Javanese New Revised Formal Version (JAVNRF)

Overview

The Javanese New Revised Formal Version is a New Testament translation in Javanese, the largest Austronesian language by native speakers, with approximately 68 million speakers concentrated on the island of Java, Indonesia. [1] Published in 2006 by the Indonesian Bible Society (Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia), this translation is part of a long history of Javanese Bible translation stretching back to the early 19th century. The first Javanese New Testament was translated by Baptist missionary Gottlob Bruckner (1783-1857) and printed at Serampore, India, in 1831. [2] In 1826, the Dutch Bible Society (NBG) dispatched Johann Friedrich Carl Gericke to Java, where he completed a full Bible translation in Javanese by 1854, working in the formal kromo register before switching to the more accessible ngoko form. [3] Gericke's philologically accomplished version was eventually superseded by a more accessible translation by missionary Pieter Jansz, published by the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS). [3] The Java Auxiliary Bible Society, founded in Batavia (now Jakarta) in 1814 under Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles, was one of the earliest Bible societies in Southeast Asia. [2] The 2006 New Revised Formal Version continues this tradition, providing a modern rendering for Javanese-speaking Christians.

Language and People

Javanese (ISO 639-3: jav) is spoken by approximately 68,300,000 people in Indonesia, Java and Bali. [Glottolog: java1254]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Indonesian Bible Society.

References