Eric Reece
The English-speaking world has a great anniversary to celebrate this year, as 2026 is the 500th anniversary of the publication of William Tyndale’s English New Testament.
Tyndale was a gifted, devoted and determined priest. He was not the first to translate the New Testament into English, but the first to translate it directly from the original Greek.
He was able to do this by the work of Eramus. Eramus used Greek manuscripts to revise the Latin version (Vulgate) of the New Testament approved by the church.
In doing so, Eramus gave us a Greek New Testament we call the “Received Text.”
Tyndale had a passion for God’s word and wanted the Bible to be published in English. It was reported he told a Catholic priest, “If God spares my life, ere many years I will cause a boy who drives a plough to know more of the scriptures than you do.”
Hence, some called his translation the “Ploughboy’s Bible.”
What Tyndale wanted to do was illegal at the time. In 1408, a law had been passed in England making it illegal to translate or even read the Bible in English without church approval. The church controlled the word of God and Kings and did not want people to have access to it.
When he could not get permission to translate the Bible into English, Tyndale moved to Germany in 1524 to continue his work.
The next year, Tyndale started to print the testament – but only got as far as Matthew 22 before he had to flee from the authorities.
In 1526 – in the city of Worms – the first edition of Tyndale’s New Testament was printed. Thousands were smuggled into England. The bishop of London banned, seized, collected copies and burned them. Only three are known to survive.
Tyndale started work on an English Old Testament. He did not get far before he was betrayed and charged with heresy. He was held in prison for a year and a half, and given the opportunity to proclaim his views and the church responded. His crime was his beliefs were closer to Lutheranism and Calvinism than those affirmed by the church.
Refusing to recant his Protestant beliefs, Tyndale was sentenced to death. He strangled then his body burned at the stake.
His final words were reported to be, “Lord! Open the King of England’s eyes.”
Why is his work so important? He gave us the foundation for all English translations of the Holy Bible. When King James approved a new translation of the Bible, much of the work was already done by Tyndale. It is estimated 83-90% of the KJV New Testament is Tyndale’s.
His work included words and phrases we still use today: Jehovah, Passover, atonement, scapegoat, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak;” “Fight the good fight;” and “For God so loved the world.”
Tyndale wanted to make the Bible available to the English-speaking world.
I believe he succeeded.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church and can be reached via email, ereece@wnccumc.net.