|
Christianity
came to England from Rome, in the 6th century. The Bible that the
missionaries brought with them, was the LATIN VULGATE. At first,
English converts depended on the monks, to read and teach from this version.
It was not long before the need was felt for translations of the Bible into
English. Until the time of TYNDALE (See below) all English translations were
done from the Latin Vulgate. 1. EARLY
TRANSLATIONS The best known
of these are briefly described below. (It is probably worth noting, in
passing, that the earliest of these "English Versions" would be
virtually unrecognisable as "English", to people of this century!) CAEDMON So far as is
known, the earliest English translation work was done by CAEDMON, during the
7th century. However, this
was apparently a metrical version of only parts of the Old and New
testaments. BEDE Another early
translator was BEDE, (d.AD 735) who is said to have translated the Gospels
into English. ALFRED THE
GREAT King Alfred the
Great (reigned 871-899) included parts of the Ten Commandments translated
into English, in his laws. He also translated the Psalms. THE LINDISFARNE
GOSPELS (Also known as
the Book of Durham, or the Gospels of St Cuthbert) The Lindisfarne
Gospels date from about AD 950. AELFRIC Aelfric, abbot
of Eynsham (c. 955-1020) made idiomatic translations of various parts of the
Bible. SHOREHAM'S
PSALMS William
Shoreham's translations of the Psalms date from the late 1300s. His
translations were metrical and are also called Psalters. ROLLE'S PSALMS Richard Rolle
also made Psalters from the Psalms, about the same time as Shoreham. Rolle's
work also included a verse by verse commentary. His work and
Shoreham's were both popular when John Wycliffe was a young man. 2. JOHN
WYCLIFFE (c. 1329-1384) John Wycliffe
was the first to translate the entire Bible into English, from the Latin
Vulgate. He completed the New Testament about 1380 and the Old Testament in
1382. Wycliffe
concentrated mainly on the New Testament. The major part of the Old Testament
work was done by an associate, Nicholas Hereford. Wycliffe's work
incurred such enmity from the established Church, that they dug up his body
several decades after his death, held a "trial", and condemned him
to be burned. His ashes were then scattered into the Swift River! John Purvey (c.
1353-1428) a close associate of Wycliffe, continued his work by producing a
revision of his translation in 1388. 3. WILLIAM
TYNDALE Towards the end
of the 15th century there was a resurgence of the study of Greek. By 1500,
Greek was being taught at Oxford. When Tyndale
graduated from Oxford in 1515, he had studied the Scriptures in both Greek
and Hebrew. He formed a heart's desire to translate the Bible into English,
from the original languages. Due to Church
opposition he was forced to relocate to Hamburg in Germany, where he
completed his translation of the New Testament in 1525. Bibles arrived in
England in 1526, where they were gladly received by the common people, and
burned by the Church! Tyndale
continued to work abroad, revising and reissuing his translation until his
arrest and imprisonment in 1535. After over a year in prison, he was first
strangled, and then burned at the stake, in 1536 After finishing
the New Testament, Tyndale began work on the Old Testament, but was martyred
before he could complete it. At the time of his death, he had completed the
Pentateuch, Jonah, and some of the historical books. 4. MILES
COVERDALE (1488-1569) Miles Coverdale
was an assistant to Tyndale. He had worked with Tyndale, on the translation
of the Pentateuch. During Tyndale's imprisonment, he continued the work of
translating the entire Old Testament, This was completed in 1537. By the time
this translation was issued, Henry V111 had broken all ties with the Roman
Church. He was ready to tolerate an English translation. He endorsed
Coverdale's Bible without knowing that it was essentially the work of
Tyndale, which he had previously condemned! 5. THOMAS
MATTHEW Thomas Matthew
was actually a pseudonym for John Rogers (c.1500-1555). He was a friend of
Tyndale. Roger's used the work of Tyndale and Coverdale, to produce a
complete English translation of Old and New Testaments. This was published in
the same year as Coverdale's Bible, and also received Royal approval. Matthew's Bible
was also called "The Great Bible" because of its size and
costliness. It was the first English Bible authorised for public use. However, by
1543, Henry's attitude to English versions of the Bible had reversed, and
Legislation was passed banning the use of any English Translation.
Persecution followed, and Bibles were again confiscated and burned by the
Authorities. This persecution continued under the Catholic Queen Mary, who
was determined to suppress Protestantism, and restore Catholicism as the
official religion of England. Rogers was
executed. Coverdale was arrested, but released, and fled to Geneva which had
become a sanctuary for English Protestants. 6. THE GENEVA
BIBLE The English
exiles in Geneva, commissioned William Whittingham (c. 1524-1579) to make an
English translation for them. It also included many notes which reflected the
teachings of the Reformer John Calvin, who was prominent in Geneva at that
time. It became very
popular because of its small size and moderate price. 7. THE BISHOP'S
BIBLE Whilst the
Geneva Bible was popular amongst Calvinists, it was not acceptable to many
leading Churchmen in England because of its Calvinistic notes. However, these
Churchmen recognised that the Great Bible was inferior in scholarship and
style, compared with the Geneva translation. They initiated a revision of the
Great Bible, which was published in 1568. This remained
the "official' version of the Church, until it was superseded by the
King James Version of 1611. 8. THE
RHEIMS-DOUAI VERSION For centuries
the Roman Church had resisted the publication of the Bible in the language of
the common people. However the increasing number of Protestant versions and
revisions, eventually forced the hand of the Catholic Church. A translation
of the New Testament, from the Latin Vulgate, was produced at the College of
Rheims in 1582. In 1609-10 the College at Douai issued a translation of the
Old Testament. This continued
to be the official English Catholic Bible until this century (although there
were severe restrictions placed on Catholics, as to what parts of it they
were permitted to read!) 9. THE KING
JAMES VERSION This
translation was initiated by King James. He wanted a more accurate
translation than those which had appeared before that time. He wanted to
replace the Bishop's Bible, which was not really popular. The Geneva Bible
was rejected because he considered its notes seditious. He also wanted a
version free of marginal notes, which would be acceptable to all the English
Churches. The resultant
work was first published in 1611. It became the Universally accepted version
for the English speaking world and remained so for 350 years. However, the
KJV has not been without "amendment" and "editorial
adjustment"! A new edition in 1613 contained over 400 such
"variations”. Countless others have been added over the centuries since.
It has been said that the 20th century King James reader would be very
surprised by the differences compared with the 1611 edition. Bibliography This
information is compiled from the two main sources listed below: Philip W. Comfort, "The Complete Guide To Bible
Versions", Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton,
Illinois, 1996 Neil R. Lightfoot "How We Got The Bible" Second Edition 1988, Baker Bookhouse, Grand Rapids Michigan. |