The Bible Society for the Netherlands and Flanders ( nl, Nederlands-Vlaams Bijbelgenootschap; NBG) is a non-denominational

Bible society A Bible society is a non-profit organization, usually nondenominational in makeup, devoted to translating, publishing, and distributing the Bible at affordable prices. In recent years they also are increasingly involved in advocating its credibi ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

devoted to translating, publishing, and distributing the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

at affordable costs. The NBG is based in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

and was formed on 29 June 1814 on the initiative of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

(BFBS).

History

After the establishment of the BFBS in 1804, Bible societies were set up in many European countries to facilitate the affordable publishing and distribution of the Bible, particularly in the wake of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. This was only possible in the Netherlands after the withdrawal of the French occupation army over the course of 1813 after eight years of French domination and direct occupation. Local Bible societies were set up in the various provinces and they were united as the NBG in 1815. The mission of the NBG was deliberately limited to the distribution of Bibles and literature with the work of

evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

being left to other agencies. The initial activities of the NBG was to purchase and redistribute Bibles or portions of the Bible affordably to the public. In November 1815, the NBG reported: * Purchased 2,208 copies of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

and the Bible * Received 1,894 copies of the same * Distributed 1,608 copies of the same to prisoners, Sunday Schools, and the poor

Translation, publishing and distribution of the Dutch Bible

In 1847, the NBG decided to take up the work of publishing the Bible themselves. The version that was primarily distributed in the Netherlands then was the 1637

Statenvertaling The ''Statenvertaling'' (, ''States Translation'') or ''Statenbijbel'' (''States Bible'') was the first translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages into Dutch, ordered by the Synod of Dordrecht 1618 and financed ...

(, also known as the ''Statenbijbel'' or State Bible). The NBG appointed two

colporteur Colportage is the distribution of publications, books, and religious tracts by carriers called "colporteurs" or "colporters". The term does not necessarily refer to religious book peddling. Etymology From French , where the term is an alterat ...

s in 1890 specially for distribution in the countryside where the Bible was often difficult to obtain by laypeople. This was initially done by pushcart and later evolved into using horse-drawn carriages and trucks. These "Mobile Bible Houses" became a hallmark of the NBG's distribution programme until it was eventually discontinued in 2002.

NBG Translation

Over time the 17th century Statenvertaling had become less accessible to the general public due to the evolution and development of the Dutch language as well as the advances made in biblical scholarship. Earlier attempts in the 19th century to revised the Statenvertaling were not successful and in 1911 a group of scholars decided to embark on a new translation of the Bible in Dutch that would be translated from Greek manuscripts considered more reliable than the Textus Receptus while staying faithful to the idiomatic style of the Statenvertaling that the majority of Dutch Christians were familiar with. In 1927, the NBG got involved in the project and eventually became the main sponsor and coordinator. Translators in the project were from the Protestant church in the Netherlands and represented the various theological streams within Protestantism. In 1939 the New Testament was completed and published and in 1951 the full Bible was published as the NBG Vertaling ().

Great News For You

A new English translation of the New Testament using the principle of dynamic equivalence had been published in 1966 by the

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

. Entitled ''Good New For Modern Man: The New Testament in Today's English Version'', it was targeted at people who did not have English as their first language as well as people who had limited exposure to church. As Dutch society rapidly

secularised In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, many felt that a translation based on similar principles was needed. This resulted in the publishing of the Groot Nieuws voor U () translation of the New Testament, primarily as a result of the work of A. W. G. Jaake.

Revised Statenvertaling

The NBG also commissioned a revised edition of the Statenvertaling by establishing a revision committee under Rev. C. A. Tukker. This revision was primarily a linguistic adaptation with modernised spelling used without any further substantial changes and was published in 1977 as the Statenvertaling 1977 (also known as the ''Tukkervertaling'' or Tukker Translation).

Great News Bible

After the

, the NBG started collaborating with the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Katholieke Bijbelstichting (; KBS) to translate and produce a modern Dutch language

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

translation of the Bible. Efforts remain stymied by various reasons and it was decided to first publish an ecumenical translation using vernacular Dutch. This took off from the 1972 ''Groot Nieuws voor U'' translation of the New Testament and by 1983, the full Bible including the Deuterocanonical books was published in 1983 as the Groot Nieuws Bijbel (). This version was revised in 1996 to incorporate the latest scholarship as well as contemporary changes in Dutch spelling.

New Bible Translation

As a result of a 1989 meeting of the Consultative Council on the Bible, a decision was made to translate and publish a completely new ecumenical translation. In 1993, the translation work began with the NBG, and the Vlaams Bijbelgenootschap () representing the Protestants while the KBS and the Vlaamse Bijbelstichting () representing the Roman Catholics. A complete

formal Formal, formality, informal or informality imply the complying with, or not complying with, some set of requirements (forms, in Ancient Greek). They may refer to: Dress code and events * Formal wear, attire for formal events * Semi-formal attire ...

ecumenical translation of the Bible was finally published in 2004 as the Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling () and launched in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

by Queen Beatrix.

Bible in Plain Language

In 2014, the NBG published the Bijbel in Gewone Taal (). This translation, started in 2006, is new translation in contemporary

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

Dutch and the first copy was presented to King Willem-Alexander, the patron of the NBG, on 1 October 2014.

Translation, publishing and distribution of the Bible in the East Indies

Not long after its establishment, the NBG also turned its attention to the distribution of the Bible in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

. It started by reprinting the 1733 Leydekker Bible in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

. In 1823, the NBG had also started its own initiative in translating the Bible into Javanese and other local languages of the East Indies. In 1826, the first NBG sponsored linguist and translator, Johann Friedrich Carl Gericke, was despatched to

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

and he completed a translation of the whole Bible in Javanese in 1854. The NBG also sponsored other linguists and translators, including

Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk (23 February 1824 – 17 August 1894) was a Bible translator and linguist specialising in the languages of the Dutch East Indies. Early years and studies Van der Tuuk was born in Malacca (part of the Dutch East ...

(

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...

Nicolaus Adriani Nicolaus Adriani (15 September 1865, Oud-Loosdrecht – 5 August 1926, Poso, Central Sulawesi) was a Christian missionary from the Netherlands who did work in Indonesia. He studied linguistics of the East Indies at Leiden University, obtaining his ...

( Bare'e),

Benjamin Frederik Matthes Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

( Makassarese and

Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...

), and

Hendrik Kraemer Hendrik Kraemer (born 17 May 1888 in Amsterdam, died 11 November 1965 in Driebergen) was a lay missiologist and figure in the ecumenical movement from Dutch Reformed Church in the Netherlands. He encouraged the Dutch to allow the spread missionary ...

. In 1895, a New Testament in the

West Timor West Timor ( id, Timor Barat) is an area covering the western part of the island of Timor, except for the district of Oecussi-Ambeno (an East Timorese exclave). Administratively, West Timor is part of East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The ca ...

ese Roti language was published by the NBG. It was only after the establishment of the United Bible Societies (UBS) in 1946 and the Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia () in 1951 was the responsibility for translating the Bible into languages other than Dutch was transferred from the NBG to the UBS and LAI. Bibles and Bible portions translated and published by the NBG in the languages and dialects of the Dutch East Indies include:

The NBG today

In keeping with its goal of: * Translating The Bible * Making The Bible Available * Increasing Engagement With The Bible the NBG uses multiple platforms to increase Bible accessibility and literacy in the Netherlands, including the setting up of an online portal
debijbel.nl
that provides online resources for the study of the Bible. The NBG, as a member of the UBS, also works closely with other affiliated Bible Societies to produce modern translations of the Bible and improve distribution channels.

External links

NBG Website (in Dutch)

de Bijbel site van Nederlands (in Dutch)

References

{{Authority control Bible societies Charities based in the Netherlands Religious organizations established in 1814 Christian organizations established in the 19th century 1814 establishments in the Netherlands