Bible Translations Into French
After a number of French Bible translations in the Middle Ages, the first printed translation of the Bible into French was the work of the French theologian Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples in 1530 in Antwerp, Belgium. This was substantially revised and improved in 1535 by Pierre Robert Olivétan. This Bible, in turn, became the basis of the first French Catholic Bible, published at Leuven in 1550, the work of Nicholas de Leuze and François de Larben. Finally, the Bible de Port-Royal, prepared by Antoine Lemaistre and his brother Louis Isaac Lemaistre, finished in 1695, achieved broad acceptance among both Catholics and Protestants. Jean-Frédéric Ostervald's version (1724) also enjoyed widespread popularity.
Among Catholics, the most notable contemporary French translation is La Bible de Jérusalem, available in English as The Jerusalem Bible, which appeared first in French in 1954 and was revised in 1973. Its copious but concise footnotes and apparatus have won respect among both Protestant and Catholic readers. This translation has served as the basis for versions in many other languages besides French.
Many Francophone Protestants now use the Louis Segond version, which was finished in 1880, and revised substantially between 1975 and 1978. The Revised Louis Segond Bible is published by the American Bible Society. In 2007 the Geneva Bible Society published an updated edition of the Segond text called Segond 21. It is described by its sponsors as "L’original, avec les mots d’aujourd’hui" (the original, but with today's words).
Another modern French Bible is the Bible du Semeur, finished in 2000. This is a more thought-for-thought translation than Segond's, and it uses more contemporary language. It is published by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). Another similarly translated Bible that is very popular with French readers is the Bible en français courant, published in 1987 by the Alliance Biblique Universelle.
The chief Jewish version of the Hebrew Scriptures in French is La Bible du rabbinat français, which was finished in 1906 and was revised in 1966.
André Chouraqui has published a version designed for use by both Jews and Christians; though Jewish himself, he included the New Testament.
Jehovah's Witnesses have translated their New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures into French.
Read more about Bible Translations Into French: Comparison, Chronological List, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words translations and/or french:
“Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 18:7.
Other translations use “temptations.”
“It was not reason that besieged Troy; it was not reason that sent forth the Saracen from the desert to conquer the world; that inspired the crusades; that instituted the monastic orders; it was not reason that produced the Jesuits; above all, it was not reason that created the French Revolution. Man is only great when he acts from the passions; never irresistible but when he appeals to the imagination.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)