Bahasa Indonesia / Indonesian Bible History (1)

Useful Resources

**List: Indonesian Ministry

Holy Bible ( Kitab Suci, Alkitab )
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*File: 1 John (browse) (1998)   LAT, RFM   [Info only: uses Elohim for God.]
*File: 1 John (RTF) (n.d.)   LAT, RFM
*File: 1 John (print) (1998)   LAT, RFM

*Tract: 2 Yohanes / II John (before 7-2001)   LAT   [Info only: uses Ilah for God.]

*File: A Special Ind.ian Bible Translation Project Report   A Sharp Two-Edged Sword For Ind.ia   a history of Bible translations into Bahasa Ind.ia (9-7-2007)   LAT   [II John update {uses Elohim for God}]

Indonesian...
"In prehistoric times waves of Malay peoples swept across
Indonesia, some settling and others moving on to the Philippines

and Pacific Islands.   From the Malay-stock tongues of these early
Indonesian settlers developed most of the multitude of Indonesian
languages.   However, Bahasa Indonesia, meaning ‘the language of
Indonesia’, developed from the Malay tongues spread through-
out the archipelago by traders early in the second millennium
A.D., and after 1200 by Musl_mizing expeditions.

This ‘Koine’ Malay spread from the Sumatran coast along the
Straits of Malacca to western Java.   Influenced by European and
other Indonesian tongues, it [chang]ed into the language spoken
by educated Indonesians.   In 1945, when Indonesian independence
was declared, this language was chosen as the basis for Bahasa
Indonesia.   Since that time Indonesian has been sponsored as the
national and official language, and purposefully enriched in
vocabulary and structure.   Therefore, Indonesian and the ‘High’
Malay of the Malayan Peninsula (see Malay) have their roots in
the same language, but the two have developed differently.

Indonesian is spoken by an estimated 15 million people and its
use is expanding rapidly, owing to its enthusiastic nationwide
employment as the medium of education beyond the third grade.
It serves as a force for unity in the world’s most scattered and
diverse nation, where more than 105 million people, living on
thousands of large and small islands, speak some 250 languages.
To understand the use of Indonesian, it is necessary to bear in
mind that large groups of Indonesian citizens speak other Malay-
stock languages - Javanese, almost 50 million; Madurese, 12
million, etc.   While continuing to use these languages in the
home, these people will learn the linguistically related Indo-
nesian, which serves as the idiom of government, commerce,
and most literature.   Each year more children learn Indonesian in
the schools and more adults achieve a working knowledge of it
through business and the mass media.   Thus the number of
speakers of Indonesian is growing rapidly.

Most of the languages of Indonesia belong to the Western, or
Indonesian, branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family.
However, the West Irian tongues, except for those of the ex-
treme western regions, belong to the Papuan family.   The
Scriptures listed are preliminary translations for an Indonesian
version
.   Scriptures are in Roman character.   Arabic script, once
very common in Indonesia, is now dying out."
--1000 Tongues, 1972   [Info only]

**File: Malay Bible History (3)--1860   S. Bagster   [Info only: Malayan.]

"1959 Genesis   Exodus   Judges   Ruth   Esther (tentative)
1960 Deuteronomy   Joshua   1966 Mark   Nehemiah
Philippians   1967 1 Samuel   Indonesian BS, Djakarta
Translated by J. L. Swellengrebel and a committee."
--1000 Tongues, 1972   [Info only: ?]

"1968 John Indonesian BS, Djakarta
Translated by Dr. Abineno and a committee."
--1000 Tongues, 1972   [Info only:
"1968" John 1:1-4 unknown; used Allah, Firman ( Word ).]

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