Malayalam is the
mother tongue of the people of Kerala. The total population of
the Malayalam speaking people is around 35 million out of which
35% are Christians, distributed in different Episcopal and
evangelical churches.
The "Church Mission Society" London which had been very active in Kerala, translated the Bible into Malayalam in the early 19th Century.
The language became archaic and the Bible was usually used for the Services in the Church and occasional reading.
| Here are some of the appreciative comments from Church leaders. |
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"The Hosanna Bible has, then, its antecedents, and its publication is a unique event in the history of Bible translation. The credit for it goes to Shri Joseph Pulikunnel who conceived the idea and then executed it with zest and zeal. It is he who contacted the translators and had many rounds of discussion with them about the project, which demanded of him lot of time and labor; these are secrets not known to many readers. From the literary point of view the Hosanna Bible is a veritable masterpiece, surpassing all the existing Malayalam versions, and it is a real pleasure to read it. Leviticus, Job and Ezekiel are the most difficult to translate, but they have been quite elegantly rendered into Malayalam by competent men. The Hosanna Bible serves the purpose of ecumenism: the different Christian Churches have their own views about the canon, and the arrangement of the books will satisfy readers belonging to the various communities. There was a time when the canon of the Old Testament (Hebrew: short; Greek: Longer) was a hotly discussed problem, but now it is no more so, and the approach is more irenic. The price of the Hosanna version is only nominal, so that all can buy it. Shri. Joseph had special consideration for those whose economic status will not allow them to buy expensive editions of the Scriptures, and he has also freely distributed a number of copies. This is something truly great." |
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Management of the Organisation |
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Prof. N.M. Joseph (Chairman)
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Justice K.T.Thomas (Member) |
| Mr. PAUL ZACHARIA (Secretary)
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REV. DR. M.J. JOSEPH (Member)
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| Capt. JOJO CHANDI (Treasurer) |
Mr. GEORGE KARUNACKAL (Member)
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| Mr. JOSEPH PULIKKUNNEL(Director) |
DR. JOSEPH SCARIA (Member)
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| Mr. K.P. PHILIP (Member) |
PROF. GEORGE KOSHY (Member) |
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...Mr. THOMAS ABRAHAM (Member) |
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Board of Directors - CRLS |
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It was under these circumstances that the CRLS took the initiative in translating the Bible into Malayalam, the language of the people of Kerala. The work was started in 1978 and the translation was published in 1983. The translation is hailed as the best in Malayalam language. Since then 3 lakhs of the Bible were distributed besides 7 lakhs of the New Testament. The Bible is sold at a low price, with the financial help of Bible in Everyhome, Holland.
The Malayalam is acclaimed as the best amongst all the translations of Bible into Malayalam. Malayalam Bible has made history of the Bible translations. Malayalam Bible is perhaps the only Bible translation undertaken by lay leaders and literary people from various segments in society. It took only 5 years to translate.
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