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History of English Scripture Translation

by Todd Elder

Page Contents

Old English Translations

Middle English Translations

Protestant Reformation

Modern English Translations

Modern Jewish Translations

Old English Translations : - 1100 AD

Middle English Translations : 1100 - 1550 AD

John Wycliffe

John Wycliffe was an Oxford professor and theologian known for his opposition to the teachings of the organized church. He produced two translations with the first being a literal translation and the second containing the meaning of the sentence. These were both hand written and translated from the Latin Vulgate which was the only source available. This is the first complete Scripture translation in English. He suffered persecuation as a heretic. In 1408 the constitutions of Oxford included prhibition of Scripture translation without the approval of church authorities.

Johann Gutenberg

Developed the moveable type printing press in the 1450's. His first book was a Latin bible. By 1488 there were also Hebrew editions. The success of the Reformation would depend upon this.

Erasmus

In 1516, Erasmus produced a parallel Scripture in two languages. The first language was Greek and the second language was a new latin translation which is the first non-latin vulgate produced in over a millennium. This book was produced on the printing press and made from a half-dozen partial old Greek new testament manuscripts.

William Tyndale

William Tyndale produced an English new testament translated from the Hebrew and Greek (he went to Martin Luther to use the Greek text of Erasmus). This was the first english new testament ever printed. These were smuggled into Britain and were burned as soon as Bishops could confiscate them. Yet a copy was in the bedroom of King Henry VIII. He was put to death by burning at the stake in 1536. It has been suggested that the church declared it contained thousands of errors, but burned them because they could find no errors at all.

Myles Coverdale

Myles Coverdale produced the first complete English bible in 1535. He worked from Luther's German text and the Latin as sources. He was hired by Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to work for King Henry VIII. This was to be the "Great Bible" that would be the first English Bible authorized for public use. It was to be placed in every church which refers to the Anglican Church of England. He was burned at the stake in 1555 by Queen Mary.

John Rogers

John Rogers completed the second complete English Bible in 1537. This used the original Hebrew and Greek as it's sources. A large part of the translation came from Tyndale. He was burned at the stake by Queen Mary in 1555.

Protestant Reformation : 1550 - 1900 AD

Protestant Reformation

A major part of the Protestant Reformation was getting the Scriptures made into the native languages and vernaculars of the common people. This would have the effect of exposing corruption from the church.

Church of Geneva

During the reign of Queen Mary, one of the few safe havens for English refugees was in Switzerland. The leaders of the Church of Geneva made the Geneva Bible to educate the families that were in exile. The new testament was completed in 1556 and the entire Bible was finished in 1560. Over ninety percent of it comes from the work of Tyndale. This was the first copy to have numbered verses added to the chapters. It also had so many marginal notes that it is often considered the first english study Bible. This was the most popular Bible for over 100 years and was quoted by Shakespeare over 5,000 times. This was also the first Bible taken to the America's and was the Bible of the Puritans and Pilgrims.

Douay Rheims Version

The Roman Catholic Church was unable to stop the spread of the Scriptures in English and, therefore, made it's own version. It was entirely translated from the corrupt and inaccurate Latin Vulgate. The old testament was translated in Douay and the new testament was translated in Rheims. This came out around 1609.

Great bible

Was the first "authorized version" issued by the Church of England during the reign of King Henry VIII. A lightly edited translation with Tyndale's New Testament and Pentateuch as the basis.

King James Version

King James appointed a committee of scholars to produce the Authorized Version. The protestant clergy wanted a Bible like the Geneva Bible, but without the controvertial marginal notes. The pulpit sized versions were produced in 1611 and then the next year had normal sized books for the people. The text is about 95 percent the same as the Geneva Bible. It was basically unchallenged until 1885. This translation set the Apocrypha apart. It is still commonly called the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom. The New Testament was translated from the Textus Receptus. The Old Testament is translated from the Masoretic Text. King James 1st dissatisfaction with the Geneva bible's puritanism led to the creation of the King James Version.

English Revised Version

This was England's own replacement for the King James Version. It was produced in the 1880's and was the first Bible to lack the fourteen Apocryphal books. It did gain some popularity.

Textus Receptus

There is controversy over some passages in the Textus Receptus which do not appear in other sources.

Modern English Translations : 1900 - 2009 AD

American Standard Version

This was mainly a response by the Americans to the English Revised Version. It is nearly identical to the ERV and was produced in 1901.

New American Standard Version

This is the 1971 revision of the American Standard Version. It is considered the most accurate word for word translation from the original Greek and Hebrew script into modern English ever produced. It misses out on popularity because it does not read easily in conversational English.

New International Version

This version came as a reaction to the difficult to read NASV. This does not use a word for word accuracy and instead uses a phrase for phrase approach. It has become the best selling modern English translation ever.

New King James Version

This is an updated version of the King James Version produced in 1973. The original intent was to only change the obscure words and Elizabethan prounouns. However, this was not enough to make a copyrightable version so other changes were made as well.

English Standard Version

This is an attempt to have the precision of the NASV with the readability of the NIV and was produced in 2002.

Modern Jewish Translations

General

Jewish translation off the Old Testament usually stay very close to the Masoretic Text. They also use the traditiona division and orders of the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. Jewish interpretations tend to oppose Christian interpretations. Also, they prefer to transliterate names instead of using Anglicised names.

Isaac Leeser

Produced the first English Jewish translation of a Bible.

Jewish Publication Society

Produced the JPS The Holy Scriptures of 1917 and the JPS Tanakh in 1985. These have been among the most popular Jewish translations.

Artscroll Tanakh

English translation that tries to adhere to Orthodox norms.

CSE Citation Elder T W. Exploring Creation [Internet]. Livingston (TX): Exploring

Creation; 2011 Apr. 6. [cited your access date]. Available from:

http://www.exploringcreation.info/scripture/english.htm

MLA Citation Elder, Todd W. Exploring Creation. Ed. Todd Elder. 6 Apr 2011.

Exploring Creation. your access date

http://www.exploringcreation.info/scripture/english.htm