William Tyndale

An English scholar and leading figure in the Protestant Reformation who translated the Bible into English directly from the original Hebrew and Greek texts.

This biography of William Tyndale helps you learn English through real historical stories.

bornc. 1494

died1536

nationalityEnglish

known fortranslating the Bible into English

fieldreligion, theology, and linguistics

Key Takeaways

He was an English scholar who famously translated the Bible into English directly from Hebrew and Greek
He fled to Europe to safely translate and print his work, smuggling the Bibles back into England
He was declared a heretic, betrayed, and executed for his defiance of the Church and Crown
His translation profoundly shaped the modern English language and formed the basis of the King James Bible

Life Timeline

c. 1494

Born in Gloucestershire, England

1515

Graduated from Oxford University

1524

Left England for Germany to translate the Bible safely

1526

Published the first printed edition of the New Testament in English

1536

Betrayed, convicted of heresy, and executed in Antwerp

Biography Reading: William Tyndale

background

William Tyndale was born around 1494 in Gloucestershire, England. He was a brilliant scholar who became highly proficient in multiple languages during his studies at Oxford and Cambridge. During this time, the Catholic Church strictly forbade the translation of the Bible into native languages, relying instead on the Latin Vulgate, which only the educated clergy could read. Deeply influenced by the ideas of the Protestant Reformation, Tyndale famously declared to a learned clergyman that if God spared his life, he would cause a boy that drives the plough to know more of the Scripture than the Pope.

achievement

Realizing that it was impossible to safely translate the Bible in England, Tyndale fled to Germany in 1524. Unlike previous translators who relied on Latin, Tyndale translated directly from the original Hebrew and Greek texts. In 1526, using the newly invented printing press, he published the first mass-produced English New Testament. These Bibles were smuggled into England hidden in bales of cloth and barrels of merchandise. The English authorities, including King Henry VIII, viewed his work as a direct threat to their power and ordered the Bibles to be seized and publicly burned.

impact

Tyndale spent years living as a fugitive on the European continent, continuously working on translating the Old Testament. In 1535, he was betrayed by a supposed friend in Antwerp, arrested, and imprisoned for over a year. Convicted of heresy, he was executed in 1536 by being strangled and then burned at the stake. His reported last words were, "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." His prayer was seemingly answered; just a few years later, the King authorized the printing of an English Bible. Today, Tyndale is celebrated not only as a religious martyr but also as a master linguist whose translations heavily shaped early modern English and formed the core of the legendary King James Version.