According to itc global translations, the number one, most translated book in known history is the bible. This thirukural is the second book that have been translated in more languages where bible stands first. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the tao, or the way harmony with the life force of the universe. It includes the seven deuterocanonical books also known as the apocrypha. Besides the bible, at 2, 287 languages, what book is. The first novel in the series, harry potter and the philosophers stone, has sold in excess of 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books of all time.
The first translation of the complete bible into english was completed by john wycliff in 82, and now there are more different versions of english translations available than in any other language. Top 20 mosttranslated books of all time by randy fishell. The old testament also known as the jewish tanakh is the first 39 books in most christian bibles. Unsurprisingly, childrens books and fairy tales dominate the list of the most translated books throughout history. Jesus said, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for. We have found and listed 20 of the most translated texts throughout history. What is the second most translated book in the world. The first part was published in 1678 while the second was finished in 1684. What is the 2nd most commonly translated book after the. Wikipedia lists rhapsody of realities as second most translated book in the world, second only to the bible, in the list of literary works by number of translations. The bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of hebrew, aramaic and greek. The bible abounds in errors and mistranslations, in spite of the fact that the most learned scholars and translators of the ages labored years on end over the manuscripts of antiquity to bring it forth the bible. Since being published this religious text has been translated into 82 languages. The topic of the most translated book in the world is one which is often up for question.
Study guide on how and where to start learning the bible the bible study book 2 brian gugas. At least one book of the bible has been translated into 2,883 languages. Second, it uses two rather obscure hebrew terms in the superscriptions of almost half of these psalms. Nov 15, 20 chapman created the list by examining how many individual copies of the books had been printed and sold over the last 50 years. The most popular book of all time christian universities online.
What if the bible was translated correctly after all. This comprises of a list of literary works including novels, plays, series, collections of poems or short stories, and essays and other forms of literary nonfiction sorted by. Stockbyte getty images scholars can debate endlessly over which book is the best of all time, but finding out which ones have enjoyed the most commercial success should be a more concrete endeavor. Are you looking for a book written in your target language.
Apr 29, 2018 but you might not have heard of the secondmost sold and translated work of christianity after the bible its the imitation of christ, written by the medieval monk thomas a kempis 801471. On this short list would be works like foxes book of martyrs, pilgrims progress, augustines confessions, mere christianity, knowing god, and operation world. Oct 10, 2016 sure, the bestselling book of alltime is, of course, the bible. That includes video and audio content as well as written articles. Jesus said, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. Most of the text was damaged, but there was just enough left to get a sense of what the complete book was like. As of october 2019 the full bible has been translated into 698 languages, the new testament has been translated into an additional 1,548 languages and bible portions or stories into 1,8 other languages. Its articles discuss culture, health, family, biblical themes, and more. Yet, some books worldwide have the honor of being translated into numerous languages. The word bible comes from the greek word biblia, which means books. Today, the worlds most translated book is the bible.
Maskil, which may be related to contemplation, is translated contemplative poem. Apr 16, 2014 for christians, the bible is our most important book. The most translated book after the bible religion nigeria. This comprises of a list of literary works including novels, plays, series, collections of poems or short stories, and essays and other forms of literary nonfiction sorted by the number of languages they have been translated into. Stockbyte getty images scholars can debate endlessly over which book is the best of all time, but finding out which ones have enjoyed the most commercial success should be. Its only been two months since our last update of this article. First english bible translated entirely from the original languages.
Despite these differences in occupation and the span of years it took to write it, the bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book. Scots was the 80th official translation6 of which have been a second. The bible we know today took a long journey through many eras, communities, and places before it became the sacred text we recognize today. The second bestselling book of all time crisis magazine. This was one of the most recently discovered gospels. Rhapsody of realities is the second most translated book in the world second to the bible. In fact, that story doesnt show up anywhere, on anything, until the fifth century adabout 400 years after jesus died. Also known as the cranmer bible and whitchurchs bible. In any case, check for the adventures of tintin, i have at home a tinau tibet in tibetan, an odd present for an odd friend. The problem with the objection, however, is that this does not in any way undermine the reliability of the bible as we have it preserved in thousands of manuscripts in the original languages.
The 20 most translated texts in history ingco international. Strangely, noone so far has mentioned the unescos index translationum. Often, a text can be translated after finding success in one or two continents. The guinness book of world records lists the most translated englishlanguage writer as opposed to the most translated englishnationality writer as l. Top ten translated books of all time lintelligence artificielle. There are many who would name the bible as the most translated book of all. Top 10 gospels you wont find in the bible listverse.
First, it is the only book of the five that contains psalms ascribed to the sons of korah, a group of levite temple singers. After shakespeare, who is the second most translated english. The bible is easily one of the bestselling books of all time, but exact sales numbers are hard to nail down. Among a stack of ancient manuscripts, they found what were apparently fragments from a neverbeforeseen gospel. It is the most translated book in the history of man. Quran, the muslims holy book, is the second commonly translated book after the bible. As of june 2017, the series has been translated into 80 languages, 10 placing harry potter among historys most translated literary works. With thousands of translations, over forty original authors, and a two millennium history, lets take a look at the trails, tribulations, changes, and status of the worlds most popular book. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon kindle store best sellers. The word bible itself comes from the ancient greek for book, paper, scroll. Rtk only the second most reading book to the holy bible scholars of shen zhou, kongmings archives discussion forum, is an online community devoted to the chinese novel romance of the three kingdoms, the three kingdoms period of chinese history, and all related games. The book, a contemporary, easytounderstand bible is available in the fastest growing bible translation, the new living translation. Originally written in biblical languages of hebrew, aramaic, and greek, the bible has been translated into 531 languages as of 2014. Their lack of knowledge about the bible is well established.
As of 2005, at least one book of the bible has been translated into 2,400 of the 6,900. Most translators know that the bible is the most translated book ever. Pinocchio is either the second or third most translated book in history. For those of you who arent familiar with the tao te ching, this is the second most translated book in the world after the bible and it was written more than 2500 years ago by this wise chinese man called lao tzu. In properly translating the bible, we do not diminish its worth or impact. The bible continues to be the most translated book in the world. Most translated books best, greatest of everything. The bible tops the list of the most read books in the. The douayrheims is the translation upon which nearly all english catholic bible versions are based. The bible remains the worlds most translated book, with at least one book now available in a staggering 3,312 languages.
The total collection of 66 books in the christian tradition emerged over an estimated period of 1,400 years by 40 different authors originally writing in hebrew. We tend to think of the bible as a book and were not entirely wrongbut the bible wasnt always bound between two covers. The bible is the most read and sold book in the history of the world, with an estimated sale amount of 100 million copies annually its not surprising that this text received the number 1 spot on this list. Dec 26, 2006 latin culture continues to have a global influence on architecture, art and literature. Both the old and new testaments have a long history of translation. This is a list of literary works sorted by the number of languages they have been translated into. In 1997, american scholars went through the archives of a berlin museum. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. A new milestone for the worlds most translated website. Unsurprisingly, the most popular book of all time has an interesting history. The most popular book of all time christian universities.
The holy bible, available in whole or in part to some 98 percent of the worlds population in 2,233 languages preface, continues to be the most translated book in the world. Scientists finally read the oldest biblical text ever found. The bible was written under the inspiration of the holy spirit by over 40 different authors from all walks of life. The bible is actually a collection of books some long, some short. It is also the most widely and given some of the liberties taken, wildly translated book of all time, too. First issued in 1418, it existed in more than 800 manuscripts before the turn. However, i just want to point out and i am a majjjjor harry potter lover that is comparing the great classics to books written in a time where milli. Top ten translated books of all time optima translation. Why the king james bible of 1611 remains the most popular. The bible is a collection of ancient religious texts and is considered to be the word of god in both christianity and judaism.
Why are there so many different translations of the bible. Ancient wisdom from the second most translated book in the. Ive compared the king james version with other modern translations and come up with a long. The most translated book after the bible by akdams m. If thats true, how did we end up with so many different versions of the bible. This effort started with ptolemy philadelphus arrangement for the translation of the hebrew bible into koine, in alexandria, on the island of pharos. A sealed book, a byu speech given to lds seminary and institute teachers, august 1984. List of literary works by number of translations wikipedia. The nas is written in a formal style, but is more readable than the king james version. The phrase refers to a general, unspecified period of time that passes before fulfillment comes. Yes, the bible is undoubtedly the most translated book. The worlds ten most translated authors translation.
Without doubt, the bible is the most translated book ever. Book two this second book of psalms psalms 4272 has a few unique features. Bible versions and translations focus on the family. The bible is not the book many american fundamentalists and political opportunists think it is, or more precisely, what they want it to be. The most translated books in human history quicksilver translate. Apr 22, 2020 with translated works comprising only about 3 percent of the published books in the united states, getting a book translated into even one language is a big success. I one read that the most sold book after the bible was im westen nichts neues from erich maria remarque, yet do i not know if it is also the second most translated. Every christians 2nd most important book garrett kell.
Thus at least some portions of the bible have been translated into 3,384 languages. The worlds ten most translated authors translation excellence. Apart from being the most translated book in the world, the bible also. Here is a look at some of the most translated books of all time. This is a list of literary works including novels, plays, series, collections of poems or short stories, and essays and other forms of literary nonfiction sorted by the number of languages they have been translated into. Rtk only the second most reading book to the holy bible. Don quixote is a widely lauded novel published in two parts part one in 1605, part two in 1615 and it is the oldest text on this list. Like many around my age, i grew up using this translation, and its probably the translation i see most often at church or other settings. The term books of the bible comes from the fact that the bible, sacred scriptures in christianity and judaism, is an anthology of many different books. List of most translated individual authors list of bestselling books index. Unsure of the meaning of a word or phrase in the bible. The top 10 most translated books in the world eurotrad. Besides the bible, at 2, 287 languages, what book is second. Jan 11, 2017 after the bible, imitation of christ is the most widely translated and circulated book in the history of christianity.
Apr 14, 2010 shakespeare, by the way, probably isnt translated as much as you think, since hes mostly read, even in nonenglishspeaking countries, in the original english. The christian bible has been translated into 2,400 of the worlds 6,800 languages re. Why is the bible the worlds most translated book answers. Excluding the bible and the quran, the second most translated book format in the world is the novel or novella. Don quixote is the second most translated book ever after the bible.
Welcome to bible book club, helping you read the bible with your friends one book at a time. The name stands for the original promise with god to the descendants of abraham in particular prior to the coming of jesus christ in the new testament or the new promise. The first text to include this story is an old greek and latin translation of the gospels called the codex bezae. As you can see from the graphic below created by designer jared fanning, the bible leads the countdown by a large margin, with nearly 4 billion copies printed and sold globally in the last five decades.
Other top writers in unescos ranking include masters of scifi, suspense and romance as well as three writers of childrens books. Nov 19, 2012 for those of you who arent familiar with the tao te ching, this is the second most translated book in the world after the bible and it was written more than 2500 years ago by this wise chinese man called lao tzu. The bible is the only book that deserves to be translated again and again, and each new translation affords the believers better access to the truth in his word. Here at we carry over 30 different english translations. Mystery writer agatha christie has the distinction of the worlds most translated author with 7,233 translations almost 3,000 more than the next most popular, jules verne. Most translated books best, greatest of everything ranked. Writer james chapman created a list of the most read books in the world based on the number of copies each book sold over the last 50 years. Ten of the most translated books across the globe ulatus. Apart from being the most translated book in the world, the bible also holds the record for being the most read and bought book to date. Chronological list of major english bible translations. Worlds most t ranslated book after the bible wikipedia by gombsm. The old testament books in chronological order list.
Watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania, 2005, 2014, 272. The imitation of christ is a 15thcentury devotional work that calls its readers to a radical living of the christian faith. The old testament or jewish tanakh is the first book of the bible. The new testament is available in 2,191 languages, while the old and new testaments together can be read in 670 languages. The most translated book after the bible by zig2ryme04. The fascinating story of how we got the bible in its present form actually starts thousands of years ago, as briefly outlined in our timeline of bible translation history. Biblical translation, the art and practice of rendering the bible into languages other than those in which it was originally written. A personal challenge to read the bible patrick, dan on. The 21 bestselling books of all time howstuffworks. They say that books like the da vinci code and harry potter are the most read books of all time. What is the second most translated book in the world answers. Discover the best more bible translations in best sellers. The book will impact the hearts and lives of people worldwide through the authoritative yet easytoread new living translation that brings the good news alive to readers of all ages. The bible s two major sections are the old testament and the new testament.
A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word book may be too. However, we wanted to share some exciting news the website now has content available in a staggering 1,000 languages, including 100 sign languages. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. It contains the origin and creation of the universe, the exodus from egypt, the formation of israel the prophets and the wisdom books. Bible is the holy book only for christian community but this thirukural can be kept as holy book for all the relegions and for all the communities in the world. That is what is intended here the first account known as the gospel of luke as compared to the second one known as acts. Booksactually the most translated book in the world. While the number of translations could be attributed to having a 300year head start on most of the other books here, excitement for the novel started shortly after publishing.
The most translated book in the world after the bible, the tao te ching, or book of the tao, is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Lots of em have been printed through the centuries, but you may be surprised about which ones have been translated the most. Bible versions and translations online bible study tools. There are scores of translations just in modern english. This book of books is the worlds alltime bestseller several billion copies and the worlds most translated book bible s 2 major sections. After the bible there are a few books that every believer should probably read, reread, and apply.
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