Judson Bible (Burmese)
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The Judson Bible, called in Burmese မြန်မာကျမ်းစာ (“Burmese Scriptures”), is the work of Adoniram Judson, an American Baptist missionary who arrived in Burma in 1813. In January 1834 he finished the first complete translation of the Bible into Burmese from the original languages. Not satisfied, he revised the Old and New Testaments over the following years, and only in 1840 did he publish the edition he considered ready. That edition is the one here.
Judson translated directly from Hebrew and Greek with an exegete's care, weighing each term and returning to the text whenever he found something better. The result is a translation close to the original, in formal, elevated Burmese.
For nearly two centuries it has been read in the churches of Myanmar, and many readers hear in it the very sound of Scripture. The honest limit is distance in time: the Burmese of 1840 has words and forms that sound old today, and some passages demand effort from anyone who did not grow up hearing this text. For newcomers, it is worth reading alongside a modern translation.
Published more than 180 years ago, Judson's translation is in the public domain. It can be read, copied and shared without restriction, which is why it is here in full, at no cost.