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 ...

was first published in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

in 1767 and the whole

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 ...

(''Am Bìoball Gàidhlig'') was first published in 1801. Prior to these, Gaels in Scotland had used translations into Irish.

Book of Common Order

The ''

Book of Common Order The ''Book of Common Order'' is the name of several directories for public worship, the first originated by John Knox for use on the continent of Europe and in use by the Church of Scotland since the 16th century. The Church published revised ed ...

'' was translated into Scottish Gaelic by

Séon Carsuel Séon Carsuel (Anglicized: ''John Carswell'', modern Scottish Gaelic: ''Seon Carsuail''; c. 1522 – 1572) was a 16th-century Scottish prelate, humanist, and Protestant reformer. Born early in the century, when Carsuel completed his educat ...

(John Carswell), Bishop of the Isles, and printed in 1567. This is considered the first printed book in Scottish Gaelic though the language resembles classical Irish. Dugald Campbell of

Knapdale Knapdale ( gd, Cnapadal, IPA: �kraʰpət̪əɫ̪ forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, ...

produced a manuscript translation of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

in 1673, but it was never published. James Kirkwood (1650-1709) promoted Gaelic education and attempted to provide a version of

William Bedell The Rt. Rev. William Bedell, D.D. ( ga, Uilliam Beidil; 15717 February 1642), was an Anglican churchman who served as Lord Bishop of Kilmore, as well as Provost of Trinity College Dublin. Early life He was born at Black Notley in Essex, and ...

Bible translations into Irish Translations of the Bible into Irish were first printed and published in the 17th century: the New Testament, the ''Tiomna Nuadh,'' in 1602, the Old Testament, the ''Sean Thiomna,'' in 1685, and the entire Bible, the ''Biobla'' (Old and New Testame ...

, edited by his friend Robert Kirk (1644–1692), Episcopal minister of Balquhidder and later of Aberfoyle, author of ''The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies'', which failed, though he did succeed in publishing a Psalter in Gaelic (1684).

Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge edition of the Bible

It was not until after the final defeat of the Jacobite warriors at Culloden in 1746, that the Scottish branch of the

Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is t ...

began serious work on a published Bible in Scottish Gaelic and initiated a

translation project A translation project is a project that deals with the activity of translating. From a technical point of view, a translation project is closely related to the project management of the translation process. But, from an intercultural point of vi ...

in 1755. The result of this was the New Testament of James Stuart (1701–1789), minister of Killin, and poet

Dugald Buchanan Dugald Buchanan (Dùghall Bochanan in Gaelic) (Ardoch Farm, Strathyre (near Balquhidder) in Perthshire, Scotland 1716–1768) was a Scottish poet writing in Scots and Scottish Gaelic. He helped the Rev. James Stuart or Stewart of Killin to tr ...

, published in 1767. Stuart worked from the Greek, Buchanan improved the Gaelic. This was followed in 1801 by a full Bible translation with an Old Testament largely by Stuart's son John Stuart of Luss.

Metrical Psalms

The Psalms were translated into Gaelic in metrical form for congregational singing. The full 150

Metrical Psalms A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a verse translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or harmonisatio ...

called ''Sailm Dhaibhidh'' were first published in full in 1694. The

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...

produced a revised edition in 1826, which is basically the same text which is still used today. The Metrical Psalms of all 150 Hebrew Psalms are often printed at the back of the Bible along with some 67 Paraphrases called ''Laoidhean o na Sgrioptuiribh Naomha'' and some 5 Spiritual Songs called ''Dana Spioradail''. This was last printed as a separate edition by the Scottish Bible Society in 1987.

First Bible Society editions

In 1801 the Gaelic Bible was printed by the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is th ...

(SPCK). The Gaelic Bible was first printed by the Bible Society in 1807 when the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) printed a corrected edition of the SPCK text. In 1826 a revision of the Bible was made by the General Assembly of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

and was printed with the Metrical Psalms ''Sailm Dhaibhidh'' by SPCK and BFBS. From 1872 the text was maintained by the National Bible Society of Scotland (NBSS) in Edinburgh, instead of by the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS).

Other translations

In the 1830s a translation of the

was made, based on the

Latin Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels us ...

, by Fr. Ewen MacEachen, a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

from

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creation ...

, and posthumously published at

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in 1875. In 1860 the

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

was translated by Alister Macgregor, a minister from Inverness.

1902 edition

In 1880 the Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) formed a commission to revise the Gaelic Bible. This consisted of both the Established and Free Churches. The commission under the chairmanship of Norman Macleod, included the following well-known Gaelic scholars: - A. Clerk, T. McLauchlan, and N. Dewar, Andrew D. Mackenzie, Robert Blair, John Maclean, Alexander Nicolson, and Donald Mackinnon. By the time the New Testament was completed the affairs of the SSPCK came under the investigation of a Royal Commission, and the work of revision was suspended, to be resumed some 13 years later in 1896. Meanwhile, four of the revisers had died, and the Old Testament was completed by N. Macleod, R. Blair, J. Maclean, and N. Dewar. The result amounts to a fresh translation of the Bible, preserving as far as possible the diction and idiom of the Bible of 1826. In 1902 the new revision of the Bible was adopted by the National Bible Society of Scotland (now called the Scottish Bible Society).

Today's Gaelic version

In 1980 the Bible Society produced ''An Deagh Sgeul aig Marcus'' which was the Gospel of Mark in Today's Gaelic Version (TGV). It was translated by Kenneth McDonald, Donald Meek, Donald Gillies and Roderick MacLeod. In 1986 the Bible Society produced ''Facal as a' Phriosan'' which was a translation of Paul's Letters from Prison to the

Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pau ...

, Philippians,

Colossians The Epistle to the Colossians is the twelfth book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle and Timothy, and addressed to the church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately f ...

and Philemon. It was translated by Kenneth MacDonald, Calum Matheson and Donald Meek.

Recent Bible Society editions

In 1992 a new edition of the Bible was printed by the Scottish Bible Society ''Comann-Bhìoball Dùthchail na h-Alba''. This was an orthographic revision of the 1902 Bible by Donald Meek, and also included an updated edition of the Metrical Psalms. In 2000 another edition of the Bible was produced which included an orthographic revision of the 1826 Metrical Psalms. In 2002 a diglot New Testament was published by the Scottish Bible Society of the 2000 edition of the Gaelic New Testament and the English New King James Version.

New translation

In 2009 a new Gaelic translation of the New Testament was started by the Scottish Bible Society called ''Eadar-theangachadh Ùr'' The aim is to translate the Bible into modern everyday Scots Gaelic. The translation team comprises translators from the Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland,

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

and Catholic Church in Scotland. The translation aims to combine faithfulness to the

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

original with vocabulary in normal use, and clarity with dignity. This fresh translation is aimed at a younger generation. ''Soisgeul Eòin'' - The

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

was published in 2010 and launched at the Gaelic

Mòd A mòd is an Eisteddfod-inspired festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture. Historically, the Gaelic word ''mòd'' (), which came from Old Norse ''mót'', refers to a Viking Age ''Thing'' or a similar kind of assembly. There are both lo ...

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Gre ...

Digital editions

The Scots Gaelic Bible was digitised by the Scottish Bible Society for the production of the New Testament diglot with the English NKJV in 2002. In 2016 Scots Gaelic Scriptures were placed online on BibleSearch (Bibles.org) and

YouVersion YouVersion (also known as Bible.com or the Bible App) is an online and mobile Bible platform published for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and many other operating platforms. In 2022, according to YouVersion, its Bible App features 2,863 Bible ver ...

. As well as the main Bible digitised editions of the Metrical Psalms, and the 2010 Gospel of John in the new translation are also available.

References

External links

Various public domain translations
at

bible.com YouVersion (also known as Bible.com or the Bible App) is an online and mobile Bible platform published for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and many other operating platforms. In 2022, according to YouVersion, its Bible App features 2,863 Bible v ...

{{Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic language Christianity in Scotland

* Scottish Gaelic literature Church of Scotland