How many Bibles do you have in your house? For most of us, Bibles are
easily accessible, and many of us have several. That we have the Bible
in English owes much to William Tyndale, sometimes called the Father of
the English Bible. 90% of the King James Version of the Bible and 75% of
the Revised Standard Version are from the translation of the Bible into
English made by William Tyndale, yet Tyndale himself was burned at the
stake for his work on this day, October 6,
1536.
Back in the fourteenth century, John Wycliffe was the first to make
(or at least oversee) an English translation of the Bible, but that was
before the invention of the printing press and all copies had to be hand
written. Besides, the church had banned the unauthorized translation of
the Bible into English in 1408.
Over one hundred years later, however, William Tyndale had a burning
desire to make the Bible available to even the common people in England.
After studying at Oxford and Cambridge, he joined the household of Sir
John Walsh at little Sudbury Manor as tutor to the Walsh children. Walsh
was a generous lord of the manor and often entertained the local clergy
at his table. Tyndale often added spice to the table conversation as he
was confronted with the Biblical ignorance of the priests. At one point
Tyndale told a priest, "If God spare my life, ere many years pass, I
will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the
Scriptures than thou dost."
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