The Book 1910 (MALTBK)

Overview

The Sathyavedapusthakam ("The Book of True Scripture") is the 1910 edition of the Malayalam Bible, a landmark Protestant translation that remains widely used in Kerala's churches. [1] Its origins trace to the early nineteenth century: in 1811, Kayamkulam Philippos Ramban, working with CMS missionary Claudius Buchanan, produced the first Malayalam Scripture portions — the four Gospels and Acts — printed at the Bombay Courier Press, making it the first Malayalam book printed in India. [2] Benjamin Bailey, a CMS missionary at Kottayam, subsequently undertook a systematic translation beginning around 1819, and his New Testament was published in 1829 by the Madras Auxiliary Bible Society. Bailey completed the full Bible by 1841. [2]

In 1871, the Bible Society's Madras Auxiliary established a joint committee including representatives from the CMS, LMS, Basel Mission, and the Syrian Church to produce a unified Malayalam translation. [2] This committee completed the New Testament in 1880 (published 1889), incorporating insights from prior Malayalam renderings as well as Luther's German version. The complete Sathyavedapusthakam was published in 1910, drawing on the English Revised Version's textual approach, and became the standard Bible for Malayalam-speaking Protestant communities. [2] This digital edition was produced by The Free Bible Foundation from the public domain text, using revised contemporary orthography. [1]

Translation History

The Malayalam Bible has a layered translation history spanning a full century. The earliest effort by Philippos Ramban (1811) was followed by Benjamin Bailey's foundational work (1829 NT, 1841 full Bible). Hermann Gundert, a German Basel Mission missionary, independently published a New Testament translation from Thalassery in 1854. [2] The 1871 committee harmonized these various streams into a single authoritative text that culminated in the 1910 Sathyavedapusthakam, which has served as the default Malayalam Protestant Bible for over a century.

Language and People

Malayalam (ISO 639-3: mal) is spoken by approximately 37,100,000 people in India: Index Map. [Glottolog: mala1464]

Malayalam is a Dravidian language and the official language of the Indian state of Kerala, as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry. It is written in the Malayalam script, a Brahmi-derived abugida. Kerala has one of the highest literacy rates in India, and Malayalam has a rich literary tradition dating back centuries.

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Bible Society of India.

References