German Bible Versions

Links updated March 2011

Texts

• 1545 Luther Bible, presented by Hans Jürgen und Ronny Herbst.
• In various places on the internet there is a text which purports to be the "unrevised" Luther Bible of 1545 (the last edition issued before his death). This electronic text is the work of Michael Bolsinger, who published it on his website at luther-bibel-1545.de. From there it was reproduced here, here and here, among other places. But Bolsinger's text is not a transcription of the 1545 edition. It is based on a 19th century edition published by the Cansteinsche Bibelanstalt, with modernized spelling, punctuation and grammar. It also inserts the "Johannine Comma" in 1 John 5:7 (which was absent from the 1545 edition).
• 1912 revision of the Luther Bible. Similar to the American Standard Version. Based on critical texts.
• 1984 revision of the Luther Bible. Similar to the Revised Standard Version. This is the most widely used German version. The version is also online here.
• Einheitsübersetzung Bibel, The standard Roman Catholic version.
• Schlachter Bible. A Swiss translation by Franz Eugen Schlachter, as revised in 1951, used by many Evangelicals. There is also a revision of this version done in 2000 here.
• die-bibel.de, a website maintained by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, is the German "Bible Gateway," providing access to the 1984 Luther, Revised Elberfelder, "Hoffnung für Alle" and the "Gute Nachricht Bibel" (the dynamic equivalence version of the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, similar to the "Good News Bible" in English). There is also a discussion board and other study materials. Free registration is required.
• The Elberfelder Bible of 1871 is online at the Online Parallel Bible Project.
• Sermon-Online: die Predigten-Datenbank. By Stephan Köthe. A huge collection of German Bibles, sermons, articles, and books in audio and text (mostly PDF). Includes some complete interlinear Bibles.
• Weizsäcker. Das Neue Testament, Uebersetzt von Carl Weizsäcker (Tübingen, 1875).
• Meyer. Das Neue Testament griechisch, nach den besten Hülfsmitteln kritisch revidirt mit einer neuen Deutschen Übersetzung von Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (Göttingen, 1829): vol. 1 (Gospels); vol. 2 (Acts, Epistles, Apocalypse).
• Michaelis. Johann David Michaelis, Uebersetzung des Alten Testaments (1789), vol. 1, vol. 2; Uebersetzung des Neuen Testaments (1790), vol. 1.
• Novum Testamentum graece et germanice, edited by Eberhard Nestle (fifth edition; Stuttgart, 1906).

History

• History of the Lutheran version of the Bible, by John P. Hentz (1910).
• Kritische Anfragen an moderne Bibelübersetzungen. A collection of critical articles on modern German Bible versions by Drs. Stefan Felber, Bernhard Rothen, and Peter Wick in Switzerland.
• History of Luther's Bible by Philip Schaff.
• Open Letter on Translating (Sendbrief vom Dolmetschen). By Martin Luther (1530). Original German and English translation.
• Varianten Textus receptus versus Nestle-Aland. By Dieter Zimmer. An extensive list of translatable variations between the TR and the Nestle-Aland text, in German.
• Die Elberfelder Bibelübersetzung. By Martin Arhelger. Detailed information on the Elberfelder Bible (also here). See also Die Elberfelder Bibel and Die Bibelübersetzungen der 'Brüder'.
• Wieland Willker gives much helpful information on German versions on the following pages: Deutsche Übersetzungen der Bibel, Bibelübersetzung, and Links
• Martin Luther's Use of Hebrew. By Gordon Laird (from his paper, The Kimhi Family: The Emergence of Their Writings in the Reformation). Also here.

Directories

• Bibeln online im Internet. By Ralf Christian Müller.

Books and CD's

• 1534 Luther Bible. A facsimile reprint (Cologne: Taschen Verlag, 2003) of the first edition of Luther's Bible (Wittenberg, 1534), with more than 120 tinted woodcuts by Lucas Cranach, in two volumes. Contained in a third volume is an introduction by Stephan Füssel.
• 1545 Luther Bible - Biblia Germanica. A facsimile of the 1545 edition, incorporating revisions made by Luther and his colleagues up to the time of his death. This inexpensive facsimile (black and white only) published by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft in 1983 combines the original two volumes into one.
• Die Luther-Bibel. Originalfassung 1545 und revidierte Fassung 1912. This is a CD-ROM of the 1545 editon of Luther's Bible together with the revision made in 1912. It can also be purchased and downloaded from the website of the publisher, Digitale Bibliothek.

Listen to Psalm 23 in German
(mp3 file)

Psalm 23. Der gute Hirte. Ein Psalm Davids.

1 Der HERR ist mein Hirte, mir wird nichts mangeln. 2 Er weidet mich auf einer grünen Aue und führet mich zum frischen Wasser. 3 Er erquicket meine Seele. Er führet mich auf rechter Straße um seines Namens willen. 4 Und ob ich schon wanderte im finstern Tal, fürchte ich kein Unglück; denn du bist bei mir, dein Stecken und Stab trösten mich. 5 Du bereitest vor mir einen Tisch im Angesicht meiner Feinde. Du salbest mein Haupt mit Öl und schenkest mir voll ein. 6 Gutes und Barmherzigkeit werden mir folgen mein Leben lang, und ich werde bleiben im Hause des HERRN immerdar.

© Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1984