William Tyndale

William Tyndale (c. 1494–1536) is the single most important figure in the history of the English Bible. A linguistic genius who mastered eight languages, Tyndale produced the first English New Testament translated directly from the Greek — and paid for it with his life. An estimated 84% of the King James New Testament and 76% of the Old Testament retain Tyndale's exact wording. When you read the KJV, you are largely reading Tyndale. Phrases that define the English language — "Let there be light," "the salt of the earth," "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" — were coined by Tyndale.

In early 16th-century England, it was illegal to translate the Bible into English without Church approval — and no approval was forthcoming. The Roman Catholic Church held that Scripture should remain in Latin, accessible only through the clergy. Tyndale, a young Oxford and Cambridge scholar, was convinced that every ploughboy should be able to read God's Word. In a famous exchange with a clergyman who said, "We were better be without God's law than the Pope's," Tyndale replied: "I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture than thou dost." Unable to find support in England, Tyndale fled to continental Europe in 1524. He would never return.

Working in Germany and the Low Countries, Tyndale completed his New Testament translation in 1525. The first printed copies were smuggled into England in bales of cloth. The Bishop of London bought up copies to burn them — but the money went to fund Tyndale's next print run. Tyndale translated from Erasmus's Greek New Testament (the foundation of the Textus Receptus) and from the Hebrew Old Testament, making him the first English translator to work from the original languages rather than the Latin Vulgate. His translation principles were revolutionary: he aimed for clarity, accuracy, and beauty. He wanted the common person to understand God's Word, not just the scholar. His genius for memorable, rhythmic English prose set the standard for all English Bibles that followed.

In 1535, Tyndale was betrayed by Henry Phillips, a man who pretended to be his friend. He was arrested in Antwerp, imprisoned in the castle of Vilvoorde near Brussels, and tried for heresy. After 16 months of imprisonment — during which he reportedly converted his jailer and the jailer's family to Christ — William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake on October 6, 1536. His last words were a prayer: "Lord, open the King of England's eyes." Within three years, that prayer was answered. King Henry VIII authorized the distribution of the English Bible throughout England — a Bible that was largely Tyndale's own translation.

Tyndale's influence on the English Bible — and the English language itself — is incalculable: • He coined the words "Passover," "scapegoat," "atonement," and "mercy seat" • He established the rhythm and cadence of English Bible translation • His New Testament was the first printed in English • He translated the Pentateuch and Jonah from Hebrew before his death • 84% of his New Testament wording was retained in the KJV, published 75 years later The 47 scholars who produced the King James Bible in 1611 stood on Tyndale's shoulders. Their work was a revision and refinement of his — not a fresh start. When we read the KJV, we hear the voice of a man who loved God's Word enough to die for it.