William Tyndale.
-(1494–1536)
-Priest, Linguist, and College Professor
-Anglican
William Tyndale was born in Gloucestershire, England, and was educated at Oxford and Cambridge, where he studied under Erasmus. He was so fluent in 7 languages that you could not tell which was his native tongue. Like other men of his time, he began to question the abuses and corruption of the Church. God lit a fire in Tyndale’s heart to provide God’s Word in the language of the people of England. Tyndale traveled to London to gain permission to translate the Bible from the Bishop of London. To help stamp out the influence of the Wycliffe’s Lollards, a law was passed in 1408, making it punishable by death to translate the Bible into English, and the Bishop was unwilling to change this law. It soon became apparent that no place in England was safe for Tyndale to translate the Bible, so he left England- never to return. William Tyndale dedicated his life to translating the Word of God into English. His work played a prominent role in the Protestant Reformation by challenging the papacy’s authority and advocating that everyone should be able to read the Bible, not just the clergy and academic elite. In 1523, William Tyndale proposed a new English translation of the Bible derived from the original languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. He was eventually burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church leaders. His last words were, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”
The Life and Legacy of William Tyndale by Peter Gurry (article) - it’s fair to say that no single individual has left a more indelible mark on the language of the English Bible than William Tyndale (ca. 1494–1536). He was the first to translate the Bible into English from the original languages (the Wycliffe Bible was from Latin). He completed two editions of the New Testament and got as far as 2 Chronicles (and Jonah) in the Old Testament. By one estimate, as much as 80 percent of the wording of the King James Version is Tyndale’s. He was a superb translator, and his concern was always to give the Bible to the people.
Prince of Translators: William Tyndale by Steven Lawson (article) - John Foxe called him “the apostle of England.” Undoubtedly, Tyndale changed the course of English history and Western civilization with his monumental work. Tyndale was strangled, burned, and his body blown apart by gunpowder, but at some point before his death, he cried his famous last words: “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.”
The Tyndale Center for Bible Translation (website) - The Tyndale Center is designed to help make the Word of God available to as many people and languages worldwide as possible. A central feature of the Tyndale Center is the notes of the Legacy Standard Bible translation team. Beginning with the New Testament, these notes will be released book-by-book and reflect the most pertinent decisions made by the translators.
William Tyndale: The Father of Modern English by Steven Lawson (article) - With his New Testament, William Tyndale became the father of the Modern English language. He shaped the English language's syntax, grammar, and vocabulary more than any man who lived more than the author Geoffrey Chaucer, the playwright William Shakespeare, or the poets Percy Shelley and John Keats.
Fox’s Book of Martyrs (free ebook)—After the Bible itself, no book so profoundly influenced early Protestant sentiment as the Book of Martyrs. Even in our time, it is still a living force. It is more than a record of persecution. It is an arsenal of controversy, a storehouse of romance, and a source of edification.
“I will cause a boy who drives a plow to know more of the scriptures than the pope.”
William Tyndale: The Cost of an English Bible
The HORRIFIC Execution Of William Tyndale
William Tyndale and the English Reformation Part 1
William Tyndale and the English Reformation Part 2
William Tyndale and the English Reformation Part 3
Only one of William Tyndale's letters has survived throughout the years. In this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols discusses what Tyndale wrote as a prisoner at Vilvoorde Castle in Belgium.
Steven Lawson explores the lives and legacies of key historical figures who have profoundly impacted the Christian faith. This episode examines William Tyndale.
The Daring Mission of William Tyndale by Steven Lawson
Early in the sixteenth century, a legislative decree in England controlled people’s access to Scripture and prohibited an English Bible. However, theologian and linguist William Tyndale was determined to provide his fellow countrymen with Scripture they could read. In The Daring Mission of William Tyndale, Dr. Steven J. Lawson traces this daring mission, which was ultimately used by God to ignite the English Reformation yet would cost Tyndale his life. From one man’s labor, we’re reminded of God’s faithfulness to preserve His Word and equip His people.
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