Bible translations into Hindi and Urdu

Urdu copies of the Bible in Roman, Devanagari, and Nastaliq scripts (published by the Bible Society of India).

The modern Hindi and Urdu standards are highly mutually intelligible in colloquial form, but use different scripts when written, and have lesser mutually intelligibility in literary forms. The history of Bible translations into Hindi and Urdu is closely linked, with the early translators of the Hindustani language simply producing the same version with different scripts: Devanagari and Nastaliq, as well as Roman.[1]

The Hindustani translations of the Bible produced by Benjamin Schultze and Henry Martyn became the basis for subsequent versions published by various scholars.[2]

## History

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New testament cover page of Hindustani language published in 1842 First chapter of Gospel of Matthew in Hindustani language

Early Hindustani Bible translations were undertaken by Winfried Ketlar, Benjamin Schultze and Casiano Baligati in the 17th and 18th centuries.[2] The first translation of part of the Bible in Hindi, Genesis, was made in manuscript by Benjamin Schultze (1689–1760),[3] a German missionary, who arrived in India to establish an English mission in 1726 and worked on completing Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg's Bible translations into Tamil and then Bible translations into Telugu.[4] His translation of parts of Genesis was published in Halle in 1745 along with a grammar of the local Hindi language he had encountered in Madras. Henry Martyn printed the New Testament in the Urdu script in 1814.[2] Both versions produced by Benjamin Schultze and Henry Martyn became the basis for subsequent versions translated by various scholars, including William Bowley, John Chamberlain, John Thompson, William Yachts, Leslie Parson, F.E. Schneider and William Hooper.[2]

Additionally, in 1805, Bible translators at the College of Fort William began to translate the Bible in various Indian languages, including Hindustani.[5] Both New Testament and Old Testament have been translated into Hindustani and were published in 1819, 1842 and 1867 respectively from Kolkata and Madras in Nastaliq and Latin script.

## Contemporary translations

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### Hindi

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As with Bible translations into Bengali (his own work), and into Oriya, Sanskrit, Marathi, and Assamese (with the aid of local scholars) an important early stage of the Hindi Bible rests with the work of William Carey in Serampore.[6] Though this had to be revised by John Parsons of Monghyr.[7] Carey attracted also the interest of Henry Martyn, later of Persia, to Hindi.[8] Presbyterian Samuel H. Kellogg who taught at the seminary in Allahabad[9] headed three translators working on translation of the Old Testament into Hindi, including William Hooper, of the Church Missionary Society, and Joseph Arthur Lambert.[10] Kellogg's Hindi Grammar (1876, 1893) is still consulted today.[11] However, 18 years after Kellogg's death in 1899, Edwin Greaves of the London Missionary Society, and author of a Grammar of Modern Hindi (1896, 1908, 1921), in 1917 signalled his concerns about the adequacy of Hindi Bible translations in his Report on Protestant Hindi Christian literature.[12]

In collaboration with Church centric bible translation, Free Bibles India has published a Hindi translation online.

In 2016, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released by Jehovah's Witnesses as a complete Bible translation in Hindi.[13] This replaced the earlier partial translation comprising only the New Testament.[14]

### Urdu

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The New Testament was first translated into the Deccani dialect of Hindi-Urdu by Benjamin Shultze of the Danish Mission in 1745.[15][16] Robert Cotton Mather printed new editions at Mirzapur in 1870.[17]

The first complete Bible was first published in northern Urdu in 1843 - translated by Henry Martyn.

The Revised Version (URD) Kitab-e-Muqaddas of 1943 was published by both the Bible Society of India and the Pakistan Bible Society. It was translated from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Minor revisions were published in 1955, 1989, 1998 and 2005. In India it is available in the Nastaʿlīq, Devanagari and Roman Urdu scripts. In Pakistan it was published in the Nastaʿlīq script only.

The Revised Version was adapted for Catholics, with changes in vocabulary and the addition of deuterocanonical books. It was published by the Pakistan Bible Society for the Catholic Bible Commission Pakistan in 1958 under the title Kalam-e-Muqaddas. The New Testament was revised in 2010. The Old Testament and deutero-canonical books are still in preparation.

Using the semantic-equivalence principles behind the Good News Bible in English, a Common Language Urdu New Testament was prepared under the Eugene Glassman in the 1970s. However, in the face of much opposition from the Christian community within Pakistan, the project was dropped. It was however published by the Bible Society of India.

In 2003-2004 the Easy-to-Read version (ERV-UR)  Muqaddas Baibal was published by the World Bible Translation Center (now Bible League). This was based on the Easy to Read version in English.

In 2004 the Bible was made available online, but in PDF or image format only, due to the difficulties of typesetting the Nastaʿlīq script. In 2009 a Unicode version was made available, beginning with the New Testament. The complete Bible online in Unicode is also available.[18]

The International Bible Society (now known as Biblica) published the New Testament of the New Urdu Bible Version (NUBV) in 2009. This is based on their 1983 revision of New International Version (NIV) in English.[19] It was published in India only, not in Pakistan.

In 2011 the Urdu Geo Version was published by Geolink Resources LLC. This is a completely new translation from the original languages. This uses modern, understandable Urdu. It includes more vocabulary that is easily understood by a Muslim readership.

The Urdu Contemporary Version (UCV) Urdu Hamasar Tarjama of the New Testament was published by Biblica in 2015. The Old Testament is still in preparation.

In collaboration with Church-Centric Bible Translation, Free Bibles India has published the Indian Revised Version (IRV) in the Devanagari script online in 2019.[citation needed]

Henry Martyn's translation - with corrections from the King James Version of 1611 was published by the Holy Bible Foundation in 2016.[citation needed]

In 2015, the New Testament of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures was released in Urdu (Nastaʿlīq script) by Jehovah's Witnesses.[13]

A Commentary on the Glorious Gospel - (Volume 1) Tafseer-e-Injeel-e-Jaleel (Jild-e-Awal) was published in 2019 by the Institute of Eastern Studies and Research. It contains only Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and Revelation. This was produced in literary Urdu by Islamic scholars. It includes the original Greek text of Codex Sinaiticus in the older uncial script, an Urdu word-for-word interlinear translation and an idiomatic translation. There are also some notes and commentary. The word Commentary in its title relates to Muslim theology which maintains that only the text in the original language can be given the name of the book (e.g. Torah), any "translation" is in fact a commentary.

## Comparison

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Translation | John 3:16

|

Original Greek in the uncial script of the oldest manuscripts (adapted to font available) [20] | ΟΥΤWC ΓΑΡ ΗΓΑΠΗCΕΝ Ο ΘΕΟC ΤΟΝ ΚΟCΜΟΝ WCΤΕ ΤΟΝ ΥΙΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΤΟΝ ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΗ ΕΔWΚΕΝ ΙΝΑ ΠΑC Ο ΠΙCΤΕΥWΝ ΕΙC ΑΥΤΟΝ ΜΗ ΑΠΟΛΗΤΑΙ ΑΛΛ ΕΧΗ ΖWΗΝ ΑΙWΝΙΟΝ
Original Greek in miniscule script [21] | Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ὥστε τὸν ⸀υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλὰ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
Henry Martyn's translation [22] | کیونکہ خدا نے جہان کو ایسا پیار کیاھی، کہ اُس نےاپنااِکلوتا بیٹا بخشا تاکہ جو کوئی اُس اِیمان لاوے ہلاک نہ ہوے، بلکہ ہمیشہ کی زندگی پاوے۔
Revised Version (URD) [23] | کیونکہ خُدا نے دُنیا سے اَیسی مُحبّت رکھّی کہ اُس نے اپنا اِکلَوتا بیٹا بخش دِیا تاکہ جو کوئی اُس پر اِیمان لائے ہلاک نہ ہو بلکہ ہمیشہ کی زِندگی پائے۔
Common Language (CL) (here identical to URD, apart from 'erab)  | کیونکہ خُدا نے دُنیا سے ایسی محبت رکھی کہ اُس نے اپنا اِکلَوتا بیٹا بخش دیا تاکہ جو کوئی اُس پر ایمان لائے ہلاک نہ ہو بلکہ ہمیشہ کی زندگی پائے۔
Easy to read version (UR-ERV) [24] | ہاں! خدا نے دنیا سے محبت رکھی ہے اسی لئے اس نے اسکو اپنا بیٹا دیاہے ۔ خدا نے اپنا بیٹا دیا تا کہ ہر آدمی جو اس پر ایمان لا ئے جو کھوتا نہیں مگر ہمیشہ کی زندگی پاتا ہے ۔
New Urdu Bible Version (NUBV)  | کیونکہ خُدا نے دُنیا سے اِس قدر محبّت کی کہ اپنا اکلوتا بیٹا بخش دِیا تاکہ جو کوئی اُس پر اِیمان لائے ہلاک نہ ہو بلکہ ہمیشہ کی زندگی پائے۔
Urdu Geo Version (UGV) [25] | کیونکہ اللہ نے دنیا سے اِتنی محبت رکھی کہ اُس نے اپنے اکلوتے فرزند کو بخش دیا، تاکہ جو بھی اُس پر ایمان لائے ہلاک نہ ہو بلکہ ابدی زندگی پائے۔
Urdu Contemporary Version (UCV) [23] | کیونکہ خُدا نے دُنیا سے اِس قدر مَحَبّت کی کہ اَپنا اِکلوتا بیٹا بَخش دیا تاکہ جو کویٔی بیٹے پر ایمان لایٔے ہلاک نہ ہو بَلکہ اَبدی زندگی پایٔے۔
Tafseer-e-Injil-e-Jaleel [26] | کیون کہ اللہ نے دنیا سے ایسا پیار کیاکہ (اُس نے) لا ثانی لاڈلا (بھیجا) تاکہ ہر شخص جو اُس پر اٰیمان لائے ہلاک نہ ہو، بلکہ اُسے ابدی زندگی ملے۔
New World Translation (Jehovah's Witnesses) [27] | کیونکہ خدا کو دُنیا سے اِتنی محبت ہے کہ اُس نے اپنا اِکلوتا بیٹا دے دیا تاکہ جو کوئی اُس پر ایمان ظاہر کرے، وہ ہلاک نہ ہو بلکہ ہمیشہ کی زندگی پائے۔
Hindi Bible online [28] |

क्योंकि परमेश्वर ने जगत से ऐसा प्रेम रखा कि उस ने अपना एकलौता पुत्र दे दिया, ताकि जो कोई उस पर विश्वास करे, वह नाश न हो, परन्तु अनन्त जीवन पाए।

(In Nastaliq: کیونکہ پرمیشور نے جگت سے ایسا پریم رکھا کہ اُس نے اپنا ایکلوتا پُترہ دے دیا، تاکہ جو کوئی اُس پر وِشواس کرے، وہ ناش نہ ہو، پرنت اننت جیون پائے-)

## References

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1. ^ Strauss, Mark L. (19 September 2023). 40 Questions About Bible Translation. Kregel Publications. ISBN 978-0-8254-4750-1. "Early Bible translations into Hindi and Urdu were often closely connected, and sometimes the same version would simply be written with different scripts."
2. ^ a b c d Ross, Kenneth R. (14 March 2019). Christianity in South and Central Asia. Edinburgh University Press. p. 127\. ISBN 978-1-4744-3984-8.
3. ^ Gerald H. Anderson Biographical dictionary of Christian missions
4. ^ Herald of library science Volume 11 Sarada Ranganathan Endowment for Library Science - 1972 "In 1773, Ferguson's Hindoostani dictionary was published from London. According to Dr L.S. Varshaney, the first translation of the Bible in Hindi appeared in 1725 which was translated by Schultze."
5. ^ Hagglund, Betty (18 February 2020). Women's Travel Writings in India 1777–1854: Volume IV: Mary Martha Sherwood, The Life of Mrs Sherwood (1854). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-47283-6. "In Serampore, in Bengal, the Baptist Society translated the BIble into several Indian languages. Alongside this, the British and Foreign Bible Society opened its first Indian auxiliaries in Calcutta (1811) and Madras (1820). The first group of translators in Calcutta were associated with the College of Fort William, founded in 1800 for the education of young English cadets in the Indian languages. By 1805, Bible translation work had started at the college in five languages: Persian, Hindustani, Western Malay, Oriya, and Marathi."
6. ^ George Kurian The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization, 4 Volume Set - 2011 - Page 378 "With the aid of Indian pandits, Carey translated the entire Bible into six Indian languages – Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, and Assamese – and parts of it into 29 other languages.
7. ^ Bihar district gazetteers: Volume 7; Volume 7 1957 "Carey at Serampur had translated the whole of Bible in Hindi by the end of 1819. Carey's translation, however, was rather heavy and had to be re-done which John Parsons was supposed to have done."
8. ^ Indian church history review Volumes 27-32 Church History Association of India - 1993 "... the first of its kind in India, the Corresponding Committee ceased to exist, its responsibilities passing to the Calcutta ... brilliant, frail Cambridge scholar, Henry Martyn fired by the vision of translating the Bible into Hindi, Persian and Urdu crossed his path Carey presented him with a copy of his translation of the New Testament into
9. ^ Mal Couch, Russell Penney An introduction to classical evangelical hemeneutics 2000 Page 118 "Kellogg taught at the seminary in Allahabad and completed a monumental grammar on the Hindi language in 1875"
10. ^ Mal Couch Dictionary of Premillennial Theology 1997 Page 228 "Kellogg's final task in India was to head a triad of translators of the Old Testament into Hindi. "So highly did his colleagues regard his knowledge of the Bible and Indie philology that after his death they asked for no successor, ."
11. ^ Jeffrey Cox Imperial fault lines: Christianity and colonial power in India 2002- Page 57 "Their Presbyterian colleague Samuel Kellogg's Hindi Grammar (1876, 1893) is still consulted today."
12. ^ Tej K. Bhatia A History of the Hindi Grammatical Tradition 1987 Page 163 "48 Two, because of Greaves's serious concerns about the adequacy of existing translations of the Bible into Hindi, utmost attention is paid to the problems of translating English into Hindi. The most important and urgent problem was.
13. ^ a b "WatchTower publications", Watchtower publications Index (1986-2016)
14. ^ "WatchTower publications", Watchtower publications Index (1986-2009)
15. ^ Darlow, T. H.; Moule, H. F. (18 August 2022). Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture in the Library of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Volume II, 2: Polyglots and Languages Other Than English: Grebo to Opa. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 742\. ISBN 978-1-6667-5225-0. "The earliest version of any book of the Scriptures in Hindostani was made about the middle of the eighteenth century by Benjamin Schultze, a Danish missionary at Tranquebar. He used the Dakhini form of the language, and his version appears in this Catalogue under that heading."
16. ^ "Urdu Bible Translation". bsind.org. Bible Society of India. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
17. ^ British and Foreign Bible Society (1871). Reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Society. p. 228. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
18. ^ "Unicode of Urdu Version". Retrieved 5 July 2014.
19. ^ New Urdu Bible Version. Hyderabad, India: International Bible Society. 1999. p. ا.
20. ^ "Center for New Testament Restoration". greekcntr.org.
21. ^ SBL Greek New Testament
22. ^ "Kitabe muqaddas urdu bible mirzapur".
23. ^ a b یُوحنّا 3 | URD Bible | YouVersion.
24. ^ "Urdu Bible: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV-UR)". Retrieved 2 January 2025.
25. ^ یوحنا 3 | URDGVU Bible | YouVersion.
26. ^ "Tafsir-e-Injil-e-Jalil". April 2019.
27. ^ "یہوواہ کے گواہ". Retrieved 2 January 2025.
28. ^ Word Project

## External links

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### Hindi Versions

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* Hindi Bible of 1834 (Vol 2: 1 Chronicles - Malachi) by William Bowley/Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society: In Public Domain
* The Holy Bible in the Hindi Language North India Bible Society, Allahabad : In Public Domain
* Hindi Bible of 1896 North India Auxiliary Bible Society : In Public Domain
* Hindi Audio Bible

### Urdu Versions

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* Benjamin Shultze's translation Mirzapur reprint of 1870.
* Urdu Geo Version : Copyright 2010 Geolink Resource Consultants, LLC. Published by Good Word Communication Services Pvt. Ltd.,
* Persian script pdf print
* Audio Narration of Urdu Bible