07-008 Chinese Protestant Bible, since the millennium

07-008
Chinese Protestant Bible, since the millennium 

Since the millennium, we saw a blossom of Chinese Bible translations. This is a result of an increasing number of Chinese scholars getting involved in literal translations and the advance in technology making access to ancient scribes becoming more convenience and translation tools are more intelligent. Many of these translations are direct translated from existing versions of English Bible or revised from different versions of Chinese Bible of the last century.

2001 – New World Translation (新世界譯本)
2019 – New World Translation (2019 Revision) (新世界譯本（2019年修訂版）)

New World Translation

A rather controversial translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The translation is solely used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses.

Most mainstream Christians do not accept the doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses and criticize the accuracy of this translation. I do not have any deep knowledge on their doctrines and do not want to comment here. In general, I know some Jehovah’s Witnesses in person and they are all good people. Nevertheless, this translation was based on the English version of NWT, which was based on the Biblia Hebraica for the Old Testament and Westcott & Hort Bible for the New Testament.

English version of NWT was revised in 2013 and the revised Chinese version also became available in 2019. Both versions can be read from the mobile app "JW Library" or from this link. Physical copy of NWT can be purchased from local Kingdom Halls, churches of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

2003 - Recovery Version (恢復本)

Recovery Version

The Recovery Version is a modern translation of the Bible from the original languages, published by Living Stream Ministry, ministry of Witness Lee and Watchman Nee. It is the commonly used translation of Local Churches (affiliation).

Translation is based on the revised 1990 edition of the Hebrew Scriptures, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, and the Nestle-Aland Greek text as found in Novum Testamentum Graece (26th edition). It claims to avoid biases and inaccurate judgments and to express the message of the Bible in English as accurately as possible.

You can read the Recovery Version of the Bible using the Bible app "電子聖經（恢復本）" or through their official website. Physical copy of the Recovery Version is available in some Christian bookstores. 

2008 - Literal Chinese Translation (原文編號逐字中譯)

Literal Chinese Translation

Technically not a translation, Literal Chinese Translation is a tool book for Bible study. It tries to map the original Hebrew (for the Old Testament) or Greek texts (for the New Testament) with Chinese translated scriptures. It used Chinese Union Version CUV as a base, rearranged the words to follow the original texts as much as possible, and marked under each word with Dr. James Strong’s Concordance Number.

Translation of the entire Bible was completed in 2008. The tool book was published in 2009. Copyright is owned by North America Christian Centre.

This translation is available online through this link.

2009 - Chinese NET Bible (NET 中譯本)

Chinese NET Bible

Chinese NET Bible Project is a Bible translation project led by Bible.org, a nondenominational Bible based site. Aiming to fulfill the Great Commission commandment from Christ which is recorded in Matt 28:19-20, Bible.org provide free access on the Internet to over 20,000 biblical articles, as well as a free Bible Study Tool featuring the NET Bible (2nd edition).

As its name suggests, Chinese NET Bible is translated from the English NET Bible. The translation is available to read through the official online reader of Bible.org. I have never seen a physical copy of the Chinese NET Bible, however. 

2010 - Revised Chinese Union Version RCUV (和合本修訂版)

Revised Chinese Union Version (RCUV)

90 years after the publishing of Chinese Union Version CUV, a major revision of the translation arrived at the Chinese Christian community. It is the Revised Chinese Union Version RCUV.

CUV was translated in 1919 and has become the most widely used Bible translation in the Chinese Christian church after nearly a hundred years. However, with the changes of the times, some Chinese vocabulary and grammar have changed greatly, and some of the words used in the CUV have now become rare words, and some of the meanings of the words have also changed. Some of the smooth expressions at that time are now difficult to understand.

The RCUV was revised from the original CUV by more than thirty Chinese biblical scholars from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. It took 27 years to complete the revision and published the whole book of the Old and New Testaments in 2010. The revised version adheres to the principles of ‘not revising for the sake of revising’ and ‘changing as little as possible’, faithful to the original text, striving to maintain the style of the CUV, and preserving as much as possible the verses that believers are familiar with.

RCUV is available on the many Bible apps including WeDevote Bible and YouVersion. Physical copy of RCUV are also widely available in larger bookstores. 

2011 - Chinese King James Version CKJV (中文英皇欽定本)

Chinese King James Version (CKJV)

Published in 1611, the King James Version KJV has been considered the most authoritative English Bible translation for more than 400 years. The KJV provided the scriptural foundation for many great Christian leaders, including John Bunyan the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, John Wesley and his contemporaries who led the great Spiritual Awakenings in America, revivalist Charles Finney, the great evangelist Dwight Moody, Missionary Hudson Taylor, and the great evangelists of this century, including Billy Graham and William Branham.

If you are also a great fan of KJV, now there is a Chinese version of KJV available. Digital version of CKJV is available on the Bible app “Handy Bible 隨手讀聖經” (iOS) or “Quick Bible神速聖經” (Android). A web version is also available on their official homepage. 

2012 - New Living Translation NLT (新普及譯本)

New Living Translation (NLT)

A translation project led by the Chinese Bible International Limited, New Living Translation NTL is based on the English NLT Bible.

NLT is a modern English translation of the Bible, translated from the original biblical texts by a group of biblical scholars. It emphasizes clarity, readability, comprehension, and a translation style that reveals rich emotions. It is suitable for personal devotion and reading aloud. The Chinese Bible International Limited translates NLT into Chinese, with the aim of introducing this English translation to Chinese readers.

NLT can be purchased through mobile app “Chinese Bible”. Web version is also available to purchase from the official homepage. Physical copies of NLT are available on larger Christian bookstores. Alternatively, you can borrow it from public libraries in Hongkong.

2015 - Four Gospels Interconfessional Version (四福音書–共同譯本)

Four Gospels Interconfessional Version

Published by the Bible Society in Taiwan in 2015, Four Gospels Interconfessional Version is aimed to create a union Bible version for both Protestants and Catholics. It is translated jointly by Protestant and Catholic scholars in the early 1980s.

Only the four gospels were translated. The translation is almost unheard in Hongkong and I am not sure if any Protestant or Catholic churches are using this Bible version in their sermon. However, this translation can be read on the Bible app YouVersion. 

2016 - Chinese Contemporary Bible CCB (當代譯本修訂版)

Chinese Contemporary Bible (CCB)

As mentioned in the last post, Chinese Contemporary Bible CCB is a revised version of the late 70s Chinese Living Bible CLB. With the availability of this new revision, CLB is generally replaced by the revised version CCB nowadays.

Physical copy of CCB is widely available from Christian bookstores. Digital version is available free on many Bible apps such as WeDevote Bible and YouVersion. 

2021 - Peter Feng’s translation (馮象譯本)

Peter Feng’s translation

Peter Feng, a Shanghai native, was born in the 50s. He went to Harvard University in 1984 to study medieval literature. He later obtained a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale University and was an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong Law School from 1993 to 1999.

Feng is not a Christian. He believes that faith ‘may not’ help ‘the translator’s understanding and expression’. He was interested in 18^th and 19^th century novels, French symbolism and Anglo-American modern poetry when he first learned foreign languages. He later discovered that the Bible had a huge influence on Western literature and art, and began to read it. In recent years, he translated the Bible, saying that it was ‘purely fun’ and that he wanted to ‘make some contributions from a literary perspective’. He chose to publish his Bible translation in Hong Kong was ‘to get some evaluations from the center of Chinese Christian studies and hear their opinions’.

Peter Feng’s translation is published by Oxford University Press in 7 volumes. Below are the details of his publications.

l   2006 – Torah or the Five Books of Mosses (摩西五經) ISBN 978-0-195964-89-9

l   2008 – The Books of Wisdom (智慧書) ISBN 978-0-195498-32-5

l   2010 – The New Testament (新約) ISBN 978-0-193958-94-4

l   2013 – Torah or the Five Books of Mosses (摩西五經 (修訂版)) ISBN 978-0-193990-39-5

l   2019 – The New Testament (新約 (修訂版)) ISBN 978-0-190979-74-4

l   2020 – The Prophets (先知書) ISBN 978-9-888678-85-3

l   2021 – The Histories (歷史書) ISBN 978-9-888777-07-5

Physical copy of his publications can be found in some bookstores. Locals can also borrowed them from public libraries in Hongkong.

2022 - Worldwide Chinese New Version (環球聖經譯本)

Worldwide Chinese New Version

Worldwide Chinese New Version is the newest Chinese Bible translation of the entire Bible at the time of writing. It was intended to be a revised version of the Bible translation Chinese New Version CNV.

The New Chinese Bible Center changed its name to the Worldwide Bible Society in 2000 and planned to revise the CNV. This project was announced in the 49^th issue of the Global Saints Newsletter in July-September 2011, officially named as the Global New Translation, and published the four Gospels in the same year. The New Testament was published at the end of 2015.

The direction of the project changed later, and it tended to re-translate rather than just revise. Therefore, it was renamed as the Worldwide Chinese New Version in 2015. In March 2022, translation of the entire Bible was completed.

Translation of the Old Testament is based on Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the New Testament is based on The Greek New Testament, 4th revised edition. Physical copy of the Worldwide Chinese New Version is available in many Christian bookstores. Digital copy is available on the website of Worldwide Bible Society free of charge.

2022 – Lexicon NT (原文新約)

Lexicon NT is a new Chinese translation of the New Testament, which is the result of nearly 30 years of continuous efforts by a group of New Testament scholars and young scholars in Hong Kong. It combines the latest version of the The Greek New Testament (28th edition, 2013) and the data provided by Professor Wong Kun-chun’s “New Testament Greek Dictionary” (2015) to translate.

Translation was completed in June, 2022. Lexicon NT is available to read on mobile app (iOS / Android).

In addition, there are 4 more translations of the Bible that are partially completed. Translations of the New Testament were completed and published in the following years. In some of the translations, some books of the Old Testament were also translated. Translations of the remaining books will be completed in the next few years, hopefully. 

2006 - The Holy Bible: A Dynamic Chinese Translation (新譯簡明聖經)

The Holy Bible: A Dynamic Chinese Translation

A translation led by Tucson Chinese Bible Society, it is translated from The New American Standard Bible, 1977 and The Holy Bible, the New International Version, 1984.

According to their website, “The translation process was to first get a thorough understanding of the passage, and then restate in simple and easy to understand Chinese the passage’s events, ideas, and truth according to the Chinese sentence structure, thought pattern, and cultural background. Therefore it is very easy to understand.”

Translation of the New Testament and some Old Testament books was completed. Translation of the remaining is underway. This Bible translation is available to read through Tucson’s official website. Physical copy can be found in larger bookstores. 

2010 - Contemporary Chinese Version CCV (新漢語譯本)

Contemporary Chinese Version (CCV)

In the same year, another Chinese Bible translation was made public. Contemporary Chinese Version CCV is a Chinese translation of the Bible published by the Chinese Bible International Limited. Its translation work began in 1993 and a partial trial version was released in 2003. The New Testament part was published in 2010, and the Old Testament part of the Pentateuch was published in 2014. The rest of the parts are still being translated.

Translation is based on Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia for the Old Testament and The Greek New Testament, 4th rev. ed. for the New Testament. Physical copy of the New Testament and various Old Testament books can be found in major Christian bookstores. Digital version of CCV can be purchased through mobile app “Chinese Bible”. Web version is available to read free of charge via this link.

2011 - Chinese Standard Bible CSB (中文標準譯本)

Chinese Standard Bible (CSB)

One year later, we have another Chinese Bible translation. The Chinese Standard Bible CSB is a project of the Global Bible Initiative organized by a team of prominent Bible scholars and linguistic experts, benefiting from the most up-to-date technology. It is an all-new Chinese Bible translation translated from the original biblical languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek). It faithfully captures the meaning and authentically preserves the style of the original languages.

Only the New Testament and some books of the Old Testament are translated at the time of writing. Translation of the remaining parts of the Old Testament is underway. CSB is available on the Bible apps WeDevote Bible and YouVersion. 

2022 – Trinitarian Bible Society Bible TBS (三一圣经公会译本)

Trinitarian Bible Society Bible (TBS)

Translated by the Trinitarian Bible Society, the New Testament of the Trinitarian Bible Society Bible TBS was published in 2022 and translation work on the Old Testament is underway. The translation makes use of the same underlying source texts as Robert Morrison's Chinese translation and the Peking Committee Bible, while maintaining as much continuity with the Chinese Union Version as possible.

This version of the Bible is available to read through TBS’ official website or from their Bible app.

Summary

We have finally completed our journey on going through all vernacular Chinese translations of the Protestant Bible. Ever since the publishing of the Southern Mandarin translation back in the 1857, we already have 31 different translations of the Bible in modern day Chinese. 18 of them have translated the entire Bible and 13 have translated a portion, mainly the New Testament. Furthermore, 4 translations of the Old Testament is now underway and hopefully will be completed in the next few years. And we have not counted the Catholic translations yet.

All but 2 of the translations are available to read free of charge, both online or by mobile apps. The remaining can be found in public libraries. That looks really good, isn’t it?

In the next post, I will move on to discuss different Chinese translations of the Catholic Bible. Stay tuned! 

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