Bible translations into Welsh

This tattered Welsh bible of 1620 in Llanwnda church is said to have been rescued from the hands of French invaders in 1797

Bible translations into Welsh have existed since at least the 15th century, but the most widely used translation of the Bible into Welsh for several centuries was the 1588 translation by William Morgan, as revised in 1620. A new translation was published in 1988 and revised in 2004.

History of versions

15th century version

Several 19th century sources record that parts of the Bible were translated into Welsh before the 15th century, but the first complete translation was "the manuscript of Celydd Sfan," and while no exact date for its composition is known, it was in existence by 1470. This was a translation from the Latin Vulgate.^[1][2]

William Salesbury, 1567

Following the English Reformation, translations were made from the Greek versions. The New Testament translation of William Salesbury was printed in 1567 by Humphrey Toy.

Willam Morgan, 1588

This was closely followed by William Morgan's translation of the whole Bible in 1588. Morgan soon began work on a revision (or a new translation) of his 1588 Bible, which contained a number of printing errors. After Morgan's death, Bishop Richard Parry and Dr John Davies continued the work with the aim of polishing the literary language, replacing forms considered too colloquial, and to bring the text into greater conformity with the Authorised Version of the English Bible of 1611. The revised version of the Bible was published in 1620. This edition is still known as William Morgan's translation, and it is this rather than the previous edition which became the standard Welsh Bible until the 20th century and continues to be used to this day. This occupies a similar place in the Welsh language to that of the venerated King James Version in English. The early Bible editions were large volumes intended for use in churches; in 1630 a smaller edition was published intended for use in the home, thus bringing scripture in Welsh into the hands of the laity.

An original copy of the Welsh Bible is displayed in St Asaph Cathedral, in St Asaph, North Wales. It was used at the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969.

The translation of the Bible into Welsh was important to the survival of the Welsh language. It had the effect, along with the Welsh translation of the Book of Common Prayer, of conferring status on Welsh as a liturgical language and vehicle for worship. This in turn led to its continued use as a means of everyday communication down to the present day, despite the pressure of English.

New Welsh Bible, 1988

A new translation, y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd, was published in 1988 and has largely replaced the William Morgan translation, although there is some disagreement as to the accuracy of the translation. A revision of y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd (the Revised New Welsh Bible) was released in March 2004. Professor John Tudno Williams was a Member of the New Testament Panel.^[3]

beibl.net 2011

Both the William Morgan and BCN versions are in very literary Welsh and a translation in a more colloquial register is being made by Arfon Jones as part of the http://beibl.net/ project. The Gospel of Mark has been printed and is available from the Bible Society. The New Testamnet is available on-line on bibles.org

Language comparison

Digitisation

• The text of y Beibl Cymraeg Newydd is available as a module for the e-Sword program.
• Digitisation of the 1620 William Morgan translation was completed by the British & Foreign Bible Society
• [2] William Morgan, BCN and beibl.net are available on www.bibles.org

References

1. ^ The Bible of Every Land: A History of the Sacred Scriptures. 1861. p. 154. "A Welsh version of the Bible was preserved in MS. at Celydd Ifan, near Bridgend in Glamorgan: it appears to have been executed from the Latin Vulgate, by an ancestor of the family residing in that place, about the year 1470." 
2. ^ Hughes, William (1891). Life and Times of Bishop William Morgan, the Translator of the Welsh Bible. p. 185. "Near Bridgend in Glamorgan: it appears to have been executed from the Latin Vulgate by an ancestor of the family residing in that place, about the year 1470. A considerable portion of the MS. was still extant a few years ago" 
3. ^ [1] The Revised New Welsh Bible on the Bible Society website

• Richardson, Ruth Elizabeth, 2007, Mistress Blanche Queen Elizabeth I's Confidante.
• Richardson, Ruth Elizabeth, Blanche Parry & Queen Elizabeth I 2012 calendar has frontispiece of Welsh Bible 1588, see website: www.blancheparry.com.
• Iwan Rhys Jones, "C. H. Dodd and the Welsh Bible: A Fading Influence," The Expository Times, 119,8 (2008), 380-384.

See also

• Mary Jones (Bible)

External links

The Bible in Welsh/Beibl Cymraeg:

Welsh Wikisource has original text related to this article: Beibl (1588)

Welsh Wikisource has original text related to this article: Beibl (1620)

• Beibl Cymraeg Newydd (2004)
• Welsh language Bible of 1588 View digital images of the entire Bible online (digital images of the actual book printed in 1588).
• beibl.net: a translation of the New Testament into colloquial Welsh by Arfon Jones
• bibles.org read and search the Welsh Bible on-line
• youversion.com download the Welsh Bible as an app on any mobile device
• Cymdeithas Darllen Pethau Da - Listen to the original William Morgan Bible in MP3 format.

Other articles:

• BBC news story on the Revised New Welsh Bible
• History Today article: William Morgan and the Welsh Bible
• E. Wyn James, 'Bala and the Bible: Thomas Charles, Ann Griffiths and Mary Jones'