This year marks a special anniversary for the English-speaking Church. It was in 1526, five hundred years ago, that the first translation of the Bible from Greek into modern English was published. The translator was William Tyndale (1494-1536).

Tyndale grew up in a family of merchants most likely in the area around Gloucestershire, England. Tyndale was a talented linguist and was fluent in the Biblical languages of Hebrew, Greek and Latin and the continental languages of French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Tyndale studied at Oxford and Cambridge and took priestly vows. Tyndale learned of the Reformation movement taking place in Germany because of the writings of Martin Luther. Tyndale agreed with much of Luther’s thought, which did not make him popular in the Church in England at the time. He took a post tutoring children in the early 1520s.

During this time, he became enamored with translating the Bible into English. He used Greek and Latin texts, along with Luther’s German translation. Two items aided him in the translation. The first was his linguistic ability and the depth of understanding words. The other was his time with children as a tutor. He was familiar with the language of the younger generation of his day.

In an argument with a fellow clergyman, Tyndale remarked, “I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of Scripture than you do”. That was his mission, to make the Bible accessible to all.

Tyndale relocated to Germany to compete his translation. It was while there that his translation of the New Testament was published. In 1530, he published his translation of the first five books of the Hebrew Scripture.

Tyndale’s translation got him into trouble with the Church. He also came under the scrutiny of King Henry VIII, as Tyndale wrote against the annulment of marriage the king was seeking. Henry wanted to set aside Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn.

Tyndale sought safely and shelter in Belgium. It did not work out. Tyndale was betrayed by a friend and arrested in Antwerp. He was incarcerated for a year and a half before he was executed. William Tyndale was forty-two years old.

William Tyndale’s translation has influenced most English translations of Scripture including the King James Version published in 1611. Tyndale’s Bible also shaped the English language. Tyndale used some idioms of his day, but he also created words that did not translate from Greek into English. These include Atonement, Scapegoat and Fisherman. Familiar phrases that Tyndale penned are “salt of the earth”, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” and “let there be light”.

He wrote so that a plow boy could understand the Scriptures.

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. John Tabaka is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Monroe.