Finnish ( suomi , or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a Finnish dialect, are spoken. The Kven language, a Finnish dialect, is spoken in Northern Norway.
The first Finnish translation of the New Testament was Mikael Agricola's Se Wsi Testamenti Somexi (The New Testament in Finnish), which was translated from Greek originals into Finnish in 1548. Agricola is today considered the father of the Finnish written language.
The first translation of the whole Bible was the so-called Vanha kirkkoraamattu (Old Church Bible), titled Biblia, Se on: Coco Pyhä Ramattu Suomexi. This edition was translated between 1638 and 1641 by a committee led by Bishop Erik Rothovius and was published in 1642. It was revised in the period 1683-1685 (Florinus).
