João Ferreira Annes de Almeida | |
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Born | 1628 Várzea de Tavares, Kingdom of Portugal |
Died | 1691 Batavia, Java |
Nationality | Portuguese |
Occupation | Dutch Reformed Pastor |
Known for | Bible translator |
João Ferreira Annes d'Almeida (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w̃ fɨˈʁɐjɾɐ ˈɐnɨʃ dɨ aɫˈmɐjdɐ]) (1628–1691) 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 (Hebrew Scripture). The translation was completed by his friend, Jacobus op den Akker. Almeida also wrote, during his lifetime, several other works, most of them against Roman Catholicism.
He was a Dutch Reformed pastor and worked with churches in Java (at the time a Dutch colony; modern-day Indonesia), and also preached in Goa on the Indian subcontinent (at the time a Portuguese colony, now part of India). Ferreira de Almeida died in Batavia, Java. Little is known his life; the majority of facts come from the preface of his Portuguese translation of a Spanish booklet entitled "Differença d'a Christandade".
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 (Revised and Corrected Edition, published in 1948, is an update of other editions), the Edição Revista e Atualizada (Revised and Updated Edition, most based in newer manuscripts), published by Brazilian Bible Society and Portuguese Bible Society, Almeida Corrigida e Fiel (Almeida Corrected and Faithful), by Trinitarian Bible Society of Brazil, and Edição Contemporânea de Almeida (Almeida's Contemporary Edition), 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.