Articles
Historical Profile: William Tyndale
William Tyndale (1495-1536) provided another major piece of the Reformation puzzle when he translated the Bible into English. As noted last week, John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English from the Latin Vulgate, the flawed translation of Jerome. But Tyndale’s translation was from the original languages, thus giving the common man a clearer picture of what the Holy Spirit actually said.
Practical reformation has never been possible without the average person having access to the Scripture itself. Early attempts to translate the Scripture into the English language were made before the year 1000, but the first complete translation was made by John Wycliffe. This work was a great influence in calling attention to the need for reformation. ... Wycliffe made a distinct contribution in emphasizing the Scripture as the authority in religion -- rather than the hierarchy.
“The first printed English New Testament was that of William Tyndale. ... Tyndale’s work was so skillfully done that when the King James Translation was made later by the best Greek-English scholars of the world, about ninety percent of the final translation was still the identical work of Tyndale” (F.W. Mattox, "The Eternal Kingdom," p. 274-275).
Sounds simple, except ...
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Pro-Catholic forces were very strong in England, and Tyndale’s translation work in London was forcibly stopped. He fled to Germany in 1524.
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Efforts were again made to stop Tyndale by those who feared the undermining of the Catholic powerbase. In spite of this, Bibles were printed and smuggled into England and “they were eagerly bought and read to the inexpressible joy and comfort of thousands who had long walked in darkness” (J.W. Shepherd, The Church: The Falling Away and the Restoration, p. 86).
- Tyndale was finally betrayed, strangled and burned near Antwerp. His last words reportedly were: “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”
His contribution to reformation is incalculable, for the common folk now had concrete evidence for what they had long suspected: Catholicism was a vile human invention that bore no resemblance to the true church that Jesus had established.
Wycliffe, the Morning Star of the Reformation, was now dimming in the bright light of Tyndale’s New Testament.
