William Tyndale

What’s In Your Bible: William Tyndale

William Tyndale was dining with a Roman Catholic prelate while discussing the authority between the pope and all of his laws versus the Bible.

Whenever the Catholic attempted to correct Tyndale with the pope’s laws, Tyndale would quote the Bible in opposition.

Frustrated because he didn’t know the Bible, said, “We would be better without the Bible and God’s laws and only follow the pope’s laws”

Tyndale proclaimed “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause a boy that driveth the plow, shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost.”

4 years later, Tyndale’s NT came out in 1525.

They had to be smuggled into England due to it being illegal to have a Bible in English.

Bishop Tunstall burned every Tyndale Bible he could find.

Tyndale updated the translation to fix certain issues and started translating the OT.

He didn’t have money to print a new edition.

A bookseller contacted Tunstall and said he could get copies of Tyndale’s Bible but he would have to buy them.

Tunstall and the Catholic Church agreed to purchase all copies to burn them.

The Bookstore owner gave the money to Tyndale to pay for the new edition.

Tyndale was eventually caught by a Catholic spy.

He spent 500 days in jail to which he continued to translate the OT into English from Hebrew.

He was convicted by the Catholic church for heresy and given over to the local authorities to be strangled and burnt at the stake.

The last words before being martyred were “Oh, Lord open the King of England’s Eyes.”

In 2 years God answered that prayer. King Henry VIII Declared that a Bible in English was to be put in every church or it would be shut down.

The Great Bible, aka the Chain Bible, was the 4th revision of Tyndale’s Bible.

Tyndale created the words Passover, Intercession, atonement, mercy seat, scapegoat, and others.

Tyndale created a Bible English language, in which people learned how to read because the Bible existed in English.

Since William Tyndale gave his life to make sure you have the Bible in English, it would be good if you Study to show thyself approved unto God.

Dr. Steven A. Hite