Introduction

Malta is a small group of islands situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Sicily. It was colonised in the eighth century BC by the Phoenicians, who used it as an outpost for further exploration and trade around the Mediterranean. They brought with them their Semitic language and culture. Maltese is the national language of Malta, although English is also an official language and spoken by most. Interestingly, Maltese is currently the only Semitic language to use the Latin script.

Christianity in Malta

The vast majority of the Maltese people are Roman Catholic (98%), although only about half the population now regularly attend services. The festival of the local patron saint is widely celebrated by the people. The account of how the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on the island is also a large part of the Maltese religious fabric, although there is much unsupported tradition alongside the Biblical account.

Only due to British influence have Anglican and Methodist churches been established and recognised, although these have always been in the minority. In 2007 the Evangelical Alliance of Malta was founded. There are several active Protestant congregations on the island who use the TBS Maltese Bible.

Maltese Bibles

Mikiel Anton Vassalli began Maltese Bible translation work in the 1790s with the four Gospels. In the 1820s the Gospel according to John as translated by Giuseppe Cannolo was printed by the Church Missionary Society, followed by the other Gospels and the book of Acts. In the mid-nineteenth century the Vassalli Gospels were revised by Michael Camilleri who then completed the New Testament; it was published in 1847 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Another Bible was produced by George Preca and printed in several editions between 1880 and 1962; this version was based on the Latin Vulgate. Preca encouraged Peter Paul Saydonto continue his work, and Saydon translated a Bible from the Hebrew and Greek with reference to the Latin Vulgate; this became the Maltese Roman Catholic Bible.

TBS Maltese Bible

Beginning in 1963 Karm Zammit worked on a Maltese translation based on the Authorised (King James) Version and the Hebrew and Greek texts. Zammit’s translation of the New Testament was published by the Trinitarian Bible Society in 1971, with the complete Bible following in 1980. The Maltese Bible was subsequently reprinted by the Society in 1983 and 2006.

In the following decades many changes have occurred to the Maltese language and the government has sought to standardise the language. As a result, TBS are revising the Maltese Bible, with the team seeking to use vocabulary and grammar that reflects the current literary standard of the language.