Statenvertaling

The Statenvertaling (, "States Translation") or Statenbijbel ("States Bible") was the first translation of the Bible from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages into Dutch, ordered by the Synod of Dordrecht 1618 and financed by government of the Protestant Dutch Republic and first published in 1637.
The first complete Dutch Bible had been printed in Antwerp in 1526 by Jacob van Liesvelt. Like other existing Dutch Bibles, however, it was merely a translation of other translations. Furthermore, the translation from Martin Luther was widely used, but it had a Lutheran interpretation. At the Synod of Dort in 1618/19, it was therefore deemed necessary to have a new translation accurately based on the original languages. The synod requested the States-General of the Netherlands to commission it.
In 1626, the States-General accepted the request from the synod, and the translation started. It was completed in 1635 and authorized by the States-General in 1637. From then until 1657, when a second edition was published, a half-million copies were printed. It remained authoritative in Protestant churches well into the 20th century.
In 1645, the Westminster Assembly commissioned Theodore Haak to translate the "Statenvertaling met Kantekeningen" (the Dort Authorized Version with commentary) into English for wider distribution. This massive work was published in London by Henry Hill in 1657.
The source material for the Old Testament was the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint. The New Testament was translated from the "Textus Receptus" with references to the Majority Text.
Guidelines.
The Statenvertaling was written with specific guidelines for translation established by the synod during its 8th session on November 20, 1618. The four main instructions to the translators were:
Apocryphal books.
Regarding the Biblical apocrypha, the synod decided to translate these books but not to make them part of the canon. They were placed after the books of the New Testament and preceded with a "warning for the reader".
Translation of God's name.
In the Hebrew Bible, God's name is written with the four consonants JHWH (as seen on the very top of the title page in Hebrew characters), and would not be pronounced by the Jews. During the 12th session, the synod decided to translate God's name with "HEERE" ("LORD"). In the margin where God's name first appears, the following note is given:
The translators.
The translators and overseers were appointed during the 13th session on 26 November 1618. Translators were Johannes Bogerman, Willem Baudartius, and Gerson Bucerus for the Old Testament, and Jakobus Rolandus, Herman Faukelius, and Petrus Cornelisz for the New Testament and Apocrypha. Jacobus Revius was secretary to the committee of translators and revisers.
Herman Faukelius and Petrus Cornelisz died before they could start on the translation, and were therefore replaced by Festus Hommius and Antonius Walaeus.
Influence.
Because of its influence, the Statenbijbel has been included in the Canon of Dutch History, a list of 50 required subjects that should not be omitted from history classes in the Netherlands.
Lithuanian calvinist Samuelis Boguslavas Chilinskis used the Statenbijbel as a main source for his translation of the Bible into the Lithuanian language.