Translations

Translations in History

The hymns of the Zion’s Harp cover a span of six centuries, from the fifteenth to the twentieth. G. M. Mangold was commissioned by Samuel Froehlich to compile the Neue Zionsharfe, the first edition (1854) of the Zion’s Harp as we know it. The hymnal was compiled in German at the beginning. As the faith spread across Europe the Neue Zionsharfe traveled with it and was translated into several different languages. In 1866 the Neue Zionsharfe was translated into Hungarian, in 1876 it was translated into Serbian. Later, it was translated into Romanian (1894), Ukrainian, and Slovakian languages. When the movement spread to the United States the need arose to translate the hymnal into English. In 1921 the Apostolic Christian Church translated a portion of the Neue Zionsharfe into English and titled it the Zion’s Harp. In 1924 the Apostolic Christian Nazarene Church translated the entire Neue Zionsharfe into English and called it the Apostolic Christian Hymnal. In more recent years the Apostolic Christian Nazarene Church has translated the beloved hymnal into Spanish, Portuguese, and Croatian. Swedish and Japanese translations are also in progress by supported by various churches around the world. Since the original edition of the Neue Zionsharfe in 1854, there have been many editions in countries across the world.