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Bible Begotten in Blood.

October 9, 2009 at 12:42 am | Posted in Historical Theology, bible | Leave a Comment
Tags: Tyndale

I have many Bibles sitting on my shelf. I should not take this for granted:

Tyndale (1494-1536) was a linguistic genius whose expertise in seven languages dazzled the scholarly world of this day. Educated at Oxford University and eventually ordained as a priest, he rather quickly came to see translating the Bible into English as his vocation in life.

Because the vernacular Bible was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, Tyndale did his work of translation while living on the Continent. He finished his translation of the New Testament in 1525, and copies reached England the following year, smuggled in bales of cloth and sacks of flour. Catholic bishops conducted public burnings of the books. Tyndale began work on the Old Testament but was lured out of hiding by a Catholic sympathizer. He was declared a heretic and met his end near Brussels by strangling and burning at the stake in 1535.

For people who have multiple English Bibles on their shelves, it is important to be reminded that the vernacular of the Bible was begotten in blood. What we take for granted originally seemed impossible.

- Leland Ryken, Understanding English Bible Translation, pp. 37-38

HT: My daily dose of Vitamin Z