Answer

Tamil Bible Old Version: which translation the app uses, and why

தமிழ் வேதாகமம் (Tamil Vedhagamam) · Updated 2026-09-21

What the Old Version is

The Tamil Old Version descends from the 19th-century Union translation prepared by Protestant missionaries and Tamil scholars, and it became the standard Bible of Tamil Protestant churches. It is written in a formal, literary Tamil. Its cadences are the ones most Tamil Christians have memorised:

கர்த்தர் என் மேய்ப்பராயிருக்கிறார், நான் தாழ்ச்சியடையேன். சங்கீதம் 23:1

தேவன், தம்முடைய ஒரேபேறான குமாரனை விசுவாசிக்கிறவன் எவனோ அவன் கெட்டுப்போகாமல் நித்தியஜீவனை அடையும்படிக்கு, அவரைத் தந்தருளி, இவ்வளவாய் உலகத்தில் அன்புகூர்ந்தார். யோவான் 3:16

Because the Old Version is what is read aloud in most Tamil congregations, following along in the app matches what you hear from the pulpit, word for word.

Why the app uses it

• It is public domain. The text can be bundled inside the app and given away. There is no licence fee to recover, which is why the app can be completely free with no ads, and why the entire Bible can sit on your phone for offline reading rather than being streamed from a server.
• It is the familiar text. Memory verses, hymn lyrics and Sunday readings in Tamil churches are almost always Old Version wording.
• It is complete. Every book from ஆதியாகமம் (Genesis) to வெளிப்படுத்தின விசேஷம் (Revelation), Old and New Testament.

What it is not

The app does not contain the திருவிவிலியம் (Tamil Common Language Bible), any modern paraphrase, or an English translation. There is a single text, so there is no version picker; the Tamil / Tanglish switch in the reader changes the alphabet the same words are shown in, not the translation.

How the text was prepared

The verses come from an openly available digitised copy of the Old Version. Before release the text was checked chapter by chapter against printed editions, and more than 130 typing errors in the digital source (including several in Luke) were corrected in version 1.2.3. If you find a verse that does not match your printed Bible, email sunil.soundarapandian@gmail.com with the reference; corrections ship in the next update.

Book names

Books are listed under their Tamil names, with English names shown in Tanglish mode. A few that differ most from what English readers expect: யாத்திராகமம் is Exodus, உபாகமம் is Deuteronomy, சங்கீதம் is Psalms, நீதிமொழிகள் is Proverbs, பிரசங்கி is Ecclesiastes, அப்போஸ்தலர் is Acts. Typing a reference such as யோவான் 3:16 into search jumps straight to the chapter.