William Tyndale (1536)

March 31st, 2025
by Jon Holaday

William Tyndale was a well educated scholar who was frustrated by the large gap between education of the Bible for all men because of the Latin only translation. John Wycliffe had 90 years previous, copied the Bible into English but from a flaw filled Latin version. William sought to translate to English from the original Hebrew & Greek. Tyndale was the perfect tool for this work as he was a multi linguist. Tyndale knew he must leave England & set for Germany. He was sought out by many spies for this dangerous work of Bible translating. People were killed for this! He let his guard down by taking up a friendship with Henry Phillips, whom won Tyndale's confidence but secretly, he sought out the bounty for his capture. The trap set, he was captured. Tyndale knew how these trials ran, no defense, and death was the only option outside of recanting. Now, keep in mind, he was translating the Bible into English, not a preacher! What was he to recant? The accurate transmission of the Bible between Greek to English? His trial dragged out for months but on that final day, as he was tied to that stake, logs & brush all about, he prayed, "LORD, open the eyes of the king." The executioner would then strangle him with a rope as the fires burned his corpse. His final prayer was for king Henry VIII, the same one who after his head injury, would send away his beloved wife Catherine and replace her with Anne Boleyn, whom he later had killed. Well, turns out, his prayers were answered. Two years after his death, king Henry authorized the distribution of the Matthew Bible, much of it Tyndale's work, and in 1539, all printers & sellers of books were ordered by the King to provide for the "free & liberal use of the Bible in our own maternal English tongue." Tyndale's passion for all people to know & understand God's word would come to a reality. Thank God for men like Tyndale, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our ability to read the Bible in our own language.