João Ferreira de Almeida


João Ferreira Annes d'Almeida was a Portuguese Protestant pastor; the eponymous Bible translation he began also goes by his name.
Ferreira de Almeida, born in Várzea de Tavares, Portugal, is best known for his translation of the Bible into Portuguese, which he began at the age of 14, and continued translating until his death. He translated the New Testament completely and most books of the Old Testament. The translation was completed by his friend, Jacobus op den Akker. Almeida also wrote several other works, most of them against Roman Catholicism.
He was a Dutch Reformed pastor and worked with churches in Java, and also preached in Goa on the Indian subcontinent. Ferreira de Almeida died in Batavia, Java. Little is known about his life; the majority of facts come from the preface of his Portuguese translation of a Spanish booklet entitled "Differença d'a Christandade".

Bible translation

Ferreira de Almeida's translation of the Bible is most closely associated with Portuguese-speaking Protestants and is the most commonly used translation by Portuguese-speaking Protestant Evangelicals, particularly in Brazil. His work is the source of many Bible versions, like the Edição Revista e Corrigida, the Edição Revista e Atualizada, published by Brazilian Bible Society and Portuguese Bible Society, Almeida Corrigida e Fiel, by Trinitarian Bible Society of Brazil, and Edição Contemporânea de Almeida, by Editora Vida. In 2015, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints published an edition of the Bible in Portuguese based on Ferreira de Almeida's work.
The main principle of translation used by Ferreira de Almeida was that of formal equivalence, and he utilized the Textus Receptus as a textual basis. His Portuguese style is described as "classical and erudite"; the Brazilian Bible Society states that Ferreira de Almedia sought to reflect both the form, style, and language register of the original texts in his translation.

Editions