WILLIAM TYNDALE

William Tyndale lived from 1494-1536. He was an Englishman and Catholic priest whose life-long passion was to make the gospel available in his native tongue, and he was the first to translate the New Testament into English.

We see Tyndale’s diligence in the way he faced life-long opposition to his efforts. Although he completed his self-imposed task, he was bitterly opposed. When he sought permission and funds from the Bishop of London to translate the New Testament, he was denied. So Tyndale left England for the free cities of Europe to complete his translation in hiding.

In 1525 in Worms, he finished the first translation from Greek into English, and it quickly made its way to England. Upon reading it, King Henry VIII, and almost everyone in religious authority were furious. His English translation, just like Luther’s German translation, supported justification by faith, contrary to church doctrine. Shortly after, he moved to Antwerp where he evaded the authorities for 9 years.

He was a diligent scholar; proficient in 9 languages, but Tyndale had more than just a “booky” devotion. His years in Antwerp for instance, were filled with rigorous good works. On Saturdays he ministered to the poor on the streets. Sundays he spent reading his new Scriptures to merchants. On Mondays he visited English religious refugees. And on the other days, he wrote tracts and books, and began translating the Old Testament.

Though he was eventually betrayed out of safety, then strangled with chains, and burned as a heretic in 1536, his diligence produced a translation so accurate it was consulted a century later by the translators of the King James Version. So when you take up your Bible and read, be thankful for William Tyndale’s diligence.

Source: Galli, Mark. 131 Christians Everyone Should Know. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, c2000

This material is published by the Faith Committee of the Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Reproduction and Adaptation is encouraged.