William Tyndale Essay, Research Paper

?How has William Tyndale?s translation influenced all the following English translations of the Bible??

In 1525, William Tyndale began to write his famous version of the scriptures. Printing had already been achieved, so Tyndale had the desire to give the people a Bible of their own, in their own language. By 1526, Tyndale?s version of the English Bible had been published and printed. There was great turmoil over the translation however, because the King of England, Henry VIII decreed that the translation was heresy. By this time, Tyndale?s English Bible translation had proven so popular that it had already been copied several times and was being read by many people. This version of the New Testament, and some of the Old Testament, was spread throughout the known world.

William Tyndale did not get to see his English Bible flourish and rapidly spread worldwide. Tragically, he was strangled and burned by Henry VIII. Unfortunately, this King later realised that the translation was not heresy and began his own ?Church of England? based on Tyndale?s translation. When Henry VIII realised his error, he began to make as many copies of the English Bible possible. Changing the ways of the old Roman Catholic Church, he allowed for everyone who could read, the chance to have an English Bible translation of their own. This was the beginning of Tyndale?s influence.

In 1611, Tyndale?s translation of the New Testament and much of his Old Testament writings were taken almost word for word and reproduced to create the much loved and praised, King James Bible, which is now known as the Authorised Version. This Bible quickly spread worldwide because of its accuracy of translation and its ability to be easily understood. Also, King James put absolutely no form of price or copyright on the Bible, which allowed it to be reproduced freely and given to people who couldn?t ordinarily afford a Bible or any such book.

The vast bulk of the words we still read in our Bible today are those belonging to the translation that William Tyndale made. Over the next few centuries, the scholars that have attempted to find fault in Tyndale?s translation have only been able to ? at most ? finetune some of the lesser significant details. Tyndale corrected all the diction and the style in which the Latin version of the Bible was written. People across the world who admire Tyndale for his courage and determination have realised only recently that he has had a large effect and influence on the modern day Bible.

William Tyndale was an unjustly treated, condemned man, who is still today, an unfairly ignored historical figure. It is amazing that someone with as much influence over the lives of so many people as William Shakespeare could be neglected to such an extent. However, the modern interest in William Tyndale is developing rapidly in many fields, particularly in those of history, theology, Biblical Studies, Literature, Language Translation, Theory and the History of Art. And so, William Tyndale is acknowledged ? and perhaps even more so in the future ? as the man responsible for making it possible for ordinary people to read and understand the Holy Scriptures in their own language.

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