The first extant translation of any part of the Bible into the Manx language was by John Phillips, the Bishop of Sodor and Man from 1604 until his death in 1633.
[1] The printing of Prayers for the Poor Families was projected by Thomas Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man, in a memorandum of Whit-Sunday 1699, but this was not carried out until 30 May 1707, the date of issue of his Principles and Duties of Christianity ... in English and Manks, with short and plain directions and prayers.
The Gospel of St. Matthew was translated with the help of his vicars-general in 1722, and published in 1748 under the sponsorship of Wilson's successor as bishop, Mark Hildesley (1755-1772).
The Bible was translated into Manx by a committee of clergy from the Isle of Man under the direction of Bishop Mark Hildesley.
At first, with the support of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Hildesley printed the New Testament and the Book of Common Prayer, translated, under his direction, by the clergy of the diocese, as well as the Christian Monitor, John Lewis's Exposition of the Catechism, and Bishop Wilson's Form of Prayer for the use of the herring fishermen.