History of the English Bible

The first Bible ever translated into the English language was handwritten. It was the genius of John Wycliffe (c. 1330–1384), the Oxford professor that earned the famed title, "Morning Star of the Reformation." It was a translation from the Latin Vulgate.

William Tyndale (1494–1536), affectionately called the "Apostle of England" by John Foxe,¹ was the first to translate into English from the Greek New Testament. His was the first English Bible to be printed on a printing press.

One of Tyndale's loyal pupils was Myles Coverdale (1488–1569). A faithful apprentice of over six years, Coverdale was most excellently positioned to carry on Tyndale’s translation of the Old Testament after he was martyred. Coverdale’s was the first complete Bible in the English language, mostly translated from the Greek and Hebrew.

Another devoted student of Tyndale was John Rogers (1507–1555). Rogers came to Christ under Tyndale’s ministry and eventually worked with him as an assistant to his translation labors. It was Rogers who came into possession of Tyndale’s unpublished Old Testament manuscripts; works that Coverdale did not have. Rogers printed these along with some of Coverdale’s contributions under the pseudonym, “Thomas Matthew,” since that was a name that Tyndale had used at one time.²

Tyndale’s last words, before the flames consumed him, were, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes!”³ Less than a year later, King Henry VIII authorized the reading of this Bible in the churches of England. The Great Bible was a project of Myles Coverdale under commission of Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell. It was basically a revision of the Coverdale Bible with an enlarged typeset. Much of the Old Testament in this version, like the Coverdale Bible, was translated from Luther’s German Bible and the Latin Vulgate.

Under the ministry and leadership of John Calvin, Geneva Switzerland become a refuge for persecuted protestants. “Bloody Mary,” queen of England, had caused a massive exile under her persecutions in 1553. Among the 233 exiles was Myles Coverdale and John Foxe (the well-known historian). William Whittingham completed a revision of Tyndale’s translation with annotations in 1557. A team of Englishmen, including Coverdale, contributed to incorporating Tyndale’s Old Testament translations and translated from the Hebrew and Aramaic what Tyndale was not able to complete. The result was the very first complete English to be translated entirely from the original languages. It also was the first English Bible to include italics for interpolated words, annotations, summaries and introductions, and numbered verses.

The English Bible was forbidden under Queen Mary’s reign. Once she died and her half-sister, Queen Elizabeth, ascended the throne in 1558 all began to change. Elizabeth ordered that an English Bible be placed in every parish. But the Great Bible was now seen as inferior to the excellencies of the Genevan version. The need for a new “authorized” version emerged once again. The chaplain to Elizabeth’s mother, Queen Anne Boleyn, was the preferred candidate. Archbishop Matthew Parker led the exceptional task, which was accomplished by fewer than ten bishops, hence the name. This translation used the Great Bible as the baseline, introducing revisions only where it varied “manifestly” from the original languages.⁴ Elizabeth authorized and endorsed it in 1568. Despite what is considered to be a landmark in printing achievement, the Geneva Bible remained more popular and is considered by many to be a better translation.

In 1604 King James convened a conference at Hampton Court to give ear to the growing English voice of a group of faithful Christians known as the Puritans. They petitioned the king, “that there might be a new translation of the Bible because those which were allowed in the reign of King Henry VIII. and Edward VI were corrupt and not answerable to the truth of the original.”⁵ The fine product of their translation labors, which were keen to incorporate Tyndale’s work and some contributions from the Geneva Bible, has left its indelible mark on both the history of the English Bible and English language. We know it as the Authorized Version, or King James Version.