Not until the early sixteenth century did Bible translation from the original languages (not the Latin Vulgate) into English have its beginning. William Tyndale undertook this task. Hoping to gain the backing of Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall, Tyndale went to London. But he failed to get the bishop’s support.

Though he remained in London, Tyndale soon realized that the attitude of the clergy was such that he could not translate the Bible in England. So he left for Germany in 1524. There, in Cologne, printing of his translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures (the so-called “New Testament”) began. When news of this reached them, the magistrates of Cologne put a stop to the work. Tyndale quickly left for Worms, where the printing of the Christian Greek Scriptures was successfully completed. Soon copies of this translation were being sold in England. Meanwhile Tyndale was continuing with his revising and translating work.

The ecclesiastical authorities in England were enraged. On May 4, 1530, copies of Tyndale’s translation were burned at St. Paul’s Cross in London. Toward the end of May a royal decree, backed by the ecclesiastical authorities, listed Tyndale’s translations of Scripture from Hebrew and Greek among pernicious books and stated: “Detest them, abhor them; keep them not in your hands, deliver them to the superiors such as call for them.” Regarding those not obeying this, the decree continued: “The prelates of the church, having the care and charge of your souls, ought to compel you, and your prince to punish and correct you.” Extensive efforts were put forth to destroy the translations in England and abroad.

One of the reasons that Tyndale faced such bitter opposition was that he did not stick to ecclesiastical terms but used words that conveyed the flavor of the original language. For example, he used “congregation,” not church; “overseer,” not bishop, and “love,” not charity. The fact that Tyndale’s choice of words was closer to the original Greek held no weight with the ecclesiastical authorities. Tyndale had even declared his willingness to change anything that might be found to be wrong or that could be more clearly translated. The religious authorities, however, simply did not want the Bible to be read by the common people, who would then be led to reject their ecclesiastical interpretations.

Not long thereafter Tyndale’s labors were cut short. A certain Phillips feigned friendship and then betrayed him to his enemies. Tyndale was then imprisoned in the castle of Vilvorde, near Brussels. In September of 1536 he was executed by strangling and burned.

Thus ended the life of a great scholar whose labors influenced Bible translation into English for almost the next 400 years. Tyndale had worked at the risk of his life, not for honor or personal recognition and position, but to make God’s Word available to the common man.

Truly Bible translating has been a hazardous task. Translators like Tyndale and Morrison were dedicated, courageous men who were willing to persevere despite tremendous obstacles. What they did was in harmony with God’s will that all peoples have the opportunity to come to an ‘accurate knowledge of the truth.’​—1 Tim. 2:3, 4.