Bible translations into Mongolian
Encyclopedia
The first translation of the Bible into Mongolian was the work of Edward Stallybrass
and William Swan (missionary)
(1791–1866) both of the London Missionary Society, who translated the New Testament into the literary Mongolian language
. Their translation was published in 1880 in Mongolian type in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was reprinted in 1881 in Manchu type.
In 1899 the British and Foreign Bible Society agreed to bring out a revised gospel, by David Stenberg (of the Scandinavian Mission) and Mr. Netsegaard (of Urga
, today called Ulaanbaatar), based on Swan and Stallybrass, which he found too high. It seems that Stenberg managed to revise into colloquial Urga Mongolian at least Matthew's gospel. He was working on revising all four gospels and Acts, however his work was cut short when he was killed during the Boxer Rebellion
. It is unclear if any of his work survived it.
The New Testament of Swan and Stallybrass was revised by Stuart Gunzel together with four Mongolians and 8,000 copies were printed in 1953 by the Hong Kong Bible Society. This was reprinted in 1988 by the Hong Kong Bible Society. In 1994 Living Stream Ministry
reprinted this, using the Cyrillic script instead of the classical Mongolian, but changing nothing else.
John Gibbens, with the help of his wife Altaanchimeg (Altaa) translated the New Testament into Mongolian, their version being published on 11 August 1990 by the United Bible Societies in HongKong. This was a "self-interpreting" translation, and included Old Testament quotations, Old Testament allusions, and explanatory notes within the New Testament text, rather than footnoting them. It also uses explanatory terminology for many religious terms, rather than using the Mongolian words deemed sullied irrecoverably by Buddhism.
The Mongolian Bible Translation Committee (Монгол Библи Орчуулгын Хороо) began translating the Bible in 1991. The New Testament was completed in 1996, and the complete Bible in 2000. This has become the most popular translation in Mongolia, being used by most Christians there. The Translation Committee became the Holy Writing Bible Society (Ариун Бичээс Библийн Нийгэмлэг) and revised the Bible in 2004 and 2008. This is currently the most used translation in Mongolia, and another revision is in progress. This translation uses Mongolian terminology, and is much more literal. It is however, perhaps too literal—and people often complain that it is in "translated Mongolian", without native Mongolian expressions, and sometimes hard to understand.
There exists a large controversy over the use of the word Бурхан (Burhan) for God, as well as the proper term for a lot of religious words. The Gibbenses with Bible Society of Mongolia (the Gibbenses kept the registration in their name when they split from United Bible Societies
) are working on an alternative translation of the Bible that uses descriptive terminology, instead of the Mongolian terms, which they feel have been sullied irrecoverably by Buddhism (for example they use words like Ертөнцийн Эзэн (Lord of the World) instead of Burhan). Proper nouns are also often spelled completely differently (for example, the Translation Committee uses Иохан and Марк, and the Gibbens use Иоган and Маарх). Another difference from the Mongolian Bible Translation Committee's translation is that they are not translating from Nestle Aland, but from the Textus Receptus
. The New Testament is a revised version of the Gibbens 1990 translation, revised to be no longer self-interpreting. So far the New Testament is complete, and work is ongoing on the Old Testament. Gibbens owns the Монголын Библийн Нийгэмлэг (Bible Society of Mongolia) and publishes his work from there.
Missionswerk Unerreichte Völker e.V. (M.U.V.) spent 14 years translating the New Testament into a classic literary Inner Mongolian dialect, this was published in the classical Mongolian script in 2003 and also released on the Internet. They have also translated Psalms and Genesis, however lack of funds halted further progress. Wycliffe Bible Translators is also working on a Bible translation in Inner Mongolia. Their translation is a dynamic equivalence translation and uses the word Deed Tenger, instead of Burhan, for God. There are also two other translations in progress in Inner Mongolia and the old Testament from the Mongolian Bible Translation Committee has been translitered into the classical Mongolian script and is available in Inner Mongolia.
Edward Stallybrass
Edward Stallybrass was a British Congregational missionary to the Buryat people of Siberia. He translated the Bible into Mongolian.-Biography:...
and William Swan (missionary)
William Swan (missionary)
William Swan was a Scottish missionary in Siberia and one of the translators of the Bible into Mongolian....
(1791–1866) both of the London Missionary Society, who translated the New Testament into the literary Mongolian language
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
. Their translation was published in 1880 in Mongolian type in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was reprinted in 1881 in Manchu type.
In 1899 the British and Foreign Bible Society agreed to bring out a revised gospel, by David Stenberg (of the Scandinavian Mission) and Mr. Netsegaard (of Urga
Ulaanbaatar
Ulan Bator or Ulaanbaatar is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. An independent municipality, the city is not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is over one million....
, today called Ulaanbaatar), based on Swan and Stallybrass, which he found too high. It seems that Stenberg managed to revise into colloquial Urga Mongolian at least Matthew's gospel. He was working on revising all four gospels and Acts, however his work was cut short when he was killed during the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
. It is unclear if any of his work survived it.
The New Testament of Swan and Stallybrass was revised by Stuart Gunzel together with four Mongolians and 8,000 copies were printed in 1953 by the Hong Kong Bible Society. This was reprinted in 1988 by the Hong Kong Bible Society. In 1994 Living Stream Ministry
Living Stream Ministry
Living Stream Ministry , founded in 1968 by Witness Lee, is a non-profit corporation based in Anaheim, California, within the Local churches...
reprinted this, using the Cyrillic script instead of the classical Mongolian, but changing nothing else.
John Gibbens, with the help of his wife Altaanchimeg (Altaa) translated the New Testament into Mongolian, their version being published on 11 August 1990 by the United Bible Societies in HongKong. This was a "self-interpreting" translation, and included Old Testament quotations, Old Testament allusions, and explanatory notes within the New Testament text, rather than footnoting them. It also uses explanatory terminology for many religious terms, rather than using the Mongolian words deemed sullied irrecoverably by Buddhism.
The Mongolian Bible Translation Committee (Монгол Библи Орчуулгын Хороо) began translating the Bible in 1991. The New Testament was completed in 1996, and the complete Bible in 2000. This has become the most popular translation in Mongolia, being used by most Christians there. The Translation Committee became the Holy Writing Bible Society (Ариун Бичээс Библийн Нийгэмлэг) and revised the Bible in 2004 and 2008. This is currently the most used translation in Mongolia, and another revision is in progress. This translation uses Mongolian terminology, and is much more literal. It is however, perhaps too literal—and people often complain that it is in "translated Mongolian", without native Mongolian expressions, and sometimes hard to understand.
There exists a large controversy over the use of the word Бурхан (Burhan) for God, as well as the proper term for a lot of religious words. The Gibbenses with Bible Society of Mongolia (the Gibbenses kept the registration in their name when they split from United Bible Societies
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies is a worldwide association of Bible societies. In 1946 delegates from 13 countries formed the UBS, as an effort to coordinate the activities of the bible societies. The first headquarters were London and in Geneva...
) are working on an alternative translation of the Bible that uses descriptive terminology, instead of the Mongolian terms, which they feel have been sullied irrecoverably by Buddhism (for example they use words like Ертөнцийн Эзэн (Lord of the World) instead of Burhan). Proper nouns are also often spelled completely differently (for example, the Translation Committee uses Иохан and Марк, and the Gibbens use Иоган and Маарх). Another difference from the Mongolian Bible Translation Committee's translation is that they are not translating from Nestle Aland, but from the Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted the translation base for the original German Luther Bible, the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, the King James Version, and for most other...
. The New Testament is a revised version of the Gibbens 1990 translation, revised to be no longer self-interpreting. So far the New Testament is complete, and work is ongoing on the Old Testament. Gibbens owns the Монголын Библийн Нийгэмлэг (Bible Society of Mongolia) and publishes his work from there.
Missionswerk Unerreichte Völker e.V. (M.U.V.) spent 14 years translating the New Testament into a classic literary Inner Mongolian dialect, this was published in the classical Mongolian script in 2003 and also released on the Internet. They have also translated Psalms and Genesis, however lack of funds halted further progress. Wycliffe Bible Translators is also working on a Bible translation in Inner Mongolia. Their translation is a dynamic equivalence translation and uses the word Deed Tenger, instead of Burhan, for God. There are also two other translations in progress in Inner Mongolia and the old Testament from the Mongolian Bible Translation Committee has been translitered into the classical Mongolian script and is available in Inner Mongolia.
| Translation | John Gospel of John The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus... 3:16 |
|---|---|
| Gunzel Cyrillic, 1994 | Бурхан дэлхийг ийнхүү хайрлаж ганц Хүүгээ өгсөн нь Түүнд итгэх хүн бүр үл мөхөн, мөнх амьтай болохын тулд болой. |
| Ариун Библи, 2004 (АББН) | Бурхан ертөнцийг үнэхээр хайрласан тул цорын ганц Хүүгээ өгсөн. Ингэснээр Хүүд итгэгч хэн ч мөхөхгүй, харин мөнх амьтай болох юм. |
| Gibbens New Translation | Ертөнцийн Эзэн Хишгээд үнэхээр хайртай учраас ганц хүүгээ илгээсэн юм. Учир нь Мөнхийн Зовлонд орох ёстой Хишгээ хүү Есүст нь итгэвэл Мөнхийн Амьдралд орж чадна." |
| Gibbens, United Bible Society, 1990 | Ертөнцийн Эзэн хүн төрөлхтөнд үнэхээр хайртай учраас ганц хүүгээ илгээсэн юм. Учир нь, мөнхийн зовлонд орох ёстой хүмүүс хүү Есүст нь итгэвэл мөнхийн амьдралд орж чадна. |
| Missionswerk Unerreichte Völker Cyrillic transcription |
Бурхан орчлон дэлхийн хүмүүсийг тэр мэт хайрламой, тэгэх түүниӣгээ ганц үрээ хүртэл өршөөн. Хэмээх бүхий түүнийг сүсэглэн шүтэгчийг эс сөнөөх бөгөөд харин тэд нарт мөнхийн амь насыг хүртээмой. |