God

1
Gods Word in English

• From Tyndale to King James
• 1526 - 1611

2
Gods Word in English

• When Christianity came to England c. 4th century,
  Gods word was not printed in English, but Latin
• Near the 7th century, Caedmon translated some
  Bible stories into Anglo-Saxon or Old English
  Aldehelm translated the book of Psalms Egbert
  translated the gospels Bede translated the
  gospel of John

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Gods Word in English

• Alfred the Great translated portions of the OT
  Aldred wrote an English interlinear of the
  gospels in the 10th century, Abbot Aelfric
  translated portions of the OT
• Near the 14th century, Ormin translated the
  gospels and Acts William of Shoreham and
  Richard Rolle translated the Psalms into Middle
  English

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Gods Word in English

• John Wycliffe, Oxford professor, was the first to
  make a complete translation of the Bible from the
  Latin Vulgate into English c. 1382 John Purvey
  made a revision of Wycliffes Bible c. 1395 (the
  English of this time was called Middle English)
• Wycliffe died in 1384 and body was exhumed and
  burned in 1428
• A reproduction of Wycliffes Bible can be found
  in The English Hexapla1841

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Gods Word in English

• William Tyndale, after studying at Cambridge, was
  the first to make a translation from the original
  Greek into Modern English (1526) using the
  Greek text of Erasmus (1516)
• Tyndale had to run from London, to Cologne, to
  Worms to print his Bible
• Copies were bought and burned by the Catholic
  Church Tyndale was imprisoned and burned at the
  stake

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Gods Word in English

• Tyndale published the Pentateuch in 1530 and
  revised his NT in 1534-35
• Tyndale was imprisoned for heresy in 1535-36,
  strangled and burned at the stake

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8
Gods Word in English

• Miles Coverdale, an associate of Tyndale,
  published the first complete translation of all
  the Bible in 1535 it was based upon the work of
  Tyndale and Latin / German versions
• Coverdales Bible was the first English
  translation to circulate without official
  hindrance favored by Anne Boleyn introduced
  chapter summaries separated the Apocrypha from
  the OT books

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Gods Word in English

• Thomas Matthews, the pen name of John Rogers and
  friend of Tyndale, published his translation in
  1537 using the work of both Tyndale (NT) and
  Coverdale (OT) called the Matthews Bible
• He added notes and references also borrowed
  heavily from French versions
• Like Tyndale, Rogers was burned at the stake for
  printing his Bible

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Gods Word in English

• Richard Taverner, a Greek student from Oxford,
  published his Bible in 1539 it was a revision of
  the Matthews Bible with an emphasis on revising
  the NT from Greek

12
Gods Word in English

• The Great Bible (1539), or Thomas Cranmers
  Bible, led by Coverdale, was another revision of
  the Matthews Bible it was the first English
  Bible to be read in English Protestant churches
• Known for its great size (16.5 x 11 inches)
  people came to read the Bible rather than hear
  the sermons removed the Apocrypha
• A reproduction of the Great Bible can be found in
  The English Hexapla1841

13
Gods Word in English

• The Geneva Bible (1560), printed in Geneva, was
  the first Bible to be printed with numbered
  verses and italicized words not found in the
  original it came with illustrations and
  (Calvinist) comments in the margin the Apocrypha
  was in the appendix
• The Geneva Bible was quoted by Shakespeare and
  carried by the Pilgrims to America remained
  popular until c. 1644 formed during the reign of
  Queen Mary (Bloody Mary)

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Gods Word in English

• The Bishops Bible (1568), was a revision of the
  Geneva Bible by a group of mostly bishops the
  Calvinist comments in the margin were removed it
  was revised in 1602 and used as the bases for the
  KJV
• Instead of love (Geneva Bible), the bishops
  followed the Latin caritas and used charity
  this found its way into the KJV

16
Gods Word in English

• The Catholic Church also produced a translation
  in English from the Latin Vulgate called the
  Douay-Rheims (Rheims France, NT, 1582 Douay
  Belgium, OT, 1609-10)
• It was a translation from Latin by a few men
  (Martin, Allen, Bristow) and not a committee
• A reproduction of Rheims Bible can be found in
  The English Hexapla1841

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Gods Word in English

• The King James Version was produced 1607-1611
• Work began in 1607 to revise the 1602 Bishops
  Bible (and other versions from Tyndale forward),
  not make a new translation
• 47 Greek and Hebrew scholars worked at West.,
  Oxford, Cambridge
• There were to be no biased marginal notes like
  the Geneva Bible

18
Gods Word in English

• Revisions of the KJV were made in 1613, 1629,
  1638, 1769, etc.
• The KJV rivaled the Geneva Bible in popularity
  and then surpassed it
• Greek and Hebrew scholarship
• Classic English style of the day
• Profited from the excellencies and shortcomings
  of previous versions ( 90 of Tyndales
  work is found in the KJV )
• A work of a committee, not one man

19
Gods Word in English

• The KJV was never officially called the
  Authorized Version both the Great Bible (1539)
  and the Bishops Bible (1568) were authorized
  to be read in the churches
• The title page reads Appointed to be read in
  the churches.
• The KJV NT was not in printed in America until
  1777 and the complete Bible in 1782

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Gods Word in English

• The original preface to the 1611 KJV contained
  three pages of false flattery toward King James I
• The original preface to the 1611 KJV contained 12
  pages to the reader of the importance of and
  need for Bible translation
• The original 1611 KJV contained a Bible reading
  calendar

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Gods Word in Englishfrom Tyndale to King James

• William Tyndale (1526)
• Miles Coverdale (1535)
• Matthews Bible (1537)
• Richard Taverner Bible (1539)
• The Great Bible (1539)
• The Geneva Bible (1560)
• The Bishops Bible (1568)
• Douay-Rheims (1582 / 1609)
• King James (1611)

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Lessons Learned

• Great sacrifices were made at this time to
  transmit Gods word into the language of the
  people (Jer. 3623)
• People in general at this time hungered for Gods
  word in their own language (Neh. 81 Acts 1342)

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Lessons Learned

• The practice of translation at this time was one
  of literal, word-for-word transmission (Rom. 43)
• The practice of placing comments in the margin at
  this time was highly scrutinized after the
  appearance of the Geneva Bible (Mt. 153-6)

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Bibliography

• Earle, Ralph. How We Got Our Bible. Revised.
  Beacon Hill Press, 1992.
• Gleiser, Norman L and William E. Nix. A General
  Introduction to the Bible. Revised. Moody Press,
  1986.
• Kerr, John Stevens. Ancient Texts Alive Today
  The Story of the English Bible. American Bible
  Society, 1999.
• Lewis, Jack P. The English Bible From KJV to NIV
  A History and Evaluation. Baker Book House, 1984.
• Lightfoot, Neil R. How We Got the Bible. Second
  Ed. Baker Book House, 1988.
• www.bible-researcher.com