Bible in Different Languages
Discover 'Bible' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The Bible, a collection of religious texts considered sacred in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, has had an immense impact on the world. Its significance extends beyond the spiritual, influencing literature, art, music, and culture worldwide. Understanding the Bible in different languages can open up new perspectives and deepen one's appreciation for its cultural importance.
Translating the Bible into different languages is no easy task. The original texts were written in Classical Hebrew, Koine Greek, and Aramaic, and each language has its unique nuances and cultural contexts. Yet, the Bible has been translated into over 3,300 languages, making it one of the most translated texts in the world.
For instance, the Bible is known as 'La Bibbia' in Italian, 'Die Bibel' in German, and 'القرآن الكريم' (Al-Qur'an Al-Kareem) in Arabic, reflecting the diverse linguistic and cultural traditions it encompasses. Exploring these translations can provide fascinating insights into the history, language, and culture of different regions.
In the following list, you'll find the translations of the word 'Bible' in various languages, shedding light on the rich tapestry of human language and culture that has been woven together by this influential text.
Bible
Bible in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | bybel | ||
| The alternate meaning of 'Bybel' in Afrikaans is 'bee-eater', a bird in the Meropidae family. | |||
| Amharic | መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ | ||
| The Amharic word 'መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ' is derived of the Ge'ez words meaning 'holy book'. | |||
| Hausa | littafi mai tsarki | ||
| The Hausa word for 'Bible', Littafi Mai Tsarki, translates to 'Holy Book'. | |||
| Igbo | baịbụl | ||
| The Igbo word "Baịbụl" derives from the English word "Bible" and also means "holy book". | |||
| Malagasy | malagasy | ||
| The word "Malagasy" in Malagasy can also refer to the Malagasy language or the Malagasy people. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | baibulo | ||
| The word "Baibulo" derives from the Greek word "Biblios," meaning "book." | |||
| Shona | bhaibheri | ||
| Bhaibheri originates from a Greek word that also means 'papyrus, paper'. | |||
| Somali | kitaabka quduuska ah | ||
| Sesotho | bibele | ||
| The word 'Bibele' (Bible) in Sesotho is rooted in the Greek term 'Biblos', meaning 'book', and also shares an etymological connection with the word 'papyrus', the writing material commonly used in ancient times | |||
| Swahili | biblia | ||
| "Biblia" in Swahili is derived from the Greek word "biblia," meaning "books," and refers to the collection of sacred texts in Christianity." | |||
| Xhosa | ibhayibhile | ||
| IBhayibhile is a loanword from Greek 'βιβλίον' (biblion) meaning 'book, scroll' or 'written material'. | |||
| Yoruba | bibeli | ||
| The Yoruba word "Bibeli" can also refer to a type of traditional Yoruba dress. | |||
| Zulu | ibhayibheli | ||
| In Zulu, "iBhayibheli" originally meant "the little book", but is now used to refer to the Bible in general. | |||
| Bambara | bibulu | ||
| Ewe | biblia | ||
| Kinyarwanda | bibiliya | ||
| Lingala | biblia | ||
| Luganda | baibuli | ||
| Sepedi | beibele | ||
| Twi (Akan) | bible | ||
Bible in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | الكتاب المقدس | ||
| The Arabic word "الكتاب المقدس" primarily means "the Holy Book" or "the sacred text," encompassing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Bible (Old and New Testaments). | |||
| Hebrew | כִּתבֵי הַקוֹדֶשׁ | ||
| The term "כִּתבֵי הַקוֹדֶשׁ" (lit. "Writings of Holiness") refers to the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament in Christianity. | |||
| Pashto | بائبل | ||
| بائبل, in Pashto, is also used to mean 'scripture' | |||
| Arabic | الكتاب المقدس | ||
| The Arabic word "الكتاب المقدس" primarily means "the Holy Book" or "the sacred text," encompassing both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Bible (Old and New Testaments). | |||
Bible in Western European Languages
| Albanian | bibla | ||
| In Albanian, "Bibla" is derived from Greek and refers to the sacred book of Christianity, as well as the collection of texts of other religions. | |||
| Basque | biblia | ||
| The word "Biblia" can also be used to refer to a book or a written work in general. | |||
| Catalan | bíblia | ||
| The Catalan word "Bíblia" derives from the Greek word "Biblos", which originally referred to the papyrus plant used to make scrolls. | |||
| Croatian | biblija | ||
| The Croatian word "Biblija" comes from the Greek word "biblia", meaning "books", and refers to the collection of sacred texts in Christianity. | |||
| Danish | bibel | ||
| The Danish word "bibel" can also refer to a collection of religious texts. | |||
| Dutch | bijbel | ||
| In Old Dutch, "bijbel" simply meant "book," but it was used exclusively for the Bible as early as the 13th century. | |||
| English | bible | ||
| The word "Bible" derives from the Greek "biblia," meaning "books" or "scrolls," and refers to the canonical collection of sacred texts in Christianity, Judaism, and other religions. | |||
| French | bible | ||
| The French word "Bible" ultimately derives from the Greek "biblia," which originally meant "scrolls" or "writings". | |||
| Frisian | bibel | ||
| "Bibel" derives from the Latin word "biblia" and refers especially to the Old Testament, and "Bibel" also has the alternate meaning "large, thick book". | |||
| Galician | biblia | ||
| German | bibel | ||
| The German word "Bibel" is derived from the Greek word "biblia," which means "books." | |||
| Icelandic | biblían | ||
| The word "Biblían" in Icelandic derives from the Greek word "biblion," meaning "book" or "scroll," and has come to refer specifically to the Christian Bible. | |||
| Irish | bíobla | ||
| The Irish word "Bíobla" shares the same Proto-Indo-European root with the word "book" in many other languages such as Greek, Latin, Russian, and Sanskrit, but also retains alternate meanings such as "a list" or "a roll of parchment". | |||
| Italian | bibbia | ||
| "Bibbia" (Bible) comes from the Latin "biblia," meaning "the books" or "library." | |||
| Luxembourgish | bibel | ||
| "Bibel" also refers to 1) a book of scriptures as a whole or 2) a school textbook | |||
| Maltese | bibbja | ||
| "Bibbja" is derived from Late Latin "biblia", meaning "books." | |||
| Norwegian | bibel | ||
| The word "bibel" in Norwegian is derived from the Greek word "biblion," which means "book" or "scroll." | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | bíblia | ||
| The Portuguese word "Bíblia" originates from the Greek word "βιβλία" (biblia), meaning "books", as the Bible is a collection of religious texts. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | bìoball | ||
| The Scots Gaelic word "Bìoball" originally meant "book" and is cognate with the Modern Irish word " Bíblia" and the Welsh word " Beibl". | |||
| Spanish | biblia | ||
| The Latin word "biblia" derives from the Greek "βιβλία" (biblía), meaning "books", as the Bible is a collection of religious books. | |||
| Swedish | bibeln | ||
| In Swedish, "Bibeln" is also used to refer to the "Bible" in the more general sense, including non-Christian scriptures. | |||
| Welsh | beibl | ||
| The Welsh word "Beibl" derives from the Latin "biblia", meaning "books", and is a diminutive form of the Greek "biblion", referring to a written scroll or book. | |||
Bible in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | біблія | ||
| The Belarusian word "Біблія" (Bible) ultimately derives from the Greek word "βιβλος" (book), which likely originated from the Phoenician word for "papyrus". | |||
| Bosnian | biblija | ||
| The Bosnian word "Biblija" comes from the Greek word "biblia," which means "books." | |||
| Bulgarian | библията | ||
| The word "Библията" is derived from the Greek word "βίβλος" (biblos), meaning "book" or "scroll". | |||
| Czech | bible | ||
| The word 'bible' in Czech can also mean "a pile of various objects" or "a thick book". | |||
| Estonian | piibel | ||
| The Estonian word "Piibel" likely derives from the Latin word "biblia" and was introduced by German missionaries. | |||
| Finnish | raamattu | ||
| "Raamattu" translates to "The Book" in English, and was originally used for all books, not just religious ones. | |||
| Hungarian | biblia | ||
| A "Biblia" szó görög eredetű, eredetileg könyvtekercset jelentett, amely papirusztekercsből vagy bőrből készült. A görög bibliában a "Biblia" szó a Szentírást jelöli, és a keresztények a Szentírás gyűjteményét nevezték Bibliának. | |||
| Latvian | bībele | ||
| Latvian "Bībele" derives from an Ancient Greek term for book or papyrus roll used to denote sacred texts. | |||
| Lithuanian | biblija | ||
| "Biblija" comes from the Greek word "biblia," which means "books". | |||
| Macedonian | библијата | ||
| The word "Библијата" in Macedonian comes from the Greek word "βιβλίον (biblion)", which means "book" or "scroll". | |||
| Polish | biblia | ||
| In Polish, "Biblia" also refers to a collection of pagan Slavic religious texts written between 9th and 11th centuries. | |||
| Romanian | biblie | ||
| "Biblie" in Romanian derives from the Greek "biblia", which means "books." | |||
| Russian | библия | ||
| "Библия" derives from Greek "biblion," denoting "paper" and "book." | |||
| Serbian | библија | ||
| The Serbian word "Библија" (Bible) also refers to the Old Testament, while the New Testament is called "Нови завјет" (Novi zavjet). | |||
| Slovak | biblia | ||
| The word "Biblia" in Slovak also means "religious books" or "sacred texts". | |||
| Slovenian | biblija | ||
| The word "Biblija" is derived from the Latin word "biblia", which means "book". It can also refer to the sacred writings of a particular religion. | |||
| Ukrainian | біблія | ||
| The word "Біблія" is derived from the Greek word "βιβλία" (biblia), meaning "books", and refers to the collection of sacred texts in Judaism and Christianity. | |||
Bible in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | বাইবেল | ||
| বাইবেল শব্দটি গ্রিক শব্দ "biblion" থেকে এসেছে যার অর্থ "কিতাব"। | |||
| Gujarati | બાઇબલ | ||
| The Gujarati word "બાઇબલ" is derived from the Greek word "βιβλίον" (biblion), meaning "book" or "scroll". | |||
| Hindi | बाइबिल | ||
| The word "बाइबिल" ('Bible') comes from the Greek word "βιβλία" (biblia), meaning "books". | |||
| Kannada | ಬೈಬಲ್ | ||
| The word 'ಬೈಬಲ್' is derived from the Greek word 'biblios,' meaning 'books.' | |||
| Malayalam | ബൈബിൾ | ||
| In Malayalam, "ബൈബിൾ" can also refer to a religious or philosophical text that is regarded as authoritative in a particular community. | |||
| Marathi | बायबल | ||
| The Marathi word 'बायबल' also means 'an extensive or complex system of beliefs or principles' | |||
| Nepali | बाइबल | ||
| The word 'बाइबल' ('Bible') is derived from the Greek word 'βιβλια' ('biblia'), meaning 'books'. It also has other meanings in Nepali, such as 'the entire religious text of a particular religion' or 'a book containing a collection of religious texts'. | |||
| Punjabi | ਬਾਈਬਲ | ||
| "ਬਾਈਬਲ" शब्द की व्युत्पत्ति यूनानी शब्द "बाइब्लिया" से हुई है, जिसका अर्थ "पुस्तकों का संग्रह" होता है। | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | බයිබලය | ||
| The word "බයිබලය" (Bible) comes from the Greek word "βιβλία" (books), which is the plural form of "βιβλίον" (book). | |||
| Tamil | திருவிவிலியம் | ||
| Telugu | బైబిల్ | ||
| The word "Bible" is derived from the Greek word "biblia," meaning "books." | |||
| Urdu | بائبل | ||
| The Urdu word "بائبل" (Bible) is derived from the Greek word "βίβλος" (biblos), meaning "book", and in Urdu, can also refer to any religious scripture or book of faith. | |||
Bible in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 圣经 | ||
| 圣经一词来自古希腊语“圣典”，意为书籍或抄本，泛指宗教经典，在中国也指基督教的《圣经》 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 聖經 | ||
| 聖經 (Bible) is derived from the Greek word "biblion" meaning "book" or "scroll." | |||
| Japanese | 聖書 | ||
| 聖書 (Seisho) is a Japanese word derived from the Portuguese translation of the Bible, which was brought to Japan by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century. | |||
| Korean | 성경 | ||
| 성경 is a South Korean television drama series about the lives of people in a small church. | |||
| Mongolian | библи | ||
| The Mongolian word "Библи" (Bible) is derived from the Greek word "βιβλία" (biblia), meaning "books". It is also used to refer to the holy books of other religions, such as the Quran and the Torah. | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သမ္မာကျမ်းစာ | ||
Bible in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | alkitab | ||
| Alkitab comes from the Arabic word 'kitab', which means 'book' or 'writing'. | |||
| Javanese | kitab suci | ||
| In Javanese, “Kitab Suci” literally means “holy/sacred book” or “writing”, but it is specifically used to refer to the Bible. | |||
| Khmer | ព្រះគម្ពីរ | ||
| Lao | ຄຳ ພີໄບເບິນ | ||
| Malay | bible | ||
| Bible (kitab): a book, writing, or scripture, especially a religious text. | |||
| Thai | คัมภีร์ไบเบิล | ||
| The word "คัมภีร์ไบเบิล" derives from the Greek "biblion" meaning "book" or "scroll". | |||
| Vietnamese | kinh thánh | ||
| Kinh thánh is the Vietnamese term for the Bible, and also the name of a Buddhist scripture collection | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bibliya | ||
Bible in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | i̇ncil | ||
| The word | |||
| Kazakh | інжіл | ||
| The Kazakh word "Інжіл" derives from the Persian word "Injil" which in turn comes from the Arabic word "Injīl" meaning "gospel". | |||
| Kyrgyz | библия | ||
| The Kyrgyz term "Библия" is derived from the Greek "biblia," meaning "scrolls" or "books." | |||
| Tajik | инҷил | ||
| The word "Инҷил" in Tajik ultimately comes from the Greek word "εὐαγγέλιον" (euangelion), meaning "good news." | |||
| Turkmen | injil | ||
| Uzbek | injil | ||
| "Injil" is derived from the Arabic word "injil" which means "good news" and also refers to the Christian Bible in Arabic-speaking countries. | |||
| Uyghur | ئىنجىل | ||
Bible in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | baibala | ||
| The Hawaiian word 'Baibala' comes from the Greek word 'Biblos' and refers to the inner lining of an ancient papyrus reed used to make books. | |||
| Maori | paipera | ||
| The word "Paipera" in Maori can also refer to a book or written document. | |||
| Samoan | tusi paia | ||
| The term 'Tusi Pa'ia' is a translation of the English word 'Scriptures,' and refers to the sacred texts of Christianity. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | bibliya | ||
| The word "Bibliya" in Tagalog is derived from the Spanish word "Biblia", which in turn comes from the Greek word "biblion", meaning "book". | |||
Bible in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | biblia | ||
| Guarani | biblia | ||
Bible in International Languages
| Esperanto | biblio | ||
| The Esperanto word "Biblio" is derived from Greek "biblos", meaning not only Bible but also book, library, or collection, and is used in English words like bibliography and bibliophile | |||
| Latin | latin vulgate | ||
| The Latin Vulgate is a Latin translation of the Bible that was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in the 4th century. | |||
Bible in Others Languages
| Greek | αγια γραφη | ||
| "Αγια ΓΡΑΦΗ" is formed from the Greek words "Αγιος" (holy) and "ΓΡΑΦΩ" (write). Alternate meanings of "ΓΡΑΦΩ" include "carve", "scratch", and "paint". | |||
| Hmong | ntawv vajtswv | ||
| Derived from Chinese 'shèngtīan', "heavenly literature", 'shèngjìng', "sacred scripture," or 'shèngrùn', "sacred book." | |||
| Kurdish | încîl | ||
| The word "încîl" is derived from the Greek word "euangelion" which means "good news" and also refers to the four Gospels in the Christian New Testament. | |||
| Turkish | kutsal kitap | ||
| The word "Kutsal Kitap" in Turkish literally translates to "Holy Book" and is commonly used to refer to the Bible. | |||
| Xhosa | ibhayibhile | ||
| IBhayibhile is a loanword from Greek 'βιβλίον' (biblion) meaning 'book, scroll' or 'written material'. | |||
| Yiddish | ביבל | ||
| The Yiddish word "ביבל" also means "heap" or "pile". | |||
| Zulu | ibhayibheli | ||
| In Zulu, "iBhayibheli" originally meant "the little book", but is now used to refer to the Bible in general. | |||
| Assamese | বাইবেল | ||
| Aymara | biblia | ||
| Bhojpuri | बाइबल के ह | ||
| Dhivehi | ބައިބަލް | ||
| Dogri | बाइबल | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | bibliya | ||
| Guarani | biblia | ||
| Ilocano | biblia | ||
| Krio | baybul | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | کتێبی پیرۆز | ||
| Maithili | बाइबिल | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯕꯥꯏꯕꯜ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | bible | ||
| Oromo | macaafa qulqulluu | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବାଇବଲ | | ||
| Quechua | biblia | ||
| Sanskrit | बाइबिल | ||
| Tatar | библия | ||
| Tigrinya | መጽሓፍ ቅዱስ | ||
| Tsonga | bibele | ||