Previously I posted a blog on the mention of Matariki in one of our earliest Bibles in Latin. This year I want to highlight the two earliest Bibles in Te Reo from the Auckland Catholic Diocese Archive collection.
This is a copy of the first complete Māori Bible including the first complete Old Testament published, a long-delayed revision that the Church Missionary Society had asked for in 1862. It is based on Maunsell’s translations of the Old Testament and William Williams version of the New Testament. (Books in Māori 1815-1900. Alexander Turnbull Library, 2004. p.345)
Here are the verses that name the Matariki cluster-
Amos 5:8
Job 9:9
Job 38:31
This is the second edition and revised translation of the complete Bible. While the date says 1887, the actual year was 1889. For more information see Books in Māori 1815-1900, p.581.
Amos 5:8
Job 38:31
Just fascinating! Thank you for sharing some original translations of the Holy Bible in Te Reo Māori that reference Matariki.
He who made Pleiades (Matariki) and Orion,
who turns heavy darkness into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the surface of the earth
In the Lord’s name. (Amos 5:8)
He made the Arcturus and Orion, the Pleiades (Matariki) and the constellations of the South (Job 9:9)
“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades (Matariki) or loosen the bonds of Orion?”
(Job 38:31)
Beautiful translations, and a great find, Keith 👏