Bible translations into French date back to the Medieval era. 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 Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. This was substantially revised and improved in 1535 by

Pierre Robert Olivétan Pierre Robert Olivetan/Olivétan (c. 1506 – 1538), a Waldensian by faith, was the first to translate the Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred i ...

. This Bible, in turn, became the basis of the first French Catholic Bible, published at

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

in 1550, the work of Nicholas de Leuze and François de Larben. See also the Douay–Rheims Bible whose New Testament was published in 1582, and Old Testament, in two volumes, in 1609 and 1610 by the University of Douai. Finally, the

Bible de Port-Royal The ''Bible de Port-Royal'' (or ''Bible de Sacy'') is a French translation of the Catholic Bible, first published in installments between 1667 and 1696. Though praised for the purity of its Classicism, classical form, the work attracted the suspici ...

, prepared by Antoine Lemaistre and his brother Louis Isaac Lemaistre, finished in 1695, achieved broad acceptance among both Catholics and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Jean-Frédéric Ostervald Jean-Frédéric or Jean-Frederic may refer to: *Jean Frederic Bazille (1841–1870), French Impressionist painter *Jean-Frédéric Chapuis (born 1989), French freestyle skier *Jean Frédéric Auguste Delsarte (1903–1968), French mathematician *Je ...

's version (1744) 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. This translation, and its concise footnotes and apparatus, has served as the basis for versions in many other languages besides French. Many Francophone Protestants now use the

Louis Segond Louis Segond (3 May 1810 – 18 June 1885) was a Swiss theologian who translated the Bible into French from the original texts in Hebrew and Greek. He was born in Plainpalais, near Geneva. After studying theology in Geneva, Strasbourg and Bon ...

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, with today's words"). Another modern French Bible is the Bible du Semeur (''Bible of the sower)'', finished in 1999. This is a more thought-for-thought translation than Segond's, and it uses a more contemporary language. It is published by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). Another similarly translated Bible which is used by 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 Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

have translated their Bible into French under the name ''La Bible.Traduction du monde nouveau'' (New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures); formerly it was called ''Les Saintes Écritures. Traduction du monde nouveau''.

Comparison

Chronological list

Manuscript translations

* 1226–1250, translation of Jean le Bon of the University of Paris. Unfinished and continued in the 14th century by

Jean de Sy Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

and the Dominicans,

Jehan Nicolas Jehan is a male given name. It is the old orthography of Jean in Old French, and is rarely given anymore. It is also a variant of the Persian name Jahan in some South Asian languages. People with the given name Jehan * Jehan Adam (15th century) ...

Guillaume Vivien Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also * '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War espi ...

, and

Jehan de Chambly Jehan is a male given name. It is the old orthography of Jean in Old French, and is rarely given anymore. It is also a variant of the Persian name Jahan in some South Asian languages. People with the given name Jehan * Jehan Adam (15th century) ...

. * 1250–1254, the

Acre Bible The Acre Bible is a partial Old French version of the Old Testament, containing both new and revised translations of 15 canonical and 4 deuterocanonical books, plus a prologue and glosses. The books are ''Genesis'', ''Exodus'', '' Leviticus'', '' ...

, anonymous translation of part of the Old Testament, exists in two illustrated copies and contains the earliest Western vernacular translation of Job * 1297 the ''

Bible historiale The Bible Historiale was the predominant medieval translation of the Bible into French. It translates from the Latin Vulgate significant portions from the Bible accompanied by selections from the ''Historia Scholastica'' by Peter Comestor (d. c. ...

'' of Guyart Desmoulins or Guyart des Moulins. Consisting of the

Historia Scholastica The ''Historia Scholastica'' is a twelfth-century Biblical paraphrase written in Medieval Latin by Petrus Comestor. Sometimes called the "Medieval Popular Bible", it draws on the Bible and other sources, including the works of classical scholars an ...

of Petrus Comestor, a liberal translation of most of the Bible, and an assemblage of glosses and other materials from several sources. The content of the manuscripts is variable, and successive versions seem to add books of the Bible which were missing in Guyart's original. * 1377, ''Bible de Charles V.'' Translation by

Raoul de Presles __NOTOC__ Raoul is a French variant of the male given name Ralph or Rudolph, and a cognate of Raul. Raoul may also refer to: Given name * Raoul Berger, American legal scholar * Raoul Bova, Italian actor * Radulphus Brito (Raoul le Breton, di ...

dedicated to Charles V

Printed translations

15th century

* 1476, ''Nouveau Testament.'' Printed by

Barthélemy Buyer Barthélemy, or Barthélémy is a French name, a cognate of Bartholomew. Notable people with this name include: Given name * Barthélemy (explorer), French youth who accompanied the explorer de La Salle in 1687 * Barthélémy Bisengimana, Cong ...

in Lyon, translated from the Vulgate. * 1487, Bible of Jean de Rély''.'' Printed for the first time in Paris and reprinted at least ten times in the fifty years that followed. It is an illustrated Bible, published from a late manuscript of the ''Bible historiale'' of

Guyart des Moulins Guyart des Moulins was a medieval monk. He is famous for being the author of the first Bible translation in French, the '' Bible Historiale''. __NOTOC__ Life According to Alexis Paulin Paris, his name is written in "The Directory of manuscripts in ...

16th century

* 1523, ''Nouveau Testament'' by Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples * 1528, ''Ancien Testament'' by Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples. From the Vulgate, printed in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

1530, 1534, 1541. Revised by

Nicolas de Leuze Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

(Antwerp, 1548). This is the first complete translation of the Hebrew scriptures into French. *1535, Bible d'Olivétan: first translation made from the original Hebrew and Greek It introduced the expression ''l'Éternel'' (the Eternal) to render the Tetragrammaton. Pierre Robert, called Olivétan, who was probably a cousin of

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

, wrote the Latin preface. The translation is accompanied by numerous scholarly notes. The New Testament follows the Textus Receptus. *1543, ''Cinquante psaumes avec mélodies'': anonymous translation of Psalms by

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. Biography Youth Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c.&n ...

. * 1551, Bible of

Sebastian Castellion Sebastian Castellio (also Sébastien Châteillon, Châtaillon, Castellión, and Castello; 1515 – 29 December 1563) was a French preacher and theologian; and one of the first Reformed Christian proponents of religious toleration, freedom of c ...

: translated from the Hebrew and Greek. Condemned by John Calvin. * 1560, Bible de Genève of Jean Calvin: follows the ''Bible d'Olivétan'' * 1588, Revision of the Bible de Genève by Theodore Beza and

Corneille Bertram Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

. * 1550‑1608, Bible de

Louvain Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

: essentially a revision of the Bible of Lefebvre d'Étaples. * 1566, traduction de René Benoist: from the Vulgate (Paris). Suspected of Calvinism, it caused numerous controversies.

17th century

* 1667, ''Nouveau Testament'' of Antoine and Isaac Lemaître de Sacy: from the Greek. Printed in Amsterdam. * 1696, Translation of the whole Bible by the Jansenist abbey of Port-Royal de Paris, translated between 1657 and 1696.

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pa ...

and other influential writers such as

Robert Arnauld d'Andilly Robert Arnauld d’Andilly (28 May 1589 – 27 September 1674, abbaye de Port-Royal-des-Champs)Jean Lesaulnier et Anthony McKenna dir., ''Dictionnaire de Port-Royal'', Paris, Honoré Champion, 2004, notice "Robert Arnauld d’Andilly", p. 108. wa ...

, Pierre Nicole,

Pierre Thomas du Fossé Pierre Thomas, sieur du Fossé (1634–1698) was a French scholar and author, and was the son of a master of accounts at Rouen. He was sent as a child to be educated to the Jansenists at Port-Royal des Champs. There he received his bent towards ...

, participated in the translation, under the leadership of

Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy (29 March 1613 – 4 January 1684), a priest of Port-Royal, was a theologian and French humanist. He is best known for his translation of the Bible, the most widespread French Bible in the 18th century, also known as t ...

, * 1696, ''Le Nouveau Testament'' by

David Martin David or Dave Martin may refer to: Entertainment *David Martin (artist) (1737–1797), Scottish painter and engraver *David Stone Martin (1913–1992), American artist *David Martin (poet) (1915–1997), Hungarian-Australian poet and novelist *Dav ...

: revision of the ''Bible de Genève'' accompanied by notes.

18th century

* 1702, New Testament of Richard Simon, an

Oratorian An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...

who devoted his life to many works of exegesis and critical research on the Bible text. He was knowledgeable in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic (the language spoken by Christ), and traditional Jewish methods of exegesis. * 1707, ''La Sainte Bible'' by

: revision of the ''Bible de Genève'' accompanied by notes. Available online a
Martin 1707
* 1741, Bible of Charles de Cène, a pastor and refugee in the Dutch Republic * 1736, revision of

's bible by the pastor Pierre Roques *1744, revision by

Jean-Frédéric Osterwald Jean-Frédéric Osterwald (or Ostervald) (25 November 1663 – 14 April 1747) was a Protestant pastor from Neuchâtel (now in Switzerland). Life He was born at Neuchâtel in 1663 in a patrician family, a son of the Reformed pastor Johann Rudolf O ...

of the Bible de Genève.

19th century

* 1820–1824, ''Sainte Bible (traduction nouvelle)'', by Antoine Eugène Genoud (also known as the abbot of Genoude), Paris, Imprimerie royale. * 1831–1851, ''La Bible, Traduction Nouvelle'' by

Samuel Cahen Samuel Cahen (4 August 1796, Metz, France – 8 January 1862, Paris) was a French Hebraist and journalist. Early life Cahen was brought up at Mainz. He pursued a course of rabbinical studies while simultaneously devoting much attention to moder ...

: Jewish Bible, Hebrew and French bilingual edition. * 1843, ''Sainte Bible'' by

Jean-Jacques Bourassé Jean-Jacques Bourassé (22 December 1813, Ste.-Maure (Indre-et-Loire), France—4 October 1872, Tours) was a French Roman Catholic priest, archaeologist and historian. He made his preparatory studies for the priesthood in Paris. In 1835, he tau ...

and Pierre Désiré Janvier, also called ''Bible de Tours'', translated from the Vulgate. Published in 1866 in a deluxe version illustrated by Gustave Doré, re-edited in 1985 by Jean de Bonnot. * 1846, translation of the Gospels by Felicite Robert de Lamennais. It is this text that was read by, notably,

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

and Arthur Rimbaud. * 1847, ''Ancien Testament'', H.-A. Perret-Gentil: in 2 volumes, following the Hebrew text * 1855, Revision of ''La Sainte Bible'' of

* 1859, ''La Sainte Bible'' of John Nelson Darby (originator of dispensationalism): from the Greek and Hebrew. Darby also translated the Bible into English and German. Very literal. * 1860, ''Ancien Testament'' by

Lazare Wogue Lazare is the French and Georgian form of the given name Lazarus, which is itself derived from the Hebrew name Eleazar. It is also a surname. Lazare may refer to: Given name * Lazare de Baïf (1496–1547), French diplomat and humanist * Lazare ...

: with the collaboration of

Ben Baruk de Crehange Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

, or B. Mosse of

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

* 1872, the ''Nouveau Testament'' by Jean-Hugues Oltramare: who has the distinction of giving in his notes all Greek variants in Nestle-Aland and weighing them * 1872, ''Ancien Testament'' by Pierre Giguet: translated from the Septuagint * 1873, ''La Sainte Bible'' by Jean Baptiste Glaire, commentary by F. Vigouroux: translated from the Vulgate * 1874, ''L'Ancien Testament'' by

* 1877, ''Nouveau Testament selon la Vulgate'' : translated into French with notes by Jean Baptiste Glaire. *1877. ''La Sainte Bible'' by Ostervald *1880, ''Le Nouveau Testament'' and ''La Bible'' by

: the original version is no longer readily available since it underwent a revision in 1910 (after the death of Louis Segond). The new version (Segond-1910) was (and still is) the most widely used by French Protestants * 1881, ''Bible de Reus'' by Edouard Antoine Reus, inspired by German translations. * 1881, ''Sainte Bible'' by Antoine Arnaud, from the Vulgate, intended for seminarians * 1885, ''Ancien Testament'' by John Nelson Darby (originator of dispensationalism): from Hebrew and without scientific pretensions but with the desire to render the original language as literally as possible. * 1886–1896, ''Bible rationaliste'' by

Eugène Ledrain Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Henri Lasserre Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

. Received an imprimatur * 1899, ''L'Ancien et le Nouveau Testament'' with a French translation in the form of a paraphrase by R.P. de Carrières and commentary by Ménochius of the Jesuits * 1900, ''La Bible annotée'' translation and commentary of the Old Testament; collective work by a group of theologians in Neuchatel, under the direction of Frederic Godet (translation by Felix Bovet)

20th century

*1902,

La Bible du Rabbinat LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

by Zadoc Kahn, with numerous collaborators. Published as a bilingual Hebrew–French edition. *1910. Bible Louis Segond. *1923, Bible Crampon. Chart of liturgical readings from the Epistles and Gospels, maps and plans. *1976,

Traduction œcuménique de la Bible The Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (; Abrev., abr.: TOB; full name: ''La Bible : traduction œcuménique'') is a French Ecumenism, ecumenical translation of the Bible, first made in 1975-1976 by Catholics and Protestants. The project was in ...

(TOB). Ecumenical Translation of the Bible by Catholics and Protestants. *1978. Segond Révisée (Colombe) (SER) *1995, ''Les Saintes Écritures. Traduction du monde nouveau.'' The Bible is based on English 1984 edition of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Produced and Published by

. *1996. Bible Ostervald. A revision of the Ostervald text, popular among francophone Protestants in the 19th century. *1997, La Bible en Français Courant (FC). In 1982, the Universal Biblical Alliance published the first edition of the Bible in fluent French. Here is a new edition today with a carefully revised text. *1998, La Bible de Jérusalem. French translation done under the leadership of the École biblique de Jérusalem seeking exegetical rigor as well as an elegant style. 1998 revised text with imprimatur. *1999, La Bible du Semeur.

21st century

* 2001, ''La Bible'', by André Chouraqui. A translation which attempts to transcribe the play on words or the etymology of the words of Biblical languages. *2002, La Nouvelle Bible Segond. *2010, Traduction oecuménique de la Bible (TOB 2010). Ecumenical Translation of the Bible by Catholics and Protestants. *2013, ''La Bible : traduction officielle liturgique'' coordinated by Father Henri Delhougne, O.S.B., with numerous collaborators. *2017, Bible Parole de Vie (PDV). Word of Life version. * 2018, ''La Bible. Traduction du monde nouveau.'' The Bible is based from the English 2013 revision of the
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
'' This newly revised edition includes the use of more modern and understandable language, appendixes, and many more. Produced and Published by Jehovah's Witnesses. *2019, Nouvelle Français Courant (NFC), revision of the Bible en français courant

References

External links

Bible Segond 1910, Bible Segond « à la Colombe » (1978), Nouvelle Bible Segond (2007), Bible en français courant, Bible Nouvelle Français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible Parole de vie; with the English King James Bible and the Spanish Bible Reina-Valera
(possibility of putting several translations in parallel by checking more than one box)
French translation information

Translator notes

La Bible. Traduction du monde nouveau
- NWT Bible
Bible LSG - King James Version en Francis
- Bible LSG App French literature