4. The English Bible
Paragraph Numbers:
On |
Off
Printer-friendly version
Printer-friendly version
I. EARLY BEGINNINGS
1 In the third century Origen tells about Christian centers in Britain.
2. Pope Gregory sent missionaries to England in 597.
3. In the eighth century the Venerable Bede and Egbert made translations of the Lord’s Prayer, Apostles’ Creed, and the gospels.
4. In the ninth century King Alfred promoted further translations.
5. By the tenth century a dozen psalters were in existence.
6. In the tenth century the Rushworth gospels appeared.
7. A Latin psalter appeared in 1320.
II. THE WYCLIFFE BIBLE
1. The first complete English Bible was translated by Wycliffe (1324-1384).
2. Wycliffe died a natural death, but the Council of Constance (1415) ordered his bones and books burned.
3. The Wycliffe Bible was first published in 1382. It was the only English Bible until the sixteenth century.
4. In 1250 there was a French translation; in 1416, a German.
III. TYNDALE’S NEW TRANSLATION
1. In 1525, at Cologne, Tyndale’s New Testament was printed. Later, it was reprinted at Worms.
2. The British king ordered Tyndale’s Bible burned. Packynton, a London merchant, kept the book in circulation by selling copies, at a profit, to the Bishop of London to be burned.
3. Revisions of this Bible were published in 1534.
4. Tyndale started to translate the Old Testament, but after imprisonment in Brussels, he was burned at the stake in 1536.
IV. MILES COVERDALE’S BIBLE
1. The first complete printed Bible in English was the work of Miles Coverdale, 1488-1568.
2. This translation was favored by Henry VIII, Cromwell, and Archbishop Latimer.
3. Published in 1535 at Cologne or Marburg.
V. FIRST LICENSED BIBLE
1. Published by Thomas Matthew, at Antwerp, in 1538.
2. Published in both Latin and English.
3. The Matthew Bible was revised in 1539 and published as the Toveruer Bible. This was the first Bible to be printed in England.
VI.THE GREAT BIBLE OF 1539
1. This was known as Cranmer’s Bible and was the first authorized English Bible.
2. This was the first Bible “approved to be read in churches.”
3. In 1546 the English began to burn all Bibles except this “Great Bible,” which was largely restricted to the upper classes.
VII. THE GENEVA BIBLE
1. In 1557 appears the Geneva Bible, translated by the brother-in-law of Calvin.
2. This Bible reflects the theology of Calvin and Knox.
3. It became known as the “Breeches” Bible from the translation of Gen 3:7.
4. This was the most scholarly and accurate of all English translations up to this time.
5. This Bible had what might be called “Protestant marginal notes.”
6. This is the first English Bible with complete division into chapters and verses.
7. This is the first translation to use italics to indicate supplied words.
8. This was the Bible of Shakespeare and the Pilgrim Fathers.
VIII. THE SECOND AUTHORIZED BIBLE
1. The Bishop’s Bible. Promoted by Archbishop Parker and published in 1568.
2. The Christian church is at long last publishing a Bible.
3. This was a “church” project from its inception—translation, publishing, and promotion.
IX. FIRST ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE IN ENGLISH
1. The New Testament in 1582. The Old Testament in 1609. First printed at Rheims.
2. First complete Bible published at Douay in 1633. Long known as the Douay Bible.
3. This Bible was designed to get rid of the Protestant “slant” of some versions.
4. Example: Matt. 6:24. “Two masters.” This had been applied to “two religions.” Christ and Calvin. Catholic and Protestant.
5. This was really a revision of Jerome’s Vulgate Bible.
NOTE: Only recently have the Catholics brought out their first revision of the Douay Bible.
X. THE KING JAMES BIBLE
1 This translation was started by the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 and was published in 1611.
2. The King James Version was produced by a corps of 50 translators.
3. But there was strong opposition to a “Revised Bible,” as the King James Version was known at that time.
4. The marginal notes were largely left out.
5. The Apocrypha was left in.
6. This was the third authorized Bible in England.
7. It had many misprints:
- a. Matt. 23:24. “At” for “out.” “Strain at a gnat.”
- b. Archaic words: “Prevent” for “go before.”
- c. “Damnation” for “judgment.”
- d. “Carriage” for “baggage.”
8. For 250 years this version was the Bible of the Protestant world.
9. This version finally left out the Apocrypha.
10. This Bible had a great influence on the English language for over two hundred years.
XI. THE ENGLISH REVISED VERSION
1. New Testament published in 1881. The whole Bible in 1885.
2. Contained over 30,000 changes.
3. Differences by the American Committee were published in the United States in 1901.
4. The omitted marginal notes were restored largely—in 1898.
XII. MODERN SPEECH VERSIONS
1. The Fenton Bible. England, 1900.
2. Four Gospels, Spencer, 1898.
3. Ballentine, American idiom. 1898.
4. Twentieth Century New Testament. 1901.
5. Weymouth, British idiom. 1903.
6. Moffatt. 1913. 1923.
7. Goodspeed. 1923. 1931.
8. Smith. 1927.
9. Jehovah’s Witnesses, New Testament. 1950.
10. Basic English (children). 1949.
11. Revised Old Testament (Jewish). 1917.
12. Beginning in 1948, Catholic revision of the Douay Bible.
XIII. REVISED STANDARD VERSION
Published in 1952 by a department of the National Council of Churches.
NOTE: In 1961 the English New Testament was published, being the English Committee differences in the Revised Standard Version of 1952. The Old Testament will come later.