Adoniram Judson was born on August 9, 1788 in Malden, Massachusetts. At a very young age, he had showed much promise. By the age of 3, he had taught himself to read. He had learned Latin and Greek and was a student of theology by the age of 10. He entered Brown University a few years later at the age of 16, where he graduated 3 yrs. later at the top of his class.
During this time at Brown University, however, he became close friends with a man named Jacob Eames. Eames was an atheist, a very persuasive one at that. By the time Judson graduated from the University, he himself had taken on the beliefs of his friend Eames.
Adoniram Judson returned home, where he opened the Plymouth Idependent Academy, but was not satisfied with his life. He announced to his parents that he was going to go to New York and write for the stage. However, when he arrived, fame and fortune eluded him. As a result, he obtained a horse and began to travel west.
One evening, he took lodging in a village in. The only room that was still available was located next door to a room housing a critically ill person. Nevertheless, Adoniram Judson took the room. It ended up being a sleepless night listening to the groans and agony of the person in the neighboring room.
Adoniram Judson
1788-1850
The following morning Adoniram Judson found inquired concerning the person. He found out that he had died during the night. After further inquiries, he also learned his identity was that of Jacob Eames, his friend from Brown University.
He returned home to Plymouth, where he dedicated his life to the Lord in December 1808. After entering Andover Theological Seminary as a student, he met a small group of men who had organized a missionary prayer meeting a couple years earlier. They began to pray for the nations of the earth.Then on February 5, 1812, Adoniram Judson married Ann Hasseltine.
Within a couple weeks they were on their way to the mission field. They were scheduled to travel to India, but because of the war that was going on in the West they were unable to remain in India. Instead, they found themselves in Burma. This was difficult place to be, but they had the assurance from the Lord that this was where they were supposed to be. As a result, he began to learn the language and translate the scripture into their language.
It was six years before Adoniram Judson saw the first fruits of his labor. The first Burmese man, Moung Nau, converted in 1819, six years after he began his work in Burma. This would only be the beginning. Many more people would come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ before end of his life.
In 1824, Adoniram Judson was imprisoned. For 17 months he endured horrible conditions. He was shackled and placed in a cell without windows, along with many other prisoners. At times he was hung so that only his head and shoulders touched the ground. Conditions were very hard and he became extremely malnourished, but the work of translation was not lost.
His wife, Ann, in an attempt to make sure that the translations were not taken, placed them in a pillow and gave them to her husband in prison. Even after it was taken by the guard, Ann was able to bribe the guard and get the pillow with the translations returned to her husband. Because of her dedication during Adoniram’s imprisonment, the work was not lost, but was able to continue after his release.
Ann died of a fever on October 24, 1826. They had three children together. All three died within the first couple years after their birth.
A couple years later, in 1828, a Karen slave named Ko Tha Byu was converted. He was able to return to his Karen people and share the gospel message. Hundreds of people were reached, because of a tradition that had been passed down through the generations and the fulfillment of this tradition came through the spreading of the gospel from a white man, Adoniram Judson.
Adoniram Judson married his second wife, Sarah, in April of 1834. They had 8 children over 11 years of marriage. Three of the children died at an early age. His wife, Sarah, became ill, so they decided to take the 3 oldest children and journey home on furlough. Sarah died on the journey in the port of St. Helena in 1845. Adoniram Judson was welcomed warmly back into the USA. He was able to share of the work that had taken place during the 33 years that he had been overseas.
He married Emily Chubbock on June 2, 1846. They set sail for Burma on July 11, 1846 where the work continued for 4 more years.
Adoniram Judson became dies on April 12, 1850 and was buried at sea. During his lifetime, he completed the translation of the Bible and other works into Burmese, the compilation of a Burmese-English and English-Burmese dictionary, a Burmese grammar and Pali dictionary, and the writing of two famous hymn-poems (Our Father God, Who Art in Heaven, 1825; Come, Holy Spirit, Dove Divine, 1832). When he died, there were 7,000 coverts, 63 churches, and 123 missionaries and pastors.
