Aritcles from KJBRC
The History of Our English Bible On This 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible
The Bible In English: From Wycliffe through The King James Bible
Wycliffe Bible – The First English Bible
by Dr. David L. Brown
First Baptist Church
10550 South Howell Ave.
Oak Creek Wisconsin, 53154
© 1999 & 2011 by David L. Brown, Ph.D.
All rights reserved
Printed booklets or e-booklets available -
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[email protected]
Introduction
For nearly 2000 years the Bible has remained the most controversial and
contested book of all times. While we, in our modern world, take for
granted the abundance of Bibles and Bible translations, there was a time
when men or women who dared to handle, possess, yes, even read, this
sacred Book that, if they were found out, it would cost them there very
life.
Since the crucifixion of Christ, for whom the Gospel record was set
forth, it can be said that the Bible has become the most blood stained
book in all of history.
Men have fought for it; been burned at the stake for it. Believers have
been (and continue to be) imprisoned, beaten, buried alive and killed,
just for reading it. Others have had their bones disinterred, and for
faith in the Word of God and propagating it have been accursed to
damnation and eternal fire by the Roman Catholic Church.
Bible believing Christians have suffered all this and more for daring to
share the powerful words of the Holy Scriptures to a lost and dying
world.
Through the centuries there have always been those who, for the love of
the lost, desired to share the life changing Gospel Message and yet
there are others who are determined to destroy that message. Yet, for
those who believe, the Light of God’s Word shines through, even in the
darkest of times. (This is an adaptation of the introduction by Chris
Pinto in the documentary A Lamp In The Dark: The Untold Story of the
Bible by www.adullamfilms.com)
This is the story of our English Bible.
John Wycliffe – (about 1320 to December 31, 2022)
The Acts of the Apostles records the birth and spread of the Christian
faith in the first century. At a very early period, likely before the
end of the first, or the beginning of the second century, the books of
the New Testament had been collected into one volume. The New Testament
was then repeatedly hand copied and carried by Christians wherever they
went. In fact, for the first five or six centuries the Bible, and
particularly the New Testament, was translated into various languages.
But, the Church of Rome increasingly usurped the autonomy of the local
churches and dominated the realm of Christendom. With the growth and
consolidation of popish power, the Bible, in the language of the people,
declined in importance while the opinions and judgments of the prelates
and priests of Rome became “the law.”
The Bible went from being available in numerous different languages to
just one language, Latin. Why? It was because “the aim of the Romish
prelacy was no less, than the entire monopoly of all ecclesiastical and
secular rule” (The English Bible – History of the Translation of the
Holy Scriptures Into the English Tongue by H. C. Conant; 1856; p.15).
The Roman Church intended to rule the secular and sacred world. In order
to accomplish that goal, Rome had to consolidate her power. Since
knowledge is the vital element of power, the control of knowledge was
paramount. Knowledge of the Word of God, leads to freedom. Our Lord
said, "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John
8:32. Therefore, the Bible had to be taken away from the people, if they
were to be controlled. So, “instead of God’s Word, man’s word was set
up. Instead of Christ’s Testament, the pope’s testament, that is, Canon
law” was substituted (The Ecclesiastical History: Containing The Acts
and Monuments…1641 Edition; by John Foxe, Volume 2, Book 7, p.56).
Gradually, access to biblical knowledge (and secular knowledge for that
matter) was withdrawn from the people and wholly held in the greedy,
bloody hands of the Roman Catholic establishment. Slowly but surely the
Bible, in the language of the people, was taken away. The light of the
Word of God was virtually extinguished all over the Roman dominated
world, including Britain. Here is but one example of the distressing
state of biblical knowledge. “In 1353, three or four young Irish priests
came over to England to study divinity; but were obligated to return
home because not a copy of the Bible was to be found at Oxford.” (The
English Bible: History of the Translation of the Holy Scriptures Into
The English Tongue; by H. C. Conant; 1856; p.45). So, how did the
Catholic ecclesiastical establishment view this sad state of affairs?
“It has frequently been made the subject of praise to the papal clergy,
that they alone were the depositaries of learning, at a period when all
other classes of society were sunk into ignorance and barbarism.” (Ibid.
p.15)
That is a travesty! If the Roman priesthood would have encouraged and
facilitated the spreading of Bible and secular knowledge it would have
been an age of light! But, instead they hid the light of knowledge
within their cloisters, and history now records this period as “The Dark
Ages.” When the Bible was taken away from the common people, “they lost
the charter of their rights as men.” (Ibid. p.16). As time went on the
people became the mere tools and bond-slaves of the priesthood. They
became “the rabble, the vulgar herd, the mob, to be used or abused
without limits or mercy, for the benefit of their masters.” (Ibid.
p.16).
J. C. Ryle characterizes the state of English Christianity this way –
“The three centuries immediately preceding our English Reformation…were
probably the darkest period in the history of English Christianity. It
was a period when the Church of this land was thoroughly, entirely, and
completely Roman Catholic – when the Bishop of Rome was the spiritual
head of the Church – when Romanism reined supreme form the Isle of
Wright to Berwick-on-Tweed, and from the Land’s End to the North
Foreland, and ministers and people were all alike Papists. It is no
exaggeration to say that for these three centuries before the
Reformation, Christianity in England seems to have been buried under a
mass of ignorance, superstition, priestcraft, and immorality. The
likeness between the religion of this period and that of the apostolic
age was so small, that if St. Paul had risen from the dead he would
hardly have called it Christianity at all.” (Light From Old Times of
Protestant Facts and Men; by J. C. Ryle; first published in 1890; p. 22)
It is into this sad state of affairs that God raised up a man named
John
Wycliffe, commonly called “the Morning Star of the Reformation.”
Wycliffe Manuscript New Testament – 1380
Wycliffe Manuscript Old and New Testament – 1382
John Purvy revised Wycliffe’s Bible – 1388
“To Wyclif we owe, more than to any one person who can be mentioned, our
English language, our English Bible, and our reformed religion.”
(Professor Montagu Burrows 1881 lecture series).
He is right. John de Wycliffe was born in the early 1330’s in a small
English village called Wycliffe-on-Tees in Yorkshire, England. “Roman
Catholicism was the religion of the day, and Wycliffe was steeped in its
teachings.” (Zion’s Fire Magazine; March/April, 1991 – Special Edition;
p.8). He was educated at Oxford’s colleges. He began at Balliol College
in 1356 and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Merton College. He
received his Doctor of Theology degree in 1372. His studies, typical of
medieval scholars, were rooted soundly in Latin. In fact, he became a
Latin scholar. He also served as Master (head teacher) of Balliol
College and Warden (administrative head) of Canterbury Hall.
How were Wycliffe’s Catholic views changed so drastically that he has
been called “The First Protestant” and “The Morning Star of the
Reformation”? The answer is really very simple. He began to diligently
study the Bible.
“Wycliffe first denounced the corrupt practices and then
the corrupt
doctrines of Romanism leading to those practices.” (History of the
Church of God from the Creation to A.D. 1885 by Cushing Biggs Hassell;
p.457). He began preaching, teaching and writing against the unbiblical
doctrines and practices of Roman Catholicism when he was about 35 to 37
years old. Wycliffe exposed the errors of transubstantiation,
sacramentalism, purgatory, indulgences, tradition being equal in
authority with the Scriptures, the papacy, infant baptism, praying to
the saints, and many other false teaching of Roman Catholicism. That is
why he is called the “Morning Star” of the Reformation because he
believed, taught, wrote and preached doctrines that were not advanced
until 100 years later by the Reformers.
By 1371 he was recognized as the leading theologian and philosopher of
the day, second to none in all of Europe. In point of fact, “the
splendour of Wyclif’s talents, learning and character attracted hosts of
students, said to be thirty thousand, who imbibed his opinions. They
made him the hero and idol of the University. He was awarded the
honorable title of ‘The Gospel Doctor.’ To the intense chagrin of the
ecclesiastics, he was elected and installed its Professor of Divinity.”
(Fighters & Martyrs for the Freedom of Faith by Luke S. Walmsley; 1912;
p.28) In 1372 he began a series of lectures as a part of the divinity
course at Oxford. It was not long before the lecture hall was filled to
overflowing.
Many men came to Oxford to sit under his teaching and later followed him
to the Lutterworth parish church. Others like Czech Reformer and martyr
John Hus (martyred July 6, 2023) and Bohemian Reformer and martyr Jerome
of Prague (martyred in 1416) were greatly influenced by Wycliffe’s
writings. “Wycliffe became convinced that everyone had the right and
duty to read the Scriptures in their own language – and that only the
Word of God could break the bondage of Romanism which enslaved the
people.” (Zion’s Fire Magazine; March/April, 1991 – Special Edition;
p.8).
Here are some of the things Wycliffe said about the Bible –
• The sacred Scripture [is] to be the property of the people, and one
which no party should be allowed to wrest from them.”
• The priests declare it to be heresy to speak of the Holy Scriptures in
English, such a charge is a condemnation of the Holy Ghost, who first
gave the Scriptures in tongues to the Apostles of Christ, to speak the
word in all languages that were ordained of God under heaven.
• “Those Heretics who pretend that the laity need not know God’s law but
that the knowledge which priests have had imparted to them by word of
mouth is sufficient, do not deserve to be listened to. For Holy
Scriptures is the faith of the Church, and the more widely its true
meaning becomes known the better it will be. Therefore since the laity
should know the faith, it should be taught in whatever language is most
easily comprehended…Christ and His apostles taught the people in the
language best known to them.”
With the help of his personal secretary, John Purvey, and likely others,
Wycliffe translated the New Testament from Latin
into Middle English in
1380 and the first English manuscript New Testament appeared. Two years
later (1382), again with the help of Nicholas of Herford and John Purvey
the Old Testament was completed and the entire hand-scribed Bible was
issued. The people loved the Wycliffe translation. For the first time
the English people had an opportunity of reading the Bible in their own
language. Up until this time, the Bible had been a closed book to them.
“The arrival of a Bible in the English tongue was not embraced by all.
The English Catholic Church’s opposition to a vernacular translation was
predictable. The authority of the priests rested solely in the Church.
The Church’s grasp on the laity depended on biblical ignorance.
Therefore, they vehemently opposed Wycliffe’s translation. Any free use
of the Bible in worship and thought signaled a deep threat to the
Church’s authority.” (The New Testament in English – Translated by John
Wycliffe – First Exact Facsimile with introduction by Donald L. Brake;
p. xvii)
The English Catholic Church pressured the English Parliament to action.
In 1381 A.D. “the English Parliament passed the first English statute
against heresy, enjoining arrest, trial and imprisonment.” (History of
the Church of God from the Creation to A.D. 1885; by Cushing Biggs
Hassell; p. 459). Soon after this law was enacted Archbishop Courtney
gathered 47 Bishops, monks and religious doctors to examine (try for
heresy) Wycliffe’s teachings in May of 1382. They judged 10 of his
teachings as heresy and 16 others were ruled erroneous and ruled that
his writings were forbidden to be read in England. The King called for
the imprisonment of all who believed the condemned doctrines and
teachings of Wycliffe. When the ruling was made “a powerful earthquake
shook the city. Huge stones fell out of castle walls and pinnacles
toppled.” (Rome and the Bible; by David W. Cloud; Way of Life
Literature; p. 57) David Fountain reports, “Wycliffe called it a
judgment of God and afterwards described the gathering as the Earthquake
Council.” (John Wycliffe: The Dawn of The Reformation; David Guy
Fountain; Mayflower Christians Books; 1984; p. 39)
John Wycliffe was at odds with the Roman Catholic Church nearly all of
his life, but in spite of that he was never excommunicated nor did he
leave the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, he suffered his fatal stroke
while conducting Mass at Lutterworth. He was carried out the door and
taken to his parsonage and died at home in bed on New Year’s Eve 1384
A.D. He was buried in the Lutterworth church yard soon after. But that
was not the end for John Wycliffe. The English Catholic Church wanted to
stamp out the influence Wycliffe had even after his death. You can see
the animosity by reading what Archbishop Arundel wrote to the Pope in
1411: “This pestilent and wretched John Wyclif, of cursed memory, that
sone of the old serpant…endeavored by doctrine of Holy Church, devising
– to fill up the measure of his malice – the expedient of a new
translation of the Scriptures into the mother tongue”. (The Wycliffite
Versions – The Cambridge History of the Bible; by Henry Hargreaves;
Cambridge University Press – 1969)
Thirty years after Wycliffe’s death the Roman Church finally took
official action at the Council of Constance in 1415. They burned
Wycliffe’s disciple, John Hus, at the stake and condemned John Wycliffe
on 260 different counts. They ordered that his bones be exhumed from the
consecrated ground and burned. Thirteen years after the council, 44
years after Wycliffe’s death his bones were exhumed and burned along
with all the Bibles and books they could find authored by him. His ashes
were thrown into the river Swift.
The Church of Rome thought this would stamp out his influence and stand
as a warning to any future would-be “heretics”. But, as noted historian
Thomas Fuller put it – “They burnt his bones to ashes and cast them into
the Swift. This brook (Swift) has conveyed his ashes into Avon, Avon
into Severn, Severn into the narrow seas, they into the main ocean. And
thus the ashes of Wycliffe are the emblem of his doctrine, which now is
dispersed all the world over.” (Baptist History: From the Foundation of
the Christian Church to the Present Time; by J. M. Cramp; Elliot Stock –
London; 1871; p.98).
Wycliffe lit the fire that spread Reformation doctrine throughout
Europe.
There were
three major events which made it possible for the Dark Ages
to be shattered by the light of the Bible to shine throughout the
European Continent and then spread to England. First, Johan Gensfleisch
zum Gutenberg invented moveable type to be used with the printing press.
The second event was the downfall of Constantinople to the Muslims in
1454. The result was that many Greek scholars had to flee to Europe with
their precious manuscripts, including their Greek New Testament
manuscripts. Many of them took positions in the great European
universities and there was a renaissance of ancient learning, including
the teaching of the Greek language. When combined with the invention of
the moveable type printing press, this multiplied the availability of
books.
The third and final event that facilitated releasing the vice grip grasp
of the Roman Church on the world was Erasmus Desiderius Roterodamus’
collecting New Testament manuscripts and for the first time ever,
publishing all 27 of the New Testament manuscripts in one book in 1516.
In one column is the Greek New Testament text accompanied by Erasmus’
own new Latin translation, and then this was followed by Erasmus’ notes,
giving his comments on the text. His translation of the Greek into Latin
showed just how corrupt that Latin Vulgate really was. Between the years
1516 and 1535 Erasmus published five editions of the Greek New
Testament.
It is from Erasmus’ 1522 Greek New Testament that William Tyndale
produced the first printed Bible in English.
The Bibles of the Martyrs
William Tyndale – (1492 – Martyred October 6, 2023)
The Cologne Fragment – 1525
First Edition Tyndale New Testament – 1526
Second Revised & Corrected Tyndale New Testament Edition – 1534
Tyndale was born sometime in the 1490’s, probably 1492 or 93. The family
sometimes went by the last name Hutchins as well. In 1512 he entered
Oxford. By 1515 he had earned his M.A. He then transferred to Cambridge
University for a time. It is at Cambridge that he likely picked up his
Protestant convictions because the teachings of Luther were prevalent at
Cambridge in the early 1520’s. It should be noted that Tyndale was a
brilliant student. He had mastered seven languages -- Hebrew, Greek,
Latin, Italian, Spanish, French and English. It was said that he spoke
each language so fluently that a person was unable to tell that it was
not his mother tongue. In addition, he had a working knowledge of German
which allowed him to translate and interpret the writings of Martin
Luther. In 1521 he left Cambridge and served through 1523 as chaplain
and tutor in the house of Sir John Walsh at Little Sodbury. Sir John was
a man of importance and kept “open house for the abbots and doctors, who
were glad for the entertainment and table discussions”. At one such
occasion Tyndale said to a church official “I defy the Pope and all his
laws; if God spares my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that
driveth the plough shall know more of the Scriptures than thou doest”.
Soon after this encounter Tyndale felt compelled to leave Little Sodbury
Manor. He went to London desiring to try to get ecclesiastical approval
from the Bishop of London, Cuthbert Tunstall, to translate the Bible
from Greek into English. It soon became evident that permission would
not be forthcoming. But what Tyndale did get was backing from Humphrey
Manmoth and other merchants to start his translation work. In 1524
Tyndale sailed for Germany, never to see England again. In Hamburg he
worked on the New Testament which was ready to be printed the next year.
He found a printer in Cologne. As the pages of Matthew and Mark (most
likely) began to come off the press Tyndale was warned that a raid had
been planned by Johann Dobneck (alias Cochlaeus). Dobneck was a lead
opponent of the Reformation. Tyndale fled out the back door with the
pages that had been printed, just as the authorities were coming in the
front door. These partial New Testaments were smuggled into England and
distributed. Only one 1525 Gospel portion is known to exist today.
Tyndale moved to Worms to continue his printing. It was a more
reformed-minded city. In 1526 he printed 3,000 (some say 6,000) of these
complete New Testaments. And yet, only two complete Bibles survived and
one partial copy owned by St. Paul’s. The second complete copy was just
discovered in November of 1996 in Stuttgart, Germany. One reason so few
survived was because Bishop Tunstall made arrangements to buy all of
them he could get his hands on. He paid top dollar. In 1526 he preached
against the translation and had great numbers of them ceremoniously
burned at St. Paul’s Cross in London.
Tyndale moved to Antwerp, Belgium around 1527 and published several
books. In 1530 he published the Pentateuch. In 1531 he published Jonah
in pamphlet form. Between 1530 and 1535 he translated Joshua to 2
Chronicles, but they were not published until after his death. Finally,
in 1534 Tyndale published his revised edition and they were smuggled
into England.
By 1535 orders had been given to hunt down Tyndale and stop him. Several
Englishmen were about that task. It was the devious Henry Phillips who
found Tyndale and set the trap. On about May 21, 2023 two soldiers
seized Tyndale as he left the home of Thomas Poyntz, Tyndale’s friend.
He was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Castle of Vilvoorde which was
located six miles north of Brussels, Belgium. There he was kept for 18
months until everything was set for his trial. A long list of charges
had been drawn up against him. Here are just of few of the “heresies” he
was charged with:
1. He maintained that faith alone justifies.
2. He maintained that to believe in the forgiveness of sins, and to
embrace the mercy offered in the gospel, was enough for salvation.
3. He denied that there is any purgatory.
4. He affirmed that neither the Virgin nor the Saints pray for us in
their own person.
5. He asserted that neither the Virgin nor the Saints should be invoked
by us.
Tyndale was condemned as an heretic early in August, 1536. A few days
later, with great pageantry and pomp he was cast out of the Church,
defrocked from the priesthood and turned over to the state for
punishment. For some strange reason he was returned to Vilvoorde Castle
for another two months. Finally, early on the morning of October 6, 2023
Tyndale was led to the stake. His feet were bound tightly to the stake.
He was chained at the waist. A noose of hemp was threaded through the
stake and placed around Tyndale’s neck. The crowd grew silent. Then,
with a loud voice Tyndale prayed, “Lord, open the King of England’s
eyes.” The executioner then snapped down on the noose and strangled him
and then he was burned to ashes.
It should be noted that God did answer Tyndale’s prayer for within a year afterwards; a Bible was placed in every parish church by the King’s command.
Myles Coverdale (1488-1569)
1535 – Coverdale Bible: The First Complete
Printed English Bible
1537 – Coverdale Revised Edition
Myles Coverdale was born in 1488 probably in “the district of Coverdale
in Richmondshire, from which district it is probable that his family
took their name”. He received his education in the Priory of the
Augustines at Cambridge, of which the celebrated Dr. Barnes was the
head.
John Bale (1548) said of Coverdale: “Under the mastership of Robert
Barnes he drank in good learning with a burning thirst. He was a young
man of a friendly and upright nature and a very gentle spirit. He was
one of the first to make a pure profession of Christ…[and] he gave
himself wholly to the propagating of the truth of Jesus Christ’s
gospel…”
On three occasions Coverdale had to flee from England because of his
Reformation views. On the first occasion when he left England during the
latter part of the reign of Henry VIII he became acquainted with Tyndale
and assisted him in his translation work. During that absence he began
working on his own translation of the Bible. Like Wycliffe’s,
Coverdale’s version was a translation of a translation. He “translated
from St. Jerome’s fourth-century Latin version, known as the Vulgate.”
He also used Luther’s German Bible and took much of his English
phraseology from Wycliffe and Tyndale.
Coverdale was not so much a translator as a careful editor and compiler.
He knew how to select, modify and use the materials which were at hand,
so as to produce a Bible which would satisfy the people and the
Ecclesiastics. Hence, while William Tyndale was in the Belgian prison, a
year before his execution, a Bible containing both Old and New
Testaments was printed either in Zurich or at Antwerp, bearing the date
October 4, 1535, suddenly appeared in England. It was the Coverdale
Bible. It contained notes, but little, if any, contentious matter. In
the introduction Coverdale declared that he “had not changed so much as
one word for the benefit of any sect, but had with a clear conscience
purely and faithfully translated out of the foregoing interpreters,
having only before his eyes the manifest truth of Scripture.” Two things
are to be noted about this Bible. It was the first edition of the entire
Bible that was printed in English. Secondly, Coverdale’s English
translation was in one column and the Erasmus Latin translation was in
the other.
The 2nd Edition (1537) was published “with the King’s most gracious
license” and therefore was actually the answer to William Tyndale’s last
prayer, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes" that had been uttered a
year earlier.
Coverdale did not have the learning and the resourcefulness of Tyndale
and he knew it; however, he saw the opportunity and the need and put
forth his best effort. He was a noble man. Though he was not martyred,
three times he had to flee for his life. Three times they confiscated
everything he owned. Three times he gave up everything he had for the
Bible and the Testimony of Jesus Christ. He died in February of 1569 and
was buried in St. Bartholomew’s Church.
John Rogers (Born in 1500 -- Martyred February 4, 2023)
1537 - First Edition of Matthews Bible
1549 - A Reprint and a Revision
1551 – Four Editions Were Printed
John Rogers was born about 1500 and martyred in 1555. He received his
B.A. degree at Cambridge in 1525. From there he entered the priesthood
and went to Christ Church, then called Cardinal College in Oxford,
England. About 1534 he became chaplain to the Merchant Adventurers at
Antwerp. There he met William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale. These two men
witnessed to him and as a result he came to a saving knowledge of Jesus
Christ. John Foxe writes of his conversion – “In conferring with them
the Scriptures, he came to great knowledge in the Gospel of God,
insomuch that he cast off the heavy yoke of popery, perceiving it to be
impure and filthy idolatry….”
John Rogers is the preacher responsible for the so-called Matthews
Bible. Before Tyndale was martyred, he appointed Rogers as his literary
executor and left him his unfinished manuscripts covering Joshua to 2
Chronicles.
Rogers desired a version which would contain all the work his friend
Tyndale translated from the original languages because he knew that
Coverdale was not familiar with the original languages of the Bible.
Therefore the Matthews Bible was a composite of Tyndale’s translation
from Genesis to 2 Chronicles, Coverdale’s from Ezra to Malachi and
Tyndale’s New Testament. The Bible would be more accurately called the
Tyndale-Coverdale Bible, yet Rogers knew that he dare not identify this
Bible with Tyndale or it would be rejected. Yet he did not want to
identify it with himself because he was merely the editor and had not
done the translation work. For that reason the pseudonym Thomas Matthew
was used.
1537 Matthews Bible with the huge initials WT
It was probably printed in Antwerp and sent to England to be completed
by Grafton and Whitechurch, London printers. Grafton passed it to
Cranmer who passed it to Cromwell, who gave it to the King and within
ten days the King authorized the sale and reading of the Matthews Bible
within his realm. That is remarkable when you realize that the King
despised Tyndale and just eleven years before, Tyndale’s New Testament
was publicly burned! Yet the Matthews Bible, which he licensed for sale
and reading, was clearly two-thirds Tyndale’s work.
It should be noted that this Bible edition includes introductions,
summaries of chapters as well as some very controversial marginal notes.
Perhaps the most controversial was the note associated with I Peter 3:7.
The note reads –
“He dwelleth with his wyth according to knowledge, that taketh her as a
necessarye healper, and not as a bonde seruaunte or bonde slaue. And yf
she be not obedient and healpfull vnto hym endeueureth to beate the
feare of God into her heade, that therby she maye be compelled to learne
her dutie, and to do it.”
John Rogers was a strong, uncompromising Bible preacher. Historian John
Foxe says when “Bloody” Mary came to power “she banished the true
religion, and restored the superstitions of idolatry of the Church of
Rome, with all the horrid cruelties of blood-thirsty Antichrist”. John
Rogers refused to compromise the Gospel and in fact preached it as
strongly as ever at Saint Paul’s Cross outside the cathedral church of
St. Paul’s in London. For that he was arrested and put in prison and on
February 4, 2023 he was burned at Smithfield.
The Great Bible
1539 – First Edition Great Bible
1540 – Cranmer Edition was appointed
to be read in the churches
1569 – Marks the last of over 30 editions
of The Great Bible
This Bible is also known as Cranmer’s, Cromwell’s, Whitechurch’s or the
Chained Bible. It is called the “Great Bible because it was the largest
of all the English Bibles printed to that time.
Two English Bibles, Coverdale’s and Matthews’, are now being sold with
the authorization of the King. There had been no further decree, however
Coverdale’s Bible was inaccurate in places and was not translated from
the originals, and Matthew’s Bible, the joint Tyndale-Coverdale Bible
might cause trouble for its promoters, if the shrewd Bishop Gardiner and
his friends should succeed in unmasking John Rogers and the Matthew
Bible. Cromwell saw these deficiencies and dangers and he again appealed
to Coverdale to prepare another Bible. It must contain no notes.
The collator and translator of the Great Bible was Myles Coverdale. The
Bible is based upon the Matthew’s Bible and revised to bring it into
conformity with the Hebrew and Latin text of the Complutensian Polyglot.
England was not yet equipped for such beautiful and extensive work as
was desired and permission from the French King (Francis) was secured
for the printing to be done in Paris, by the famous printer Regnault.
Coverdale and Grafton went over to supervise the work. However, the
inquisition was on and it was feared that the work might be stopped.
Bishop Bonner was Ambassador at Paris and as such, might travel without
having his baggage inspected and thus the finished sheets of the
printing went to Cromwell via Bonner. Shortly after an order for
confiscation came from the Inquisitor-General, and the printer was
arrested. There was a delay in the execution and “four great dry vats”
of printed matter were sold as waste paper instead of being burned.
Cromwell, by shrewd management, bought from Regnault the type, presses
and other outfit, and transferred them, along with the printer, to
England. The First Edition of this wonderful specimen of the art of
printing was ready for distribution in 1539.
How The Chapter and Verse Divisions Came To Be In Our English Bible
The chapter divisions that we use in our Bibles follow the scheme
developed by Stephen Langton who was the Archbishop of Canterbury
between 1207 and 1228 AD. As for the verse division, we owe them to
Robert Stephanus (Latin name) also known as Robert Estienne (French). He
was a Paris printer who printed the Erasmus Greek New Testament (Latin
as well). He printed four Greek editions in 1546, 1549, 1550, and 1551.
His printing of these Greek New Testaments aroused the opposition of the
Roman Catholic Church to such an extent that he was forced to leave
Paris and flee to Lyons. He put his family in the carriage, but he rode
on horseback. To occupy his time he took out one of the small 1549 Greek
New Testaments he printed and marked the place the verse divisions were
to be made and numbered them accordingly.
The verse divisions that we use today are because of the efforts of
Stephanus. They first appeared in his Greek-Latin New Testament of 1551
and then a whole Latin Bible in 1555, before they appeared in the 1557
Geneva New Testament and the 1560 Geneva Bible.
The Geneva Bible
1557 – The New Testament
1560 – The Whole Bible
From 1560 to 1644 there were at least 160 Editions
Mary I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, took the
throne in England in 1553 and set the stage for the creation of the
Geneva Bible. Sixteen years earlier her father, Henry VIII, had released
the first Bible in English following his separation from the Catholic
Church at Rome. However, once Mary was in power, she immediately began
forcing all of England back under the authority of the Roman Church and
suppressing the circulation of the Bible in the common (English) tongue.
Specifically, Mary I issued proclamations in August 1553 forbidding
public reading of the Bible and in June 1555 prohibiting the works of
reformers Tyndale, Rogers, Coverdale, Cranmer, and others. In 1558 a
proclamation was issued requiring the delivery of the reformers writings
under penalty of death. A vicious persecution was instituted against
anyone who supported the reformers views or attempted to circulate the
scripture in English. Overall, nearly three hundred people were burned
at the stake under “Bloody” Mary’s reign, and many more were imprisoned,
tortured, or otherwise punished. Reformer John Rogers, who produced the
Matthews Bible, was the first to be burned. Others who followed the same
fate included Bishop Thomas Cranmer, who was involved with the second
and subsequent editions of the Great Bible, Nicolas Ridley, Hugh
Latimer, and John Hooper, who was often referred to as the "Father of
Puritanism."
It is estimated that during Bloody Mary’s reign as many as eight hundred
reformers fled England to seek shelter on the Continent. Some settled in
Strasburg, some in Zurich, and some in Frankfort. Many settled in
Geneva, the “Holy City of the Alps,” where Protestantism was supreme.
The city was under the control of the famed scholar, John Calvin, with
the assistance of Theodore Beza. By 1556 a sizeable English-speaking
congregation had formed in Geneva with Scottish reformer John Knox
serving as pastor. William Whittingham, a tremendous scholar who
according to tradition married a sister of Calvin’s wife, succeeded Knox
as pastor in 1557.
No new English Bible translations had emerged since the first Great
Bible of 1539, and William Whittingham undertook the work of improving
the English versions of the New Testament. First published in Geneva by
Conrad Badius in 1557, Whittingham produced a revision of William
Tyndale’s New Testament “with most profitable annotations of all hard
places.” This small, thick octavo edition included an epistle by Calvin
himself, which helped to introduce Protestant views to the English
people. In this epistle Calvin declared, “Christ is the End of the Law.”
Immediately after the release of Whittingham’s 1557 New Testament, the
English exiles entered upon a revision of the whole Bible. Assisted by
Beza and possibly Calvin himself, several English exiles were involved
in the translating, but it is impossible to say how many. Myles
Coverdale, who produced the Coverdale and Great Bibles, resided in
Geneva for a time and may have assisted, and a similar claim may be
advanced in favor of John Knox. The famed sixteenth-century English
historian, John Foxe, was also in refuge in Switzerland during this
time. Yet the chief credit belongs to William Whittingham, who was
probably assisted by Thomas Sampson, Anthony Gilby, and possibly William
Cole, William Kethe, John Baron, John Pullain, and John Bodley.
The Old Testament from Genesis through 2 Chronicles and the New
Testament were merely revisions of Tyndale’s previous monumental
efforts. The works of Coverdale, Rogers, and Cranmer were also
consulted, and the English exiles completed a careful collation of
Hebrew and Greek originals. They compared Latin versions, especially
Bezas, and the standard French and German versions as well.
While Coverdale’s, Matthews, and the Great Bible were merely revisions
of Tyndale’s translations from the original Hebrew and Greek, the Geneva
Bible charted new ground. The scholarly English refugees in Geneva
completed the translation of the remainder of the Old Testament directly
from Hebrew into English for the first time. Tyndale had only translated
the Hebrew (Masoretic) text up to 2 Chronicles before he was imprisoned
in 1535, and it was not until this handful of scholars assembled in
refuge in Geneva that there was sufficient familiarity with Hebrew among
reformers to complete the translation of the Old Testament directly from
Hebrew. Thus, the English scholars who escaped persecution in their
native land and resided in Geneva produced the first English Bible ever
completely translated from the original languages.
The work took over two years, and in 1560 the world witnessed a new
Bible in English, which is now known as the “Geneva Bible.” In a simple
prefatory note, the Geneva Bible was dedicated to “Bloody” Mary’s
successor, Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne
Bolyen.
The Geneva Bible is a Bible of First’s -
• It was the 1st and only Bible published during the reign of Mary I
(Bloody Mary).
• It was the 1st English Bible to be completely translated from the
Biblical languages.
• It was the 1st Study Bible.
• It was the 1st Bible to use the easier to read Roman type style
instead of the Black Letter style.
• It was the 1st English Bible to have verse divisions.
• It was the 1st English Bible to use italicized words where English
required more than a literal Greek or Hebrew rendering.
The Geneva Bible was used by many well known people. It was…
• The Bible of Bunyan
• The Bible of Shakespeare
• The Bible of Jamestown & Pocahontas
• The Bible of the Pilgrims
It is called the “Breeches Bible” because of Genesis 3:7 where they
chose the name “breeches” for the covering of Adam and Eve.
The Bishops Bible
1568 First Edition
1572 Revised Edition
The widespread popularity of the Geneva Bible was undermining the
authority of the Great Bible, and also the power of the Bishops.
Puritanism influenced by the reformers on the European Continent was
springing up; non-conformity was in the air. Archbishop Parker and the
Bishops felt that something should be done in Bible translations. In
1564 a revision committee containing eight or nine bishops was formed.
The plan was to follow the Great Bible, except where it varied from the
Hebrew and Greek and to attend to the Latin versions of Munster (often
inaccurate) and Pagmnus, as well as to avoid bitter notes. There were
also numerous tables, calendars, maps and other helps.
The Bishop’s Bible was not popular. Queen Elizabeth took no public
notice of it, nor did she ever give it her formal sanction and
authority. The translation was stiff, formal and difficult. It was
unpopular with the people and could not displace the Geneva Bible. The
whole work is described as “the most unsatisfactory and useless of all
the old translations”. For forty years it was held in ecclesiastical
esteem and twenty editions were issued, the last being in 1606.
1611 -- THE KING JAMES BIBLE (Also known as the Authorized Version)
Published Continuously for 400 years
According to Vanderbilt University Press, the King James Bible is
the
best selling book of all times (Translating for King James by Allen
Ward; Vanderbilt Press, 1969; back cover – by way of Majestic Legacy
compiled by Dr. Phil Stringer; published by The Bible Nation Society,
2011; p. 7). “More than five billion copies of the King James Bible have
been sold over the last 399 years.” (Majestic Legacy compiled by Dr.
Phil Stringer; published by The Bible Nation Society, 2011; p. 7)
“The King James Version is the crown jewel of English literature.” (A
Visual History of the English Bible; Donald L. Brake; Baker Books 2008;
p. 224) “The King James Bible is the most frequently quoted document in
existence.” (History Channel Magazine – An advertisement by Thomas
Nelson Publishers for KJV400 Celebration). In fact, the King James Bible
is “the most influential book in the history of English civilization.”
(Compton’s Encyclopedia; 1995 Edition, by way of Phil Stringer’s book).
How The King James Bible Came To Be
James Stuart (1566-1625) was born to Mary Queen of Scots (Mary I or Mary
Stuart) and her second husband, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley at Edinburgh
Castle. He was baptized Catholic because of his mother’s faith. It was a
turbulent time in Scotland, the Presbyterians prevailing over Catholics
for religious domination. He ascended the throne of Scotland in July
1567, at age 13 months, when his Roman Catholic mother Mary Queen of
Scots (1542-1587) was forced to abdicate. His mother Mary left the
kingdom on May 16, 1568, and never saw her son again.
The reason Mary was forced to abdicate was James’s father, Henry Stuart,
was murdered in mysterious circumstances shortly after James was born.
He was assassinated and it was rumored that Mary had a part in the
crime. There had developed a rift between Mary and Henry that became
public knowledge. For help, Mary turned to a Scottish nobleman, a very
powerful man, the Earl of Bothwell. He engaged the help of other
Scottish noblemen to do whatever they could to help the queen in her
dilemma. This led to a failed explosion plot and to the strangulation
death of Henry Lord Darnley. A few months later, Mary and the Earl
married. This incensed the populace who suspected Lord Bothwell’s
participation in the murder of their King. Her outraged subjects turned
against her.
In July of 1567, at the age of 13 months, James ascended to the throne
as King James the VI of Scotland. Though baptized Catholic, he was
brought up under the influence of reformed Scottish Protestants. His
tutor was the historian and poet George Buchanan who was a positive
influence on him. James proved to be a capable scholar.
A succession of regents ruled Scotland until 1576, when James became
nominal ruler, although he did not actually take control until 1581. He
proved to be an astute ruler who effectively controlled the various
religious and political factions in Scotland.
In 1586, James and Elizabeth I became allies under the Treaty of
Berwick. When his mother, Mary Stuart, was executed by Elizabeth the
following year, James did not protest too loudly because he hoped to be
named as Elizabeth's successor.
Some wonder why Mary was executed. Here is why. Mary fled to England
when she abdicated, seeking the protection of her first cousin once
removed, Queen Elizabeth I of England. She hoped to inherit her kingdom.
Mary had previously claimed Elizabeth's throne as her own and was
considered the legitimate sovereign of England by many English
Catholics, including participants in the Rising of the North in 1569,
the unsuccessful attempt by the Catholic Nobles of Northern England to
depose Elizabeth and make Mary Stuart Queen. Perceiving her as a threat,
Elizabeth had her arrested. After 19 years in custody in a number of
castles and manor houses in England, the 44-year-old former queen was
tried for treason on charges that she was involved in three plots to
assassinate Elizabeth and found guilty. She was beheaded at
Fortheringhay Castle in 1587. Interestingly enough, in 1612 James moved
his mother‘s body to Westminster Abbey, constructing for her a
magnificent tomb that rivaled that of Elizabeth.
In 1589, James married Anne of Denmark. They had eight children, of whom
only three lived beyond infancy: Henry, Prince of Wales (1594-1612),
Elizabeth Stuart (1596-1662), and Charles, who became king upon James’
death (1600-1649).
In March 1603, Elizabeth died and James VI of Scotland became King James
I of England and Ireland in a remarkably smooth transition of power.
After 1603 he only visited Scotland once, in 1617.
James was known as the most educated sovereign in Europe. While he had
some good qualities, he was not very popular. Catholics hatched a plot
to kill him and others on November 5, 1605, in the Gun Powder Plot. Guy
Fawkes was caught in the act of attempting to carry out the deed.
The Division In The Church of England
When James came to the throne all was not well in the Church of England.
There were three Protestant versions of the English Bible in
circulation:
1) The Great Bible of 1539 still was used in the Church of England in
its Psalm readings.
2) The Geneva Bible of 1560 was loved by the people because of the verse
divisions and the commentary.
3) The Bishops' Bible of 1568 was the official Bible of the Church but
the translation was stiff, formal and difficult. It has been described
as “the most unsatisfactory and useless of all the old translations.”
Likewise, the Church of England was very divided. There were 3 factions.
The Romanists wanted to return to the Roman Catholic Church. The Low
Church or Puritan party wanted to “purify” the church of Catholicism and
maintain an evangelical stance in the church. The Anglo-Catholics or
High party was the ritualistic group who wanted an independent English
church but keep many of the Roman Catholic rituals, doctrines and
traditions. King James did not agree with any of these groups.
The Puritan party complained of certain grievances they had with church
officials. James had been proclaimed King on the 24th of March in 1603.
It was not until the May 7th that he entered London to take possession
of the throne. “Between these two dates, and while he was the guest of
the Cromwell’s of Hinchinbrook, near Huntingdon, he was approached by
certain of the puritan clergy who presented him with what is known as
the Millenary Petition.” (The Authorized Version of 1611 formerly found
at www.bible4u.com). It was claimed by the circulators of the petition
that 1,000 Puritan ministers hand signed the petition.
The Puritans objected to the priest's making the sign of the cross
during Baptism; the use of the ring for marriage which had no biblical
basis; the rite of confirmation; Ministers' wearing of surplices
(robes). They viewed them as too Catholic, unessential and
extra-biblical, if not completely unbiblical.
King James I wanted to bring unity within the Anglican Church, therefore
he called a conference to be held at Hampton Court Palace on January
16th, 1604, at which representatives of both parties were to have an
opportunity of stating their views to His Majesty.
“The Hampton Court was built by Cardinal Woolsley in 1515 and it
pictures the excesses of the age in which it was built. It took 2500
workmen to build its 1000 rooms.” (Comment by Dr. Ken Connolly in his
video – The Story of The English Bible). It took 500 servants or paid
employees to keep it. “It happens to have 250 tons of lead pipe that
brings special water into it because they would not use the water which
came from the River Thames.” (Ibid.) Hampton Court aptly illustrates the
decadence of the prelates of the church. Remember, the man that built it
was the ecclesiastical head of the Church in England in his day.
I find it ironic that on Monday, January 6, 2023 James I called about 50
prelates (high ranking church officials) of the church together in an
effort to try to straighten out some problems the two factions were
having. On the second day of the proceedings, the Puritan President of
Corpus Christi College in Oxford, Dr. John Rainolds “moved His Majesty
that there might be a new translation of the Bible, because those which
were allowed in the reign of Henry VIII, and Edward VI were corrupt and
not answerable to the truth of the original.”
The King, sympathetic to the idea, exerted his royal influence to
advance the project. King James said he “wished that some special pains
should be taken in that behalf for one uniform translation (professing
that he could never yet see a Bible well translated in English, but the
worse of all his Majesty through the Geneva to be), and this to be done
by the best learned in both Universities; after them to be reviewed by
the bishops and the chief learned of the Church; from them to be
presented to the Privy Council; and lastly, to be ratified by his royal
authority…He gave this caveat (upon a word cast out by my Lord of
London) that no marginal notes should be added, having found in them,
which are annexed to the Geneva translation, some notes very partial,
untrue, seditious, and savouring too much of dangerous and traitorous
conceits.” (The Printed English Bible by Richard Lovett; pp.134-135)
The Translation
The next step was the actual selection of the men who were to do the
translation work. In July of 1604, King James wrote to Bishop Bancroft
that he had “appointed certain learned men, to the number of four and
fifty, for the translating of the Bible.” These men were the best
biblical scholars and linguists of their day. In the preface to their
completed work it is further stated, “there were many chosen, that were
greater in other men's eyes than in their own, and that sought the truth
rather than their own praise. Again, they came or were thought to come
to the work, learned, not to learn." Other men were sought out,
according to James, “so that our said intended translation may have the
help and furtherance of all our principal learned men within this our
kingdom.”
Although fifty-four men were nominated, only forty-seven were known to
have taken part in the work of translation. Historians indicate that a
number of these changes were due to death. It should also be noted, as
the 11th Edition of Encyclopedia Britannica says, “It is observable also
that they [the translators] were chosen without reference to party, at
least as many of the Puritan clergy as of the opposite party being
placed on the committees.” (Encyclopedia Britannica – 11th Edition of
1911; Volume III; p.902)
Bishop Lancelot Andrews, who besides having an intimate knowledge of
Chaldee, Hebrew, Greek, and Syriac, was familiar with 10 other
languages, chaired the translating work. The translating team was
divided into 6 divisions; two at Westminster, two at Cambridge, and
two
at Oxford.
The translation work did not get underway until 1607. When it did, ten
at Westminster were assigned Genesis through 2 Kings; the second team of
7 had Romans through Jude.
At Cambridge, eight worked on
1 Chronicles through Ecclesiastes, while
seven others handled the Apocrypha.
Oxford employed seven to translate
Isaiah through Malachi; eight
occupied themselves with the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation.
As each group completed their particular assigned part, it was then
subjected to the other 5 sets of men so that each part of the Bible came
from all the learned men. When they had completed their work, a final
committee of six members at London carefully reviewed it.
These Fifteen general rules were advanced for the guidance of the
translators:
· The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called the Bishops’
Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the Truth of the
original will permit.
· The names of the Prophets, and the Holy Writers, with the other Names
of the Text, to be retained, as nigh as may be, accordingly as they were
vulgarly used.
· The Old Ecclesiastical Words to be kept, viz. the Word Church not to
be translated Congregation, etc.
· When a Word hath divers Significations, that to be kept which hath
been most commonly used by the most of the Ancient Fathers, being
agreeable to the Propriety of the Place, and the Analogy of the Faith.
· The Division of the Chapters to be altered, either not at all, or as
little as may be, if Necessity so require.
· No Marginal Notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation
of the Hebrew or Greek Words, which cannot without some circumlocution,
so briefly and fitly be expressed in the Text.
· Such Quotations of Places to be marginally set down as shall serve for
the fit Reference of one Scripture to another.
· Every particular Man of each Company, to take the same Chapter or
Chapters, and having translated or amended them severally by himself,
where he thinketh good, all to meet together, confer what they have
done, and agree for their Parts what shall stand.
· As any one Company hath dispatched any one Book in this Manner they
shall send it to the rest, to be considered of seriously and
judiciously, for His Majesty is very careful in this Point.
· If any Company, upon the Review of the Book so sent, doubt or differ
upon any Place, to send them Word thereof; note the Place, and withal
send the Reasons, to which if they consent not, the Difference to be
compounded at the general Meeting, which is to be of the chief Persons
of each Company, at the end of the Work.
· When any Place of special Obscurity is doubted of, Letters to be
directed by Authority, to send to any Learned Man in the Land, for his
Judgment of such a Place.
· Letters to be sent from every Bishop to the rest of his Clergy,
admonishing them of this Translation in hand; and to move and charge as
many skilful in the Tongues; and having taken pains in that kind, to
send his particular Observations to the Company, either at Westminster,
Cambridge, or Oxford.
· The Directors in each Company, to be the Deans of Westminster, and
Chester for that Place; and the King's Professors in the Hebrew or Greek
in either University.
· These translations to be used when they agree better with the Text
than the Bishops’ Bible: Tyndale's, Matthew's, Coverdale's,
Whitchurch's, Geneva.
· Besides the said Directors before mentioned, three or four of the most
Ancient and Grave Divines, in either of the Universities, not employed
in Translating, to be assigned by the vice-Chancellor, upon Conference
with the rest of the Heads, to be Overseers of the Translations as well
Hebrew as Greek, for the better observation of the 4th Rule above
specified.
“The execution of the work occupied about three years, and both the
length of time employed and the elaborate mode of procedure adopted
indicate the pains that were taken to make the translation worthy of its
high design. In 1611 the new version was given forth to the public.
There seem to have been two impressions of this first edition, probably
due to the impossibility of one printing office being able to supply in
the time allotted the number of copies required, about 20,000.” (A Brief
Sketch of The History of the Transmission of the Bible Down to the
Revised English Version of 1881-1885 by Henry Guppy; 1936).
Before I move on, I want to clarify Guppy’s statement; there seem to
have been two impressions of this first edition. Here is what he is
referring to. There is the so called “she” Bible and the “he” Bible. The
“he” Bible is the rarer of the two. The way to distinguish between the
two is by turning to Ruth 3:15 and if it reads -- "Also he said, Bring
the veil that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he
measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and
she went into
the city," it is a “she” Bible. If, on the other hand, the last part of
the verse reads – “he measured six measures of barley, and laid
it on
her: and he went into the city," it is a “he” Bible. All of the King
James Bibles of our time, with the exception of the 1611 Thomas Nelson
reprint, are “she” Bibles. There are those who would point to this as an
error on the part of the translators. I’m not so sure. Here’s why. There
are Hebrew manuscripts that include the same variant. Therefore, the
problem is with the Hebrew as it is confusing.
As I come to the end of this booklet on the King James Version of the
Bible I want to note that in England particularly, it is commonly
referred to as the “Authorized Version.” But strange it was never
formally authorized. To date, no evidence has been produced “to show
that the version was ever publicly sanctioned by Convocation, or by
Parliament, or by the Privy Council, or by the King. It was not even
entered at Stationers' Hall, with the result that it is now impossible
to say at what period of the year 1611 the book was actually published.
(Ibid.)
No other translation past or present has been so meticulously done and
carefully reviewed. The superintending hand of God was apparent. As one
author put it, “the result was an edition of the Word of God unrivaled
for its simplicity, for its force, and for its vigor of language. It
was, and is to this day, a compendium of literary excellencies, and much
better, has proved itself to be a faithful and accurate translation of
the very Word of God.”
We can readily discern from the instructions given to the translators
that our King James Bible was “Newly translated out of the original
tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and
revised.” It was, “Printed by His Majesty's special command, and
appointed to be read in the churches.” It is to this day the premier of
all English translations, being a most scholarly, accurate, and
faithfully executed witness of the very mind of God.
King James 1611 First Edition, First Printing
The Great “He” Bible
