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"III.--VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES IN THIS DIALECT.
The first version of the Scriptures in this dialect was
commenced by the Serampore mies.
in 1803. The native pundit employed in preparing the rough draft of
the translation was almost as
well acquainted with the Bengalee as with his own dialect, and therefore
translated from the Bengalee
version; his work, according to the method pursued in other versions, was
afterwards compared verse
by verse with the original text, and corrected by the mies. An edition
consisting of 1000
copies of the New Testament was printed in 1811. The first edition of
the Old Testament, which
also consisted of 1000 copies, was finished at press in 1819. So great
was the demand for this version
that, in 1820, the first edition of the New Testament was exhausted, and an
edition consisting of 4000
copies, was put to press, and completed in 1822. The publication of
this large edition was simultaneous
with the establishment of a mission by the General Baptist Society at
Cuttack, the capital of Orissa.
In 1832 a second edition of the Old Testament was passing through the press;
and likewise a large
separate edition of the Psalms. In 1838, in consequence of inquiries
that had been instituted relative
to the particular versions of Scripture chiefly required in India, the Rev.
Messrs. Sutton and Noyes
were requested by the sub-committee of translations at Calcutta to prepare a
new version of the
Scriptures in Uriya. Dr. Sutton commenced with the Book of
Genesis, and when the translation was
completed, he carried on both the printing and binding at Cuttack, where he
was stationed. An
edition of the Old Testament was accomplished by him for the Bible Society
in 1844; the edition
consisted of 2000 copies of the New Testament, and 3000 separate copies of
the books of Genesis,
Psalms, and Proverbs. An edition of 2000 copies of the Gospel of St.
Luke, from Dr. Sutton's version,
has subsequently (in 1854) issued from the Cuttack press, at the instance of
the Bible Society."--1860 S. Bagster [Info only]
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