Many of us know the name Tyndale from the Tyndale House Publisher. This is a fitting name for this publisher. It was started by Ken and Margaret Taylor. Ken paraphrased the ASV into very free, modern English to help his children understand the Bible. In 1962, he started with Living Letters—a paraphrase of the Pauline Epistles. This was the beginning of what became the Living Bible in 1971. This was an incredible fresh version of the Bible. It impacted countless numbers of people who had only had the KJV. While this was not a translation but a paraphrase, in 1996, Tyndale House published the New Living Translation. Many have the false understanding this is a revision of the Living Bible, but this is incorrect. While The New Living Translation does carry on the style of the Living Bible, it is a fresh, dynamic translation of God’s Word, not a paraphrase and not a revision of an early work.
Why do I say it was fitting for this company to be named after William Tyndale? Because like William Tyndale, the Tyndale House Publisher has had a long and positive impact on the Body of Christ. From the publishing of the Living Bible to the vast amount of Bibles and other materials they have published for Christians to grow in their faith, this company has carried on the tradition started by their namesake. This leads us to the question, who was William Tyndale? Hopefully, his name is familiar to you. In a post, there is not enough room to do justice to the life of a man like Tyndale, so let me recommend Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice by David Teems. This is an excellent biography.
Very briefly, there are some things you need to know about William’s life. He was born in about 1494 in Gloucestershire to a Welsh family. He received his B.A. from Oxford University in 1512. Made Master of Arts in 1515. He spent time studying and teaching at the University of Cambridge. To put this into historical context, while reformation winds had been blowing since the 14th century, it was on October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the University of Wittenberg. This is considered the start of the Protestant Reformation. Tyndale and his translation were instrumental in the reformation spirit which would soon overtake England.
Before we go on, you need to understand the struggles Tyndale faced in seeking to translate the Bible into English, especially from the original languages rather than Latin. The Pope had ruled all translations were to come from translation of the Latin Vulgate, not the original languages of the Bible. Yet even translating from the Latin Vulgate was not good enough for some. For example, the Wycliff English translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate led to the Constitutions of 1408. The Constitutions by Archbishop Arundel forbid unlicensed laity from teaching or writing theology or translating the Bible into English. The penalty for breaking this law was severe, even death.
Failing to get support for a translation of the Bible into English from the original language text, Tyndale left England for Germany in 1524. At this time, Germany was the main center of the reformation movement. Luther had already translated the New Testament into German in 1522. The impact on the German people was amazing.
Long story short, Tyndale translated the New Testament into English in 1526—updated in 1534. There has been no need for hand copying of works since the late 1400s. With the new printing presses, thousands of copies were smuggled into England. The Bible in the language of the people, Bibles they could read or have read to them in English. It is not an exaggeration to say this not only changed England, but due to England’s impact on the world, it literally changed the world!
It should be noted that translations after Tyndale’s—even the King James Version —borrowed heavily from Tyndale’s work, including portions of the Old Testament that he translated. In fact, 80 or 90% of these translations are heavily influenced by Tyndale’s work. This includes translations that followed the King James Version, such as the ASV and RSV. Translations like the ESV, while not as strongly relying on the direct work of Tyndale, were heavily influenced by him. Even in newer dynamic translations which did not use the KJV or its revisions as their foundation, Tyndale had a major impact on the work. There is no English-speaking translator, preacher, or teacher of God’s Word who is not very familiar with the wording of KJV. Meaning no scholar or student of God’s Word exists who has not been impacted by Tyndale. This includes you and me!
The phrasing and wording that Tyndale used—in some cases, he created English words where there wasn’t one to carry the biblical idea—are still used today with some modernizing. While giving a list of examples would make this article too long, let me give you one. Why does just about every English Bible use the word “baptize” rather than something like immerse or plunge? Because Tyndale chose to transliterate—using the closest corresponding letters of a different alphabet or script—βαπτίζω (baptizo) as baptize. This was not a word in the English language until Tyndale. He added a word to the English language which we take for granted was always an English word.
Imagine it, a translation made 500 years ago is still impacting the world! This is how God used Tyndale. We are indebted to him for his work and life, for in the end he was martyred—strangled and burned at the stake—for his work to bring us God’s Word.
A word from Bruce Metzger on Tyndale:
Tyndale’s version is important not only because it was a pioneer effort in translating the Scriptures from the original languages into English, but also because the great influence it had upon later translations. Its simplicity and directness mark the work as a truly great achievement in literature, apart from its epoch-making religious importance. It became, in fact, a foundation for all subsequent efforts of revision, so much so that 80 percent or more of the English Bible down through the Revised Version has been estimated to be his in those portions of the Bible on which he had worked with such skill and devotion.1
I wish I could have spent more time on this hero of mine. Once I really got going, I don’t think I could not tell the whole amazing story. I think we would end up with a book. I also wish I could say he was the only one who suffered and died to get God’s Word out to the world in their own language, but many others paid the price. Even today, many are suffering and being killed for distributing the Bible or even owning a Bible in some parts of the world!
Two things should come from this. First, read, study, and cherish your Bibles. Don’t let them grow dusty from lack of use. Spend time in them daily. Second, pray for and support the distribution of God’s Word. Go to https://www.wycliffe.net/ to see the great work they are doing and to give to this great cause. Another organization you should become acquainted with and consider giving to is The Gideons International (https://www.gideons.org).
Until the next time we see you here at CultivatingFaith.org, God Bless! #CultivatingFaithOrg