Nick: Created page with "Cover page of first edition of the New Testament from 1593 The '''Jakub Wujek Bible''' (Biblia Jakuba Wujka) was the main Polish Bible translation used in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland from the late 16th century till the mid-20th century. The translation was done by a Polish Jesuit, Jakub Wujek (after whom it is commonly named), with the pe..."

2026-06-16T09:56:12Z

Created page with "thumb|218x218px|Cover page of first edition of the New Testament from 1593 The '''Jakub Wujek Bible''' (Biblia Jakuba Wujka) was the main Polish Bible translation used in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland from the late 16th century till the mid-20th century. The translation was done by a Polish Jesuit, Jakub Wujek (after whom it is commonly named), with the pe..."

New page

[[image:1593 New Testament title page - Jakub Wujek.jpg|thumb|218x218px|Cover page of first edition of the New Testament from 1593]]
The '''Jakub Wujek Bible''' (Biblia Jakuba Wujka) was the main Polish [[Bible translation]] used in the [[liturgy]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church in Poland]] from the late 16th century till the mid-20th century.

The translation was done by a Polish [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]], [[Jakub Wujek]] (after whom it is commonly named), with the permission of [[Pope Gregory XIII]] and the [[Jesuit Order]]. It was based on the [[Sixto-Clementine Vulgate|sixto-clementine]] revision of the [[Vulgate]]. The first edition was completed in 1593, but the full authorized edition was ready only two years after Wujek's death, in 1599.

==History==
The full title of the Bible is: ''Biblia to iest Księgi Starego y Nowego Przymierza według Łacińskiego przekładu starego, w kościele powszechnym przyiętego, na Polski ięzyk z nowu z pilnością przełożone, z dokładaniem textu Żydowskiego y Greckiego, y z wykładem Katholickim, trudnieyszych miejsc, do obrony wiary swiętej powszechnej przeciw kacerstwóm tych czasów należących: przez D. Iakuba Wuyka z Wągrowca, Theologa Societatis Iesu.'' (Bible, that is, the Books of the Old and New Testament according to old Latin translation, in universal church accepted, translated anew to the Polish language with attention, with additions of Jewish and Greek texts, with Catholic exposition of difficult passages, for the defence of the universal holy faith against the heretics of these times, by D. Iakub Wuyek of Wągrowiec, Theologa Societatis Iesu.)

In 1584, Polish [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] and the [[primate of Poland]], [[Stanisław Karnkowski]], decided that a new Polish translation of the [[Bible]] was needed, as the previous [[Leopolita's Bible]] from 1561 was not seen as adequate, and contemporary [[Protestantism|Protestant]] translations were seen as better. Jakub Wujek, already known for excellent translations of parts of the Bible in his [[homily|homilies]], was chosen to head the task. The first edition of the [[New Testament]] was ready in 1593. The translation was accompanied by footnotes, explanations and polemics.

The [[Sixto-Clementine Vulgate|Clementine Vulgate]], issued in 1592, caused a delay in the translation, as it had to be checked for consistency with the new [[Latin]] version. Wujek finished the work on the [[New Testament]], revised with the Clementine Vulgate in 1594, and on the [[Old Testament]] in 1596; the works were immediately published. The final version of [[Jakub Wujek|Wujek]]'s Bible was ready in 1599, after corrections from a Jesuit commission, two years after Wujek's death in 1597.

The Jakub Wujek Bible replaced the [[Leopolita's Bible]] (1561), and was in turn replaced by the [[Millennium Bible]] (1965).

Some modern scholars tend to rank the first edition, from 1593/1594, over that from 1599.

==Importance==
Wujek's Bible is widely recognized as an excellent translation, one of the most important works of the [[Renaissance in Poland]], and a major work advancing the written [[Polish language]]. Various parts of it were quoted by Polish poets, including [[Adam Mickiewicz]] and [[Juliusz Słowacki]].< It would also serve as a major Polish-language [[Catholic]] Bible till the [[Millennium Bible]] of the 20th century (1965) and was also an important source for the first Polish-language Protestant Bible, the [[Gdańsk Bible]] of 1632.

==Notes==

==Further reading==
*S. Sawicki, "Biblia" Wujka w kulturze polskiej, "Studia Gnesnensia" 1975, t. 1, s. 318-319

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120229163952/http://www.poland.pl/archives/modernera/article,,id,269028.htm The Wujek Bible] at Poland.pl
*[http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=9662&from=&dirids=1 Original Wujek Bible from 1599], Wielkopolska Digital Library {{in lang|pl}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090728084325/http://www.pbi.edu.pl/book_reader.php?p=25487 Original Wujek Bible], damaged copy, in the Polish Internet Library {{in lang|pl}}
*[http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=46959&from=&dirids=1 Original New Testament, part of Wujek's Bible from 1593], Wielkopolska Digital Library {{in lang|pl}}
*[https://archive.org/details/bibliatojestksie00wuje Wujek Bible], 1923 edition in the Internet Archive {{in lang|pl}}
*[http://www.polona.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=9946&dirids=1 New Testament, modernized 1936 edition based on Wujek Bible]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091215131137/http://biblijna.strona.pl/teksty/przeklad_pol_wujek.htm Biblia w przekładzie ks. Jakuba Wujka] {{in lang|pl}}

[[Category:Jesuit publications]]
[[Category:1593 books]]
[[Category:1590s in Poland]]
[[Category:Bible translations into Polish]]

{{Donate}}

Jakub Wujek Bible - Revision history