Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg was a German missionary and Bible translator. He was the first Protestant missionary to go to India, and translator of the first New Testament of any Indian language.
He was sent to mission work at the request of the King of Denmark, to the Danish colony of Trankebar — now Tharangambadi, Tamil Nadu — in south India. He travelled with another mission worker, Heinrich Pluetshau. Their desire was to see people come to Jesus and establish their own, indigenous Indian church. They therefore did not plant churches, but instead, prioritised learning the Tamil language and writing about Jesus in Tamil.
Ziegenbalg and Pluetshau were not welcomed as enthusiastically as they had been sent. There was opposition from both the local Hindus and from Danish officials: at one time, Ziegenbalg was even imprisoned for four months, because officials thought that new converts from his ministry would spark new rebellion.
The first page of the 1714 Tamil New Testament
Ziegenbalg began translating the New Testament into Tamil in 1708. It was finished in 1711, but its publication was slowed by Ziegenbalg’s own frequent revisions to the work and printing press delays. He had ordered a printing press from Denmark in good time, less than a year after he began translating. But when it arrived three years later, the specially-made blocks for the Tamil letters were too big; new blocks had to be made locally, out of cheese tins.
It was published in 1714; his translation of the Old Testament was never finished. Ziegenbalg died on this day in 1719, aged 36.
Even though Ziegenbalg’s work is now nearly 300 years old, Bible translation remains a big need in India today. The country is home to 438 languages, of which more than 150 have no Scripture and a definite need. You can be involved, as God uses Bible translation to proclaim his Story in India and around the world.
- Back to blog homepage.
- Go to main Wycliffe UK site.
Tags: Bible translation, India, Tamil, Ziegenbalg
