translation was published in the Javanese script by the Netherlands Bible Society in 1890. The National Bible Society of Scotland reportedly contributed £30 to support Esser's translation work. Fourteen years later, a new translation of the Gospel of Luke and the Epistle to the Philippians, written in the Latin alphabet, was added.Kilgour, Rev. R, D.D. Alkitab di Tanah Hindia Belanda. p. 174.

The next major Bible translation project into Madurese took place from 1982 to 1992. The translator was Cicilia Jeanne d'Arc Hasaniah Waluyo, who was not a theologian but an ordinary church member and the daughter of the late Madurese cultural figure Abdurachman Sastrosubroto. At the time, Hasaniah worked as a teacher of music, English, and Catholic religion at a junior high school in Pamekasan. She was commissioned by the Indonesian Bible Society in Jakarta in 1981 to undertake the translation. She possessed an excellent command of refined Madurese (bahasa Madura halus). Among the Madurese people, the Sumenep dialect is regarded as the highest and most prestigious variety and serves as the standard form taught in educational settings.

After undergoing a two-year field testing period, the Madurese Bible was published by the Indonesian Bible Society under the title Alketab, with the subtitle E Dhalem Basa Madura ("In Everyday Madurese"). The Old Testament (Parjanjian Kona) consists of 1,306 pages, while the New Testament (Parjanjian Anyar) contains 512 pages. The translation was accepted and officially recognized by the Indonesian Bishops' Conference for use within the Catholic Church. Alketab was formally launched by the Secretary General of the Indonesian Bible Society, Drs. Soepardan, on August 28, 1994. The first public reading from the new translation was given by Reverend Emeritus Alpeyus Kaeden, the first Madurese person to become a minister in the East Java Christian Church. TranslationJohn 3:16Madurese (1994)Sabab Allah reya talebat raja taresnana ka manossa e dunnya reya, sampe' marengngagi Pottrana se nonggal, sopaja pa'-sapa'a se parcaya ka Salerana ta' sampe'a mate, tape olle odhi' se saongguna tor langgeng.

Languages of Kalimantan Dayak Ngaju translation was the first bible translation into languages of Kalimantan (NT 1846, OT 1858). It was done by J. F. Becker and A. F. A. Herdeland and reviewed by Timotheus Marat and Nikodemus Tomonggong. The new Dayak Ngaju translation was published by the LAI in 1999. LAI also published translations in other Kalimantan languages, such as Ot Danum language (NT 1997) and Ma'anyan language (NT 1996).

TranslationJohn 3:16Dayak Ngaju (1999)Karana kalote Hatalla sinta dengan olon hong kalunen toh, sampai Ie manenga anak Ayue je tunggal, uka gagenep oloh je percaya intu Ie dia binasa, tapi mandino pambelom je bujur tuntang katatahie.

Languages of Maluku Ambonese Malay Wycliffe Bible Translators in partnership with The Protestant Church of Maluku translated the Ambonese Malay New Testament and portions of the Old Testament. It was dedicated on September 4, 2022. TranslationJohn 3:16Ambonese Malay (2022)Tagal Allah paleng sayang manusia di dunya ni sampe Antua utus Antua pung Ana satu areng-areng ni datang ka dunya par tabus manusia pung dosa-dosa. Antua utus Antua pung Ana ni biar sapa sa yang parcaya Antua pung Ana ni, dia seng mati tarus, mar hidop tarus-tarus deng Antua.North Moluccan MalayMemang Tuhan Allah paling sayang skali pa samua orang di dunia ini, sampe Dia kase Dia pe Anak yang cuma satu untuk tebus manusia pe dosa-dosa, supaya sapa saja yang percaya pa Dia pe Anak tara mo dapa hukuman tapisa deng Tuhan Allah, tapi mo dapa hidup deng Dia slama-lamanya.

Languages of Sulawesi Buginese B.F. Matthes (1818–1908) translated the Bible into Bugis language of southern Sulawesi (1863 Matthew, 1888 NT, 1901 OT) and Makassar language (1864 Matthew, 1888 OT, 1900 NT).

Manado Malay The New Testament Bible in Manado Malay was officially launched in August 2017 by the Indonesian Bible Society. This translation project took 15 years to complete, involving linguists, international consultants, and local religious leaders to maintain theological accuracy while preserving the local dialect.

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