Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1908-08-15
CHINA and JAPAN
BUY MANY BIBLES
The Good Book" Now Has
Been Translated Complete
Into 105 Tongues.

London Special: In a single year
more than 100000 Bibles have been
| distributed throughout China and 140,-
900 in japan, according to the advance
summary of the British and Foreign
Bible society's 104th annual report,
| while in England and Wales, where
| the years demand has fallen off, only
| los, 900 have been sold.
Three additions have been added to
| the societys long list. In South Amer
lea, where Lengua is spoken by the
| Indians OF the Paraguayan Chaco, a
version of ST. Marks gospel has been
printed in this tongue; in the heart OF
| Africa, ST. Matthews gospel has been
| printed for a Uganda tribe speaking a
| language called Lu-Nyankole; in India
| two gospels are being published in Hin
du-Sindhi. In six other languages ver-
sions are almost ready. The publica-
| ton of the canonical books of the Bible
has been completed in two additional
| languages-in Giryama, for British
| East Africa, and in Nguna-Etate, a
combination of the dialects of two ISL
ands in the New Hebrides. With these
the number of complete Bibles is now
los.
The New Testament has been COM
pleted in Baffin's Land Eskimo, and in
the Mombasa form of Swahili; these
II
to 80. While 20S other languages, in
which only some part OF the Testament
has been issued. make up the total to
412 different languages 'in which the
British and Foreign Bible society has
promoted the translation, printing or
distribution of at least some part OF
Gods book.
Where Improvement Is Going On.
Important progress has also been
made In revising versions whose quail
ity requires Improvement. Here we
can mention only the two dominant lam
guages Of the far east. In Japan. a
representative body of japanese schol-
ars and foreign missionaries has re-
Gently agreed upon joint plan for re-
vising the Japanese Bible. In China
the missionary conference at Shanghai
in 1890 arranged for union" versions of
the Chinese Bible in High Wenli, and
in Mandarin. The task has been sue
cesSfully fulfilled in all three cases. so
far as concerns the New Testament.
The rapid influx into North America
of immigrants from Europe has in
creased the demand for diglot Testa-
ments, in which English is printed side
by side with one or other ofa dozen con-
tinental versions. A new edition Of the
English Bible in Braille (raised) type
for the blind is in preparation. Thus
in divers portions and in divers man
ners, in the hands of the English and
among the far away folk of foreign
speech under alien stars, Gods book
carries its own eternal message to the
human heart"
Still Not Up to the Record.
The years issues amount altogether
to 5.6SS,3Sl volumes, a total of 272 900
copies above the output in the previous
year, though still 2S9,000 below the rec
ord total announced two years ago.
The issues from the Bible house in
London for the past year were 1885,
2Sl copies, an increase of $4,000 over the
previous year. The growth here. how
ever, has been in foreign versions sent
out from London. The issues in Eng
liSh and Welsh amounted to l, los, 900
copies, a falling off of 112, 600 from the
previous year. which again was 114000
below the year before. OF the society's s
issues a smaller proportion are English
and Welsh scriptures than was the
case 10 years ago; then it was over 30
per cent, now it is under 20 per cent,
of the total. For this, however, there
may be a twO-fold explanation. On one
hand, people today who can afford
them prefer more expensive editions,
often with notes or helps. which they
procure elsewhere than from the Bible
house. On the other hand, some eX-
tremely cheap English editions have
been put on the market by other pub
fishers.