Modern age

The 17^th and 18^th centuries also saw the beginnings of colonization of non-western or non-Christian countries by the west. The translation of the Bible began to take on the new aspect of evangelization which ran parallel to the imperialist mission. Nida observes that there were two phases of Bible translation which was undertaken by missionaries. In the first phase, they translated the Bible into various vernacular languages to spread the faith – for example, William Carey in India. In the second phase, various missionaries were entrusted with translation into languages that hitherto did not have a Bible in their language. Societies like Wycliffe Bible translators, Lutheran Bible Translators and Pioneer Bible Translators have a network of translators who undertake Bible translations in different languages.

This period also saw modern updated versions of the old translations. Thus in English we see the publication of the English Revised Version in 1885 and American Standard Version in 1901. These were texts in modern idiom suited to the tastes of the contemporary reader, devoid of archaisms that could be a problem in understanding the text. The Living Bible of 1971 was a text that used modern language along with interpretation, but there were people who were unhappy about the exegesis.

The late 19th century translations of the Bible have to be also seen as an arm of imperialism which worked with the colonial powers in the colonies. The Bible was used to win over the colonized especially in Africa, Asia, and both North and South America. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart talks about the impact of Christianity on a tiny tribal village. The Bible managed to convert people mainly because it tried to reach out to the natives in their own language. This not only helped them in their mission, but helped in the development of the native languages as well.