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PREFACE

OR four generations the British and Foreign Bible

Society has been publishing and circulating the Word

of God throughout the world. When it was founded, in

1804, some portion of Scripture had been printed in 72

languages; 126 years later, the number of tongues in

which the Society has promoted the translation, printing,

or distribution of God's Book has grown to 630. Specimens

of every one of these forms of speech are given in the fol–

lowing pages, which are an enlargement of a work originally

prepared by my predecessor, the Rev. John Sharp. Each

separate language and dialect is numbered. At the right–

hand upper corner is usually given a very general geo–

graphical note to enable readers to locate the language.

Then follows the text itself-as a rule the well-known words

of St. John 3. 16, 'For God so loved the world, that he gave

his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him

should not perish, but have everlasting life'. Where these

words are quoted, no name of the Gospel is added. But

where that text was not available, the latter clause of St.

Matthew 4. 10, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and

him only shalt thou serve ', or St. Mark 3. 35, 'For whosoever

shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my

sister, and mother ', or St. Luke 15. 10, 'Likewise, I say unto

you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over

one sinner that repenteth ' (represented by the contractions

Mt., Mk., Lk.,

respectively) appears instead. In a few

instances, a text from some other part of Scripture had to

be chosen, in which case the full reference is given. The

figure at the end of each entry gives the date of the

particular edition in the Bible House Library from which

the quotation is made.

In certain languages versions are no longer in circulation.

The names of such languages are marked in the first Index

with an asterisk.

Men write in many alphabets. Moreover the Society has

sometimes to print versions in the same language in more

than one script ·to suit different readers, not always mere

transliterations of the same version. These are represented

in the following specimens where they occur ; and an Index