Biebel in de Twentse Sproake — The Twents Bible

Overview

The Biebel in de Twentse Sproake is a complete translation of the Bible (Old and New Testaments) into Twents, the Low Saxon dialect of the Twente region in the Dutch province of Overijssel. The translation was carried out over approximately twenty years by Prof. Dr. Anne van der Meiden (emeritus professor of communication science, Utrecht University), translating directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek source texts. The translation was coordinated by the Stichting Twentse Bijbelvertaling (Twents Bible Translation Foundation, established 1994, Enschede).

The first NT volumes were published in 1996–1999, the Old Testament in four volumes from 2001–2007, and the complete single-volume edition was presented on October 30, 2009 at Saxion College, Enschede (ISBN 978-90-8912-010-6). The first printing sold out within months. After van der Meiden's death in 2021, copyright transferred to the Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap (NBG), which commissioned a reprint in 2022 following a campaign by Twente comedian Herman Finkers. The translation went online via debijbel.nl in January 2015 (abbreviation: BTS), accessible with a paid BIJBEL+ subscription (€25/year to NBG).

Language and People

Twents (ISO 639-3: twd) is a Low Saxon dialect spoken in the industrial Twente region of Overijssel, Netherlands. It is considered a distinct language at the ISO level. The translation project gave the dialect an enduring literary monument.

Publishing and Organizations

Translated by Prof. Dr. Anne van der Meiden; published by Royal Jongbloed (Heerenveen) in partnership with Stichting Twentse Bijbelvertaling. Copyright now held by Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap (NBG).

References