almost from the commencement of their pious labours, and also by various annual grants of money from the British and Foreign Bible Society, from the year 1806 to the present time, the missionaries applied themselves to the great work of translating the Scriptures. In this undertaking, which has been honoured with the sanction of the Marquess Wellesley, and subsequent governors general of India, the Rev. Doctors Carey and Marshman, and the Rev. William Ward, have pre-eminently distinguished themselves; and, with their coadjutors, have continued with unwearied assiduity to prosecute their arduous work. Having formed a typographical establishment at Serampore, they have also been enabled to print translations of the Scriptures, entire or in part, which had been made by other learned and pious individuals. And when the Mission College, recently founded at Calcutta by the late Right Rev. Dr. T. F. MIDDLETON. Bishop of Calcutta, (one of whose special objects, for the spiritual welfare of India, is the translation of the Bible into the hitherto untranslated dialects of India), shall commence its active operations, we may with just confidence anticipate the ultimate triumphs of our holy religion among the numerous tribes who inhabit that immense continent.1

The languages spoken in India form three classes, viz.

1. The Arabic, and the languages derived from or bearing an affinity to it; 2. The Sanscrit or Sungscrit; and 3. The Chinese, with the languages respectively derived from or bearing an affinity to them.2

1. Modern Versions in the ARABIC language, and its cognate dialects.

(1) ARABIC. A version of the entire Bible in Arabic has come down to us, of which an account has been given in pp. 190, 191. and 207. supra. Though highly valued by some oriental scholars for its general accuracy and fidelity, it has become antiquated in its dialect, and consequently unacceptable to the learned Arabians. On this account a new translation, in elegant modern Arabic, was commenced

1 As soon as it was known in England that Bp. Middleton was forming the Mis sion College at Calcutta, the sum of £5000 sterling was voted to him by each of the venerable Societies, for promoting Christian Knowledge, and for the propaga tion of the Gospel in foreign parts, in aid of that Institution. The same sum was voted to his Lordship by the Church Missionary Society, without condition or restriction, in furtherance of his plan. And the like sum of £5000 was voted by the British and Foreign Bible Society, in aid of the translations of the Holy Scrip

tures.

2 Where no other authority is cited, our notice of original translations are abridged from the "Brief View of Baptist Missions and Translations," 8vo. London, 1815; from the "Periodical Accounts of the Baptist Missionary Society," No. XXX.; from the Supplement to No. XXXI., containing a further memoir of the translations of the sacred Scriptures, dated March 21, 1816, 8vo. London, 1817; from specimens of Editions of the Sacred Scriptures in the Eastern languages, translated by the Brethren of the Serampore Mission, and of several others, printed at the Mission Press, Serampore, 1818, 4to.; and from the "Seventh Memoir respecting the Translations of the Sacred Scriptures into the languages of India, conducted by the Brethren at Serampore," 8vo. Serampore, 1820. The specimens of Versions in pp. 284-289. have been kindly communicated for the use of this work, by the Rev. J. Dyer, one of the Secretaries of that Society.

by Sabat, an eminent Arabian scholar, under the superintendence of the late Rev. Henry Martyn, B. D. one of the Hon. East India Company's Chaplains. The New Testament was completed and published at Calcutta, in 1816, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The Old Testament was continued by the Rev. T. Thomason and Sabat. An edition of the Arabic New Testament, in Syriac characters, was printed at Paris, at the expense of the Bible Society in 1822. See a specimen of the Arabic version in p. 289. infra.

(2) Persian. The Persian version, already noticed in pp. 191. and 209. having also become antiquated and obsolete, a new one was undertaken by Lieut. Colonel Colebrooke, who completed the Four Gospels. They were published at Calcutta in 1804. An entire version of the New Testament, in pure and elegant Persian, was executed by the late Rev. H. Martyn, who travelled from India to Shiraz, the Athens of Persia, for that purpose. He arrived there in June 1811, and by the middle of the following year he had completed his work, with the assistance of Meer Seyd Ali, a learned native. He next proceeded to translate the book of Psalms into the same language; and thus rendered those important parts of the Sacred Scriptures into the vernacular language of two hundred thousand who bear the Christian name, and which is known over one-fourth of the habitable globe. A beautifully written copy of Martyn's translation was presented by Sir Gore Ouseley, bart., his Majesty's ambassador extraordinary, to the Sovereign of Persia, who publicly expressed his approbation of the work. He subsequently carried another copy of the manuscript to Petersburg, where it was printed in 1815 at the expense of the Petersburg Bible Society, under the superintendence of Sir G. Ouseley. A specimen of this version is given in page 288.; a modern Persian version of the Old Testament is in progress also at Petersburg.

(3) Pushtoo or Affghan. This language is spoken beyond the river Indus, by a people, who, there is every reason to conclude, are descended from the ten tribes of Israel. The eminent linguist, the late John Leyden, M. D. commenced a translation of the New Testament; and on his death in 1812, the Baptist missionaries at Serampore procured men skilled in the language to complete his undertaking. The whole of the New Testament was printed at the mission-press in 1818; and the Pentateuch is advanced at the press as far as the Book of Leviticus. A specimen of this version is given in page 285.

(4) Bulocha or Buloshee. This language is spoken on the western banks of the Indus, the country of Bulochistan extending westward to Persia. Considerable progress has been made by the

1 Buchanan's Christian Researches in Asia, pp. 285–290. (London, 1811.) 2 Owen's Hist. of the Bible Society, vol. iii. p. 41.; vol. ii. p. 261. In pp. 265 -267. an English translation of the letter of the King of Persia is printed at length. See also the very interesting Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn, B. D. 8vo., London, 1819. particularly pp. 341-433.

VOL. II.

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missionaries in translating the New Testament into this dialect, in which they have printed the Four Gospels. See a specimen of it in page 286.

2. Versions in the SANSCRIT or SUNGSCRIT language, and its cognate dialects:

(1) Sanscrit.-This, though the parent of all the languages spoken in western and southern India, is, at present, the current language of no country, though it is spoken by the learned nearly throughout India. The New Testament was published in Sanscrit at Serampore, in 1808; the Pentateuch and Historical Books in 1811; the Hagiographa in 1816; and the translation of the prophetic books was finished in 1818. The Baptist missionaries are preparing a new edition of this version, which is read with great interest by the Bramins. A specimen of it is given in page 284.

(2) In Western India, not fewer than twenty-nine languages are derived from the Sanscrit, and into SEVENTEEN of these the sacred volume has been wholly or in part translated, viz.

i. The Sikh, Sheek, or Punjabee, which is spoken in the province of Punjab, or the country of the five rivers (from punj five, and ab water) into this language the entire Bible has been translated and printed at the Serampore press. See a specimen of it in page 286.

ii. The Assamese, or language of the kingdom of Assam, in which the New Testament was completed and printed in 1819. See a specimen in page 286.

The New Testament has also been translated and printed in

iii. The Kashmiree or Kashmeer, which is spoken in the extensive province of Kashmire, in the North of Hindostan :- See a specimen of it in page

285;

iv. The Wutch or Maltanee, or dialect of Wuch, a country on the eastern bank of the Indus, which reaches from the Punjab to Auch;

v. The Gujurat or Guzurattee, which is spoken in the peninsula of Guzurat;

vi. The Bikaneer, which is spoken to the south of the Punjab, and extends westward to the country where the Wucha begins; and in

vii. The Kunkuna, which language begins where the Guzurattee ceases to be vernacular, and is spoken at Bombay, and thence up the coast as far as Goa. In this language also the Pentateuch is considerably advanced: when that portion is finished, the Serampore brethren intend to transfer the completion of the Old Testament to the Bombay Auxiliary Bible Society.

The New Testament is more than half printed, and is expected to be finished in the course of the present year, in

viii. The Maruwar or Marwar, which is spoken to the south-west of the Bikaneer country;

ix. The Oojuvinee, or language of the province of Oujein;

x. The Bundelkhundee, spoken in the province of Bundelkhund: and

xi. The Nepalese, or language of the kingdom of Nepāl. The Four Gospels have been printed in

xii. xiii. The Kanouj or Kanhukoobja and Jumboo languages. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark have been printed in

xiv. xv. xvi. The Palpa Kausulee or Koshul, and Bhutaneer languages, and also in

xvii. The Magudha or Pali language, which is spoken in south Bahar. It begins where the Mahratta language ends, and extends nearly to the banks of the Ganges, and is the learned language of Ceylon, and of the Burman Empire. This version was commenced by the late Mr. W. Tolfrey at Colombo, in 1813: and on his death in 1817, the task of finishing and editing it was confided by the Colombo Auxiliary Bible Society to the Rev. Messrs. Chater and Clough.

(3) In southern India, TWELVE dialects are spoken, that are either derived from the Sanscrit, or bear an affinity to it, and into which the Scriptures have been wholly or in part translated, viz.

i. In the Mahratta, of which language Dr. Carey is professor at Calcutta, the Pentateuch and New Testament, translated by the Baptist missionaries, have long been in circulation, and the Historical Books were printed in 1820. See a specimen of it in page 284.

ii. The Hindee or Hindoostanhee, being spoken over an immense tract of country in India, varies much in its dialects; and not fewer than three different translations of the sacred volume have been printed. The earliest was that of the four Gospels, by William Hunter, Esq.; which was executed at the press of the college of Fort William. Another translation was completed by the late Rev. Henry Martyn,1 in 1808, and printed at the expense of the CalA revised edition of this version, cutta Auxiliary Bible Society. by the Rev. Mr. Bowley, (one of the missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, who is stationed at Chunar) was finished at Calcutta in 1820, at the expense of the same Society: and measures are taken to add to it the Old Testament in the same language.2 In 1820 the Calcutta Society printed a large edition of Mr. Martyn's version of St. Matthew's Gospel in Hindoostanhee, with the English on the opposite page: and of Mr. Bowley's revision, which by the disuse of Arabic and Persian words, is peculiarly adapted to the inhabitants of Benares and the upper provinces, the three first Gospels were printed in the same year. A specimen of the Hindoostanhee version in the Persian character is given in page 288.

To this eminently learned and exemplary divine, the native Christians and others who speak the Hindostanhee language, are indebted for a Compendium of the Liturgy of the Anglican Church, which was translated by him, and printed in 1818, at the expense of the Prayer Book and Homily Society of London. Mr. Martyn was the first clergyman of that church in India who introduced her service to our native subjects in Bengal. His work, having received repeated revision and amendment, is esteemed by competent judges to be a perspicuous and faithful version of the sublime original.

2 Memoirs of Martyn, p. 292. Sixteenth Report of the Bible Society, pp. lxxi. 182, 183. Nearly the whole of the Old Testament had been translated.

The third Hindee version of the New Testament was completed many years since by the missionaries at Serampore, who published the Old Testament in 1818. A new edition of the New Testament was printed in 1820, at their press, from a new version, executed by the Rev. John Chamberlain, whose long residence in the western provinces of India, together with his intimate knowledge of the popular dialects of the Hindoos, has eminently qualified him for the undertaking. A specimen of this version is given in page 286.

iii. In the Bengalee, or language of the province of Bengal, the whole of the Scriptures is published, and the book of Common Prayer has been translated by the Rev. Deocar Schmid. Five editions of the New Testament (which was completed twenty-five years since) and two of the Psalms, and some other parts of the Old Testament, have been printed; and a new edition of the entire Bible is preparing, in one large royal 8vo. volume, together with two thousand extra copies of the New Testament in 12mo. For this edition the missionaries are preparing paper, made of the sun plant (Crotolaria juncea), which, though inferior to English paper in point of colour, is equally impervious to the worm, and far more durable. large edition of the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John, in English and Bengalee, on opposite pages, was printed at Calcutta in 1820, chiefly for the benefit of the natives who are attached to public offices and houses of agency. See a specimen of the Bengalee version in page 284.

A

A new Bengalee version of the New Testament, completed by the late Mr. Ellerton, was printed at Calcutta, in 1820.1

iv. The Oriya or Orissa language is spoken in the province of that name; it has a very close affinity to the Bengalee, but with different terminations, and a different character. In this language, the entire Bible was translated by the Baptist missionaries several years since a second edition of the New Testament is nearly completed at Serampore. A specimen of this version is given in page 285.

v. The Brij-Bhassa language, which is spoken in the upper provinces of Hindoostan, contains a greater mixture of the Sanscrit than most of the other dialects of the Hindee. The four Gospels have been translated; and the Gospel of St. Matthew was printed in 1816. See a specimen of it in page 285. The Brij-Bhassa version is likely to be more acceptable to the inhabitants of the province of Dooab than the Hindoostanhee.

vi. The Kurnata or Canarese language is spoken in the country extending northward from Tellicherry to Goa, and eastward from the coast of Malabar to the country where the Tamul is spoken, including the whole of the Mysore. In this language the New Testament was printed in 1820, from the translation of the Rev. Mr. Hands. A specimen of it is given in page 287.

vii. The Tamul language is spoken in the south-eastern part of India, from Madras to Cape Comorin. Two different translations

1 Seventeenth Report of the Bible Society, p. lvii.