| The
task which William Tyndale
had begun was completed by Miles Coverdale. Born in Yorkshire (like Wycliffe)
in 1488, and educated at Cambridge, Coverdale was soon in touch with the “new
learning”. He left England in 1528 and, probably in Germany, prepared an
English version of the whole Bible, using Tyndale’s work on the New Testament
and the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy) and also referring to a number of versions
in Latin and German. This was therefore not a direct translation from Hebrew and
Greek texts, but a compilation of the work of many great translators. This first
printed English Bible was published in either Zurich or Marburg, on October 4,
1535. Despite the persecution and imprisonment of Tyndale, this translation circulated
in England quietly and without much difficulty. There is even some evidence that
Anne Boleyn, King Henry’s second wife, may have persuaded Henry to have
the English Bible placed in every church, although this command was not issued.
Coverdale’s style lacked the vigour and originality of Tyndale’s, but it is often much smoother. Many of his expressions, particularly in the Old Testament, were eventually retained in the King James Bible. | |
|
Like to read more? The Making of the Old Testament The First Translations, mid-3rd century BC The Making of the New Testament, AD 40-150 Translating the Bible into Latin, AD 383-410 The Earliest English Translations, AD 735 The First English Bible, AD 1383 The First Printed Bible, AD 1456 Luther and the German Bible, AD 1522-34 The First Printed New Testament in English, AD 1525 The First Complete Printed Bible in English, AD 1535 |