Hard Waka for Kasem Bible Long Greek Languis wea Pipol Minim

Maet iu sapraes for savve hao long Greece, kantri wea samfala taem pipol kolem ples wea free tingting hem start, for wakem Bible transleison long languis wea evriwan minim hem wanfala hard and longfala stragol. Bat hu nao bae laek stopem wei for wakem Greek Bible wea isi for pipol minim? And for wanem reason?

MAET iumi tingse pipol wea savve long Greek languis garem naesfala privilege bikos firstaem, haf long olketa Holy Scripture hem long languis bilong olketa. Bat, Greek languis bilong distaem hem barava difren from Greek languis insaed Septuagint transleison bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture and from olketa Christian Greek Scripture. Tru tumas, insaed six handred year wea go pas finis, planti pipol wea iusim Greek languis no savve minim Greek languis insaed long Bible, wea olsem wanfala barava difren languis. Olketa niu word changem old wan, and list bilong olketa word, grammar, and wei for raetem sentence hem difren.

Samfala old Greek manuscript from mek-3 go kasem mek-16 century showimaot samfala pipol trae for transleitim Septuagint long Greek languis wea moa niu. Long mek-thri century, Gregory, bishop bilong Neocaesarea (c. 213-c. 270 C.E.), transleitim buk bilong Ecclesiastes from Septuagint go long Greek languis wea moa simpol. Long mek-11 century, wanfala Jew long Macedonia wea nem bilong hem Tobias ben Eliezer, hem transleitim samfala part bilong Pentateuch from Septuagint go long Greek languis wea pipol iusim evriday. And tu, for helpem olketa Jew wea stap long Macedonia wea savve toktok long Greek languis bat wea savve readim Hebrew, hem iusim Hebrew alphabet. Olketa pablisim full Pentateuch olsem long Constantinople long 1547.

Samfala Laet Midolwan Long Darkness

Bihaen olketa Ottoman tekovarem olketa ples wea pipol iusim Greek languis wea stap anda long Byzantine Empire long mek-15 century, staka pipol no kasem education. Nomata Orthodox Church kasem samfala spesol favor anda long Ottoman Empire, hem no lukaftarem gud pipol bilong hem and letem olketa kamap poor and no garem education. Greek man for raet, Thomas Spelios, hem sei: “Main goal bilong Orthodox Church and education system bilong hem, hem for protectim olketa church member from olketa idea bilong olketa Muslim and Roman Catholic religion. From diswan, Greek education hem nomoa nao.” Long datfala nogud taem, pipol wea lovem Bible iusim buk bilong Psalms for helpem and comfortim pipol. From 1543 go kasem 1835, 18-fala transleison bilong Psalms kamap long Greek languis wea pipol toktok long hem.

Long 1630, wanfala Greek monk, Maximus Callipolites, wakem firstfala Greek transleison bilong full Christian Greek Scripture. Disfala waka hem go ahed anda long direction and saport bilong Cyril Lucaris, bishop bilong Constantinople and man wea laek for changem samfala teaching bilong Orthodox Church. Bat samfala church member againstim Lucaris, and no laek for changem eni samting and no agree for transleitim Bible long languis wea pipol toktok long hem.a From olketa tingse hem againstim church, olketa skwisim nek bilong Lucaris and killim hem dae. Nomata olsem, olketa printim samting olsem 1,500 copy bilong transleison bilong Maximus long 1638. Thirti-foa year bihaen, wanfala Orthodox synod long Jerusalem talemaot hao “olketa man nating shud no readim [olketa Scripture], bat only olketa man wea lukluk deep insaed long olketa spiritual samting bihaen olketa duim finis gudfala research.” Diswan minim olketa bigman wea garem education nomoa shud readim olketa Scripture.

Long 1703, Seraphim, wanfala Greek monk from island bilong Lesbos, trae for pablisim wanfala revised copy bilong transleison bilong Maximus long London. Taem olketa ruler bilong England brekem promis bilong olketa for saportim diswan saed long selen, Seraphim iusim selen bilong hemseleva for duim datfala printing. Long introduction wea hem raetem insaed datfala transleison, Seraphim hem tok stret and strongim need for “evri Christian wea strong saed long worship” for readim Bible, and hem accusim olketa bigman wea garem hae position long church from wei wea olketa “stopem pipol for garem education for haedem rong samting wea olketa bigman hia duim.” From diswan, olketa long Orthodox Church wea againstim hem arrange for olketa wea garem paoa for arrestim hem long Russia and sendem hem go long Siberia wea hem dae long 1735.

Taem wanfala Greek bigman bilong church storyim hao pipol wea iusim Greek languis long datfala taem barava hangre long spiritual wei, hem sei olsem abaotem narafala revised copy bilong datfala Maximus transleison: “Greek pipol acceptim disfala Holy Bible, and olketa narawan, witim love and feeling for barava wantem tumas. And olketa readim datwan. And diswan givim comfort for pain wea olketa kasem, and faith bilong olketa long God . . . hem kamap moa strong.” Bat, olketa bigman wari nogud pipol minim Bible and then luksavve hao biliv and samting olketa bigman duim hem no followim Bible. Dastawe, long 1823 and 1836, bishop bilong Constantinople givim order for bonem evri copy bilong olketa Bible transleison hia.

Wanfala Transleita wea No Fraet

Long datfala taem wea samfala strong for againstim Bible and samfala narawan barava want for savve long Bible, wanfala man duim important waka saed long wei for transleitim Bible long Greek languis wea pipol minim. Disfala man wea no fraet hem Neofitos Vamvas, man wea savve long olketa languis and savveman bilong Bible, wea pipol ting long hem olsem wanfala long “Olketa Teacher Bilong Nation.”

Vamvas barava luksavve hao Orthodox Church mas kasem blame for wei wea pipol no savve long Bible. Hem barava bilivim hao, for mekem pipol wekap long spiritual wei, olketa needim Bible transleison long Greek languis wea olketa iusim long datfala taem. Long 1831, witim help bilong samfala nara savveman, hem start for transleitim Bible long Greek languis wea olketa savveman iusim. Hem pablisim datfala full transleison long 1850. From Greek Orthodox Church no willing for saportim hem, hem waka tugeta witim British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) for pablisim and givimaot disfala transleison. Church les long hem and kolem hem “wanfala Protestant.”

Transleison bilong Vamvas hem followim King James Version so hem garem olketa mistek bilong datfala version, bikos long datfala taem savve abaotem Bible and olketa languis hem no big tumas. Nomata olsem, for planti year hem nomoa Bible wea pipol garem long Greek languis wea olketa minim. Wanfala interesting point hem hao datfala Bible garem nem bilong God, “Ieová,” fofala taem.—Genesis 22:14; Exodus 6:3; 17:15; Judges 6:24.

Hao nao pipol ting long diswan and olketa narafala Bible wea isi for minim? Evriwan hapi fogud! Taem wanfala man for sellim olketa Bible wea waka for BFBS sidaon insaed boat klosap long wanfala island long Greece, “staka pikinini insaed olketa boat kam long hem for kasem [olketa Bible]. Diswan forcem hem for . . . givim order for captain for lusim ples hia,” sapos nomoa, evri Bible bae finis nao! Bat olketa wea againstim hem duim samting kwiktaem.

Olketa Orthodox priest warnim pipol for no acceptim kaen transleison olsem. Olsem example, long taon bilong Athens, olketa tekem Bible from pipol. Long 1833, Orthodox bishop bilong Crete bonem olketa “Niu Testament” wea hem faendem long wanfala monastery. Wanfala priest haedem wanfala copy and pipol long olketa vilij klosap haedem copy bilong olketa go kasem taem bishop lusim datfala island.

Samfala year bihaen, long island bilong Corfu, Holy Synod bilong Greek Orthodox Church tambuim transleison bilong Vamvas. Olketa stopem eniwan for sellim, and distroem eni copy wea stap. Long olketa island bilong Chios, Síros, and Mykonos, fasin for heit bilong olketa bigman bilong church muvim olketa for bonem olketa Bible. Bat olketa narawan wea againstim waka for transleitim Bible kamap bihaen.

Wanfala Queen Showimaot Interest Long Bible

Long olketa year bilong 1870, Queen Olga bilong Greece hem luksavve hao staka pipol long Greece no savve gud long Bible. From hem bilivim hao savve from Bible bae comfortim and strongim nation, hem lukaotem wei for garem Bible long languis wea moa simpol winim transleison bilong Vamvas.

Archbishop bilong Athens and hed bilong datfala Holy Synod, Prokopios, encouragem queen saed long datwan. Bat taem queen askem Holy Synod for appruvim diswan, olketa no willing. Nomata olsem, hem go ahed and ask moa, bat long 1899, mek-tu ansa bilong olketa hem nomoa tu. Hem go ahed nomoa and disaed for pablisim samfala copy and hemseleva peim kost. Hem kasem disfala goal long 1900.

Olketa wea Strong for Againstim

Long 1901, The Acropolis, wanfala main niuspepa long Athens, pablisim Gospel bilong Matthew long Demotic Greek languis wea Alexander Pallis, wanfala transleita wea waka long Liverpool, England, hem transleitim. Luk olsem samting wea muvim Pallis and olketa wea waka witim hem, hem for ‘teachim Greek pipol’ and for “helpem datfala nation kamap gud moa.”

Olketa student wea skulim Orthodox religion and olketa professor wea teachim olketa sei disfala transleison hem “mekfani long olketa holy samting bilong datfala nation,” and spoelem wei wea Bible hem holy samting. Bishop bilong Constantinople, Joakim III, raetem wanfala pepa wea tok againstim disfala transleison. Olketa difren saed long politik join insaed disfala raoa tu and iusim diswan for againstim each other.

Sekson wea garem paoa wea waka for niuspepa long Athens start for attakim Pallis transleison and kolem olketa wea saportim diswan, “olketa wea no biliv long God,” “wea againstim church,” and “sekson wea waka for difren gavman” wea laek spoelem living bilong pipol long Greece. Start long November 5 go kasem 8, 1901, samfala grup wea barava againstim eni change insaed Greek Orthodox Church, muvim olketa student for bighed and duim raf fasin long Athens. Olketa student hia attakim olketa office bilong The Acropolis, march againstim palace, tekovarem University of Athens, and tok strong long gavman for finis from waka. Insaed disfala nogud samting wea olketa duim, eitfala pipol dae taem army trae stopem olketa. Long nextfala day, king talem Archbishop Prokopios for finis from waka, and tufala day bihaen full sekson long gavman finis from waka.

Wan month bihaen, olketa student komplen moa and bonem wanfala copy bilong Pallis transleison long pablik. Olketa talem wanfala resolution againstim wei for givimaot disfala transleison and sei sapos eniwan trae for givimaot long future, olketa mas kasem strongfala panis. Diswan kamap olsem excuse for mekem law for stopem eniwan for iusim eni Bible transleison long Greek languis wea pipol minim. Diswan barava nogud samting!

“Toktok Bilong Jehovah Hem Stap for Olowe”

Long 1924, olketa finisim datfala law for stopem pipol for iusim Bible long Greek languis wea pipol minim. Start long datfala taem, Greek Orthodox Church hem fail evribit for stopem pipol for garem Bible. Long semtaem, Olketa Jehovah’s Witness lead saed long Bible education long Greece, olsem olketa duim long planti nara kantri. Start kam long 1905, olketa iusim Vamvas transleison for helpem planti thousand pipol for savve long Bible truth.

Insaed olketa year wea go pas, planti savveman and professor trae hard for transleitim wanfala Bible long Greek languis wea pipol minim. Distaem, samting olsem 30 difren transleison bilong full Bible or samfala part bilong hem stap wea isi for pipol bilong Greece for readim. Wanfala spesol wan hia hem Greek version bilong New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, wea olketa releasem long 1997 for helpem 16 million pipol raonem world wea iusim Greek languis. Disfala transleison wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness wakem, hem isi for readim and minim and hem followim evribit olketa firstfala raeting.

Hard waka for kasem Bible long Greek languis wea pipol minim showimaot wanfala important point. Hem showimaot klia hao nomata samfala man barava againstim, “toktok bilong Jehovah hem stap for olowe.”—1 Peter 1:25.

[Footnote]

[Piksa long page 27]

Cyril Lucaris directim waka for transleitim firstfala full Christian Greek Scripture long Greek languis long 1630

[Credit Line]

Bib. Publ. Univ. de Genève

[Olketa Piksa long page 28]

Samfala transleison long Greek languis wea pipol iusim long datfala taem: Psalms: (1) bilong IIarion wea olketa printim long 1828, (2) bilong Vamvas long 1832, (3) bilong Julianus long 1643. “Old Testament”: (4) bilong Vamvas wea olketa printim long 1840

Queen Olga

[Olketa Credit Line]

Olketa Bible: National Library of Greece; Queen Olga: Culver Pictures

[Piksa Credit Line long page 29]

Papyrus: Reproduced by kind permission of The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin