CYRIL and METHODIUS-Bible Translators Who Invented an Alphabet

The Complete Bible Is Translated

Despite the unrelenting resistance, Methodius, with the help of several shorthand writers, finished translating the remainder of the Bible into Slavonic.  According to tradition,m he accomplished this huge task in just eight months.  However, he did not translate the apocryphal books of the Maccabees.

Today, it is not easy  to asses accurately the quality of the translation made by Cyril and Methodius.  Only a few manuscript copies still exist that date close to the  time of the initial translation.  By examining those rare early specimens, linguists note that the translations were precise and conveyed a natural freshness. The work Our Slavic Bible states that the two brothers  "had to create many new words and expression .. . And  they did all this with amazing precision to unprecedented lexical richness."

Next time: And Enduring Legacy

The Watchtower, 2001