2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the Manx Bible. This is the story …
Isle of Man
The Manx language is the native language of the Isle of Man (called Ellan Vannin in Manx), which is an island in the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland. The history of the island is complicated and in the mediaeval period the island was under Norse rule until 1266, and then switched back and forth between Scottish and English rule.
In 1765 the British government bought the Lordship of Man from the Duke of Atholl, and since then the British monarch has been styled Lord of Man. The Isle of Man has the status of a British Crown Dependency but is not technically part of the UK.
Manx language
Linguistically the Manx Gaelic (Gaelg) language belongs to the Goidelic branch of the Celtic language family and is closely related to Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge) and Scots Gaelic (Gàidhlig). Although spoken Manx is similar to Irish and Scots Gaelic to a certain level, it does not look like them when written down, because it evolved its own spelling system more in line with the English use of characters.
The Manx language was the main language of the Isle of Man until the late 18th century and then declined rapidly through the Victorian era. The decline was due largely to emigration from the island, immigration from the mainland, and an education school system which taught through English. However it never went extinct.
Diocese of the Isle of Man
The Isle of Man had a bishop from the 6th century, but in 1154 the Diocese of Sodor and Man was formed to cover the Isle of Man and the outlying western isles of Scotland, under the archbishop of Nidaros (now called Trondheim) in Norway. By 1542, then covering only the Isle of Man, the diocese was part of the Province of York in the Church of England. It is the smallest diocese in the Church of England.
Translating the Bible into Manx
Thomas Wilson, who was Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1697 to 1755, wanted to introduce worship in the Manx language. He commissioned William Walker, one of his vicars-general, to translate the Gospel of St Matthew (Noo Mian), which was the first full book of the Bible to be published in Manx, as ‘Yn Sushtal scruit liorish yn Noo Mian’, and printed in 1748.
The task of translating the whole Bible into Manx was divided up amongst 23 local clergymen, under the direction of the bishop. Then, depending on the linguistic skills of each translator, the Bible was translated from a mixture of the English King James Version (KJV), as well as the Hebrew and Greek. Proper names and some technical words follow the English KJV.
First the four Gospels and Acts were published in 1763, and distributed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), under the direction of the Bishop. Then the rest of the New Testament was completed in 1767 and printed as ‘Conaant Noa’ (New Covenant).
The whole Manx Bible was then first published in three volumes. The first part of the Old Testament was published as Volume 1 in 1771, and revised in 1772. The second half of the Old Testament was published as Volume 2 in 1773. This also included two books of the Apocrypha being the Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus, which were quoted in the lectionary. The New Testament ‘Conaant Noa’ (New Covenant) was published as Volume 3 in 1773.
1775 Bible
The whole Manx Bible was published as one volume as ‘Yn Vible Casherick’ (The Holy Bible) for the first time, 250 years ago in 1775. The complete Manx Gaelic Bible was issued in a quarto volume for the use of the clergy. Only about forty copies were printed, published at the expense of SPCK. It was appointed to be read in churches (‘Pointit dy ve lhaiht ayns kialteenyn’).
Bible Society editions
In 1819, a corrected edition of 5,000 copies was reprinted as a small edition for general circulation by the Bible Society, which omitted the two books of the Apocrypha. In 1936, the Bible Society reprinted the 1819 Gospel according to John as ‘Yn sushtal scruit liorish yn Noo Ean’, with minor edits. This was reprinted by Yn Cheshaght Ghailckagh (the Manx Gaelic Society) in 1968. The whole 1819 Bible Society edition of the Manx Bible was last reprinted by Shearwater Press in 1979, to mark the Millennium of Tynwald, the Manx Parliament.
Manx Today
The last first-language Manx speaker Ned Maddrell died in 1974, but the language did not die out because there were bilingual speakers, and language enthusiasts who maintained the language. Today English is the predominant language of the island, but there are about 3,000 people who also speak Manx to varying degrees, and since 1985, Manx has been an official language of the Isle of Man along with English.
Opened in 2001, Bunscoill Ghaelgagh is a Manx-language medium primary school. All secondary schools on the Isle of Man teach through English but pupils can continue to study Manx. The Manx Bible has continued to be used as a text by Manx language classes, and from time to time is used in worship. The Methodist Church on the Isle of Man has a quarterly service which uses the Manx language.
Digital edition of the Bible
The 1819 edition of the Manx Bible was digitised by the Bible Society with the help of MissionAssist. It was checked and corrected by Max Wheeler from the Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh (Manx Gaelic Society). Words and phrases which were accidentally omitted from the 1775 and 1819 editions have been restored. In early 2025, the result was put online onto YouVersion and onto https://manx.global.bible.
Conference
On October 4th there will be a conference at the Manx Museum in Douglas to mark the 250th anniversary of the Manx Bible.
