How We
Got the Bible
Lesson #I1--English Translations of the Bible
(Part 2)
The first men who translated the Bible
into the common language of the English speaking people did so at great risk.
A. John Wycliffe (1320-1584) was an Oxford educated-individual who recognized and
repudiated the lavish expenditures of the Roman church. He believed that the surest way to
defeat Rome was to place the Bible in the hands of the common man in a language that
he could understand. His New Testament work was completed in 1380, and his translation of
the entire Bible appeared in 1384. Wycliffe's version, translated from the Latin,
marked the first serious defeat for the Roman church's control over the people of England.
He did not live to see the final fruits of his translation, however, because two years
after its completion, he died of a stroke. In 1428, in accordance with a decree of the
council of Constance in 1415, his body was exhumed and burned, and his ashes were thrown
into the River Swift. Here's a sample of Wycliffe's translation:
"Our Fadir that art in heunes, halewid be
thi name. Thi Kingdom comme to, be Thi wille done as in heuen so in erthe. Gyve to us this
dai oure breed oeur other substance; and forgyve to us our dettis as we forgyven to oure
dettouris. ...(Matt. 6:9ff).
B. William Tyndale (
1484-1536) is often called the true father of English translations. Following his
education at Oxford and Cambridge, his life's ambition was to give the English people a
translation of the Bible based not on Latin but upon the original Greek and Hebrew. He
once said to one of his opponents, "It God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth
the plow to know more of the Scripture than thou doest." The Roman Church hierarchy in England was so hostile toward
him that he had to flee to Hamburg, Germany, to complete his work. Tyndale completed his
translation of Erasmus's Greek New Testament in 1525. The printing press was now in use, so copies of
Tyndale's translation were printed abroad and smuggled back into England. Though church
officials sought to buy up and burn all available copies, their effort was in vain. The
common man now had access to the Bible in his own language. Not only that, but this version was not a translation from a translation, like
Wycliffe's, but a translation
from the original Greek. Ultimately,Tyndale was
betrayed by men whom he thought were his friends and he was imprisoned in 1554. In 1556,
after spending months in prison, he was strangled and burned at the stake, crying, "Lord, open the King of England's
eyes!" He was never able to complete
his work on the Old Testament.
C. Tyndale's version has had far-reaching effects. It has
been the standard for all English translations which have followed. It has greatly
influenced the character, form, and style of the King James Version which is presently in use today. His work and
its influence serve to emphasize the words of Jesus in Mark 13:31.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away but
My words shall not pass away."
Lesson
1 - Introduction Lesson 2 - How
Ancient Books Made
Lesson 3 - Birth of Bible(Pt. 1) Lesson 4 - Birth of Bible (Pt. 2)
Lesson 5 - Text of Old Testament Lesson 6 - Text of New Testament(Pt. 1)
Lesson 7 - Text of New Testament (Pt. 2) Lesson 8 - Canon of Scriptures(Pt. 1)
Lesson 9 - Canon of Scriptures (Pt. 2) Lesson 10 - English Translation (Pt.1)
Lesson 12 - English Translation (Pt.3)
Lesson 13 - English Translation (Pt.4)
Lesson 14 - English Translation (Pt.5)
Lesson 15 - English Translation
Pt.6)
Lesson 16 - Which Translation to Use(Pt.1)
Lesson 17 - Which Translation to Use(Pt.2)
Lesson 18 - Which Translation to Use(Pt.3) Lesson 19 - Which Translation to Use(Pt4)
Lesson 20 - Which Translation to Use (Pt. 5)
Lesson 21 - Which Translation to Use (Pt. 6)
Lesson 22 - Concluding Thoughts
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This page last updated: October 14, 2002