Biblia, Piibli, Paipera

[Bible in Samoan]. O le Tusi Paia: o le Feagaiga Tuai ma le Feagaiga Fou lea ua faaSamoaina. Suva; Vila; Wellington: Bible Society, 1974.

The first biblical translations to be printed in Samoan were by the London Missionary Society and consisted of individual books of the Bible, beginning with a Gospel of St. John in 1841.

The first complete Bible in Samoan was not printed until 1862, chiefly the work of the missionary George Pratt (1817-1894), who also produced the first Samoan dictionary and grammar.

The Samoan Bible on display is reprinted from the edition of 1884, which was a further revision by the London Missionary Society.

[Bible in Samoan]. O le Tusi Paia: o le Feagaiga Tuai ma le Feagaiga Fou lea ua faaSamoaina. Suva; Vila; Wellington: Bible Society, 1974.
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[New Testament in Tongan]. Koe tohi oe Fuakava Foou a ho tau eiki moe fakamoui ko Jisu Kalaisi. Lonitoni: Nae Buluji Ma Ae Faahiga Oku Buluji Ae Tohi Tabu I Ae Lea Kehekehe O Mamani, 1864.

The first portions of the Bible in Tongan were produced by the Methodist printer William Woon (1803-1858), who arrived in 1831, established a small press, and began printing small books and leaflets.

The first New Testament in Tongan was produced by the Wesleyan Missionary Society in 1849. A comprehensive revision of existing texts was subsequently carried out by the Reverend Thomas West, resulting in the first complete Tongan Bible in 1862.

[New Testament in Tongan]. Koe tohi oe Fuakava Foou a ho tau eiki moe fakamoui ko Jisu Kalaisi. Lonitoni: Nae Buluji Ma Ae Faahiga Oku Buluji Ae Tohi Tabu I Ae Lea Kehekehe O Mamani, 1864.
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[Bible in Niue]. Ko e Tohi Tapu: ko e Maveheaga Tuai mo e Maveheaga Fou. London: British and Foreign Bible Society, 1966.

The first complete Bible in Niue language was translated by the missionaries and brothers William George Lawes (1839-1907) and Francis Edwin Lawes (1843-1917) and printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society in London in 1904.

The first Gospel texts in Niue language were printed in Samoa in 1861 and the first New Testament appeared via Sydney in 1866. The texts of the Old Testament were translated piecemeal by the Lawes and other missionaries until collated into a single volume in 1904. The Bible on display contains the text of F.E. Lawes’ 1914 revision, which is still in use today.

[Bible in Niue]. Ko e Tohi Tapu: ko e Maveheaga Tuai mo e Maveheaga Fou. London: British and Foreign Bible Society, 1966.
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[Bible in Fijian]. Ai Vola Tabu, sa volai kina na Veiyalayalati Makawa, kei na Veiyalayalati Vou. Suva: Bible Society in New Zealand, 1972.

The first Gospels in Fijian were printed by the Wesleyan Missionary Society in 1839. The first New Testament appeared in 1847 and the Old Testament followed in 1864; but the complete Bible in Fijian was not printed in a single volume until 1884.

In 1888, the Wesleyan authorities designated the retired missionary Frederick Langham (1833-1903) to revise the Fijian Bible. The text of Langham’s 1902 revised edition, displayed here, is still in use today.

[Bible in Fijian]. Ai Vola Tabu, sa volai kina na Veiyalayalati Makawa, kei na Veiyalayalati Vou. Suva: Bible Society in New Zealand, 1972.
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