The
Wycliffe Bible was an early translation of the Bible from a group of Oxford
scholars connected with John Wycliffe. He translated part of the Bible from the
Latin Vulgate to English, and his associates translated the Old Testament – it is
thought. This began the early stages of English reform, which often teetered
back and forth between Protestantism and Romanism, depending on the actual
faith of the monarch. The criticized and glamorized Ann Boleyn moved Henry VIII
toward Protestantism. Edward VI followed his father Henry VIII but only reigned
as a Protestant for six years. Queen Mary, following her mother’s Catholic convictions,
reversed King Edward’s gains and prosecuted Protestants. Queen Elizabeth I favored
the Protestants but always kept everyone off-balance. A pope said, “She only
controls part of an island, and yet all of Europe is afraid of her.” England supposedly
chose a Protestant in King James I, but that began an era where the Stuart
kings left an indelible bad impression on England.
William Tyndale is the pivotal figure in the history of
the English Bible, because he translated from Greek and Hebrew – and Henry VIII
had him killed and then burned at the stake. Tyndale was born in 1494, between
the births of Luther (1486) and Melanchthon (1497). He shared the excitement of
the Bible being available in Hebrew (with help from Reuchlin, Melanchthon’s uncle)
and Greek (thanks to Erasmus). Tyndale was an exceptional scholar in many languages.
He earned his first degree from Oxford in 1512 and his master’s degree in 1515.
He was fluent in Hebrew, Greek, German, Latin, and more – beyond the requirements
of a PhD in theology today. But he found the same ossified principles that
plagued Luther and cased the Reformer to learn directly from the Scriptures.
Tyndale wrote:
They
have ordained that no man shall look on the Scripture, until he be noselled in
heathen learning eight or nine years and armed with false principles, with
which he is clean shut out of the understanding of the Scripture.
Tyndale also studied at
Cambridge, where Erasmus had previously taught, another step in giving the
linguist the best of language training.
Tyndale could get no support for translating the Bible in
England, so he traveled to Germany and enrolled at Wittenberg University. He
translated the New Testament into English by 1525. He also stayed at Worms for
a year, according to Spalatin. Since Tyndale was fluent in German, Luther’s
Bible was a great help, but as every language student knows, having another
translation in a different language is an aid in many ways, but the path to clarity
in another language is still laborious. However, this safe haven in Germany
brought together Tyndale and the Luther circle; their concentration of genius
and faithfulness to the Word of God channeled the Reformation into Tyndale, and
through Tyndale, the King James Version and the British Empire.
The way of the cross means persecution. England resisted
freelance publishing of the Bible, which was illegal. Moreover, the English
bishops were prone to strike out against Tyndale, because he openly despised
their lordly power, perks, and use of force. Lazy and overpaid ecclesiastics do
not tolerate disruption of their realm. Cardinal Woolsey and Thomas Moore
opposed Tyndale, so he stayed in Europe.
In 1535, Tyndale was betrayed by a friend, seized in
Antwerp, strangled, and then burned at the stake. His dying words were, “Lord,
open the king’s eyes,” but it was another king – James – who had the Tyndale
fashioned as the official, royal, and only Bible for English-speaking people. Four
Bible translations were derived from Tyndale’s –
1.
The Coverdale Bible, 1535, Antwerp, used
Tyndale and other sources.
2.
Coverdale revised this as the Great
Bible in 1539.
3.
The Bishop’s Bible
4.
The King James or Authorized Version
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| Wycliffe |
