Italian.—The first Italian version was made probably by W'aldensian missionaries, in North Italy in the Thirteenth Century. The first printed Italian Bible was that of Nicoll) de Slaiherbi, Venice, 1471. The better translation of Ant. Brnccioli, Venice, 15:30.32, based on the Hebrew and Greek, was prohibited. Other early versions were those of Zaccaria, 1532, and Giglio, 1551, both of Venice. From Protestant eireles an Italian New Testament was issued at Lyons in 1551. and a Bible at Geneva in 1562. In 1607 Giovanni Diodati, of Lucca, issued a Bible at Geneva. In 1776 the Archbishop of Florence, Ant. Martini, published a Bible at Turin, which, being favored by the Church, was the version adopted by the British and Foreign Bible So ciety in their Italian editions of the Sacred Scriptures. A Roman Catholic revision of the :Martini Bible was issued in 1889.
Spanish.—In Catalonia, a version of the New Testament was made as early as the Fourteenth Century. A Bible was printed in Valencia in 1478. In Castile, on account of the large num ber of Jews, Spanish versions of the Old Testa ment were not uncommon in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries. The first printed Spanish New Testament was issued at Antwerp, 1543, the second at Geneva, 1546. In 1553 an Old Testa ment was printed at Ferrara, a double edition, the joint work of Jews and Christians. The first Spanish Bible, translated by Cassiodoro Reyna, was published at Basel, 1569, revised at Amsterdam in 1602. These hooks circulated in the Netherlands and Italy, but were prohibited in Spain. In 1790 the Roman Catholic Miguel published a Bible at Valencia which became com monly used, and was reprinted in 1828 by tho British and Foreign Bible Society for distribu tion in Spain.
In Portuguese, a New Testament was printed in 1681 at Amsterdam. In 1712-19, the same translator, F. d'Almeidn, published the Penta teuch and Historical Books. In 1778, a Bible, the first printed in Portugal, was published at Lisbon, the work of A. P. 1'igueiredo. This %Tr sion has been reprinted by the British and For eign Bible Society.
Marie l'ersions.—The beginnings of the Slavic versions go back to the efforts of Cyril and Methodius in the Ninth Century. The first ver sion for general use among the Slays of Rus sia was made in the Fifteenth Century. In 1581, under the auspices of Prince Constantine, a Bible was published at Ostrog. A revision of this was published in 1663 at :Moscow. In 1753 a more thorough revision was made under the auspices of the Empress Elizabeth. In the early part
of the Nineteenth Century, for linguistic reasons. the Holy Synod authorized another revision, This was partially published. 1818-25, by the Russian Bible Society. but opposition to the so ciety prevented further progress until after the accession of Alexander 11. In 1876 the revision was completed and published. The dates of the first versions in the other Slavic languages are as follows: Czech (13ohendan). Fourteenth Century (first printed edition. 1488) : Bulgarian, 1828; Croatian. 1495: Polish, Thirteenth Century (first printed in the Fifteenth Century) ; Servian, 1847; Sloven, 1555; Wend, 1547.
Modern Greek.—A modern Creek version of parts of the Old Testament was made by the Jews in 1547. In 1638 certain Dutch Protes tants had a modern Greek Testament published at Geneva. Another one was issued in England in 1703. These were forbidden by the authorities of the Greek Church. In 1830 the British and Foreign Bible Society republished and circulated this translation. In 1833-38 a new and better version of the New Testament was published. and the Old Testament was also gradually rendered into modern Greek. Later editions appeared in 1861 and 1872. The attempt to circulate a new revision in 1901. in the army, led to student riots in Athens, because it was supposed to emanate from Russia, and to be the entering wedge for such a version into the Church.
In Magyar or Hungarian. a New Testament was first printed in 1541. The whole Bible was published in 1590. A modern revision is par tially completed. The Lithuanian and Lettish version began with the New Testament and Psalms in 1662. A Finnish, New Testament was published in 1548, the Bible in 1642. A new translation was made in 1859. The Lapps re ceived the Bible in their own tongue in 1838.40.
Of modern missionary versions, only brief mention can be made. The whole or parts of the Bible have been translated into about 400 languages; many of these, of course, being dia lects of one main stock. As to particulars, it may be specified that the Sacred Scriptures have been rendered into upward of 40 Indian dia lects of the Western Hemisphere, into 60 dialects and languages of Africa. into many of the tongues of the Pacific Isles. into Japanese, Chinese, the various dialects of India, into Arabic, Persian, Turkish, modern Armenian, Kurdish. Georgian. and modern Syriac. The up lifting and civilizing intluence of such transla tions is beyond all estimation.