The King James Bible - deserved reputation?

Many claim that the 1611 'King James Bible' is the foundation of the modern English language and a lynchpin of our culture. Some are astonished that the 50 or so clerics who spent years preparing the so called ‘authorised version for King James I’ spoke so often with one voice - apparently miraculously. Of course they did. That voice (never acknowledged by them) was that of William Tyndale. Remarkably, nearly 90% of the version's New Testament came directly from him, writing some 75 years earlier.

Tyndale as Bible translator 

William Tyndale’s Bible translations are perhaps the best kept secret in English historical scholarship. Many have heard of Tyndale but few have knowingly read him. Yet no other Englishman - including Shakespeare - has reached so many. Tyndale believed in the Protestant mantra, ‘justification by faith’. His 1534 New Testament was his greatest achievement. And as vast numbers read it and used it as the basis for other written scholarship, it's probably the most influential text in world history. English is, after all, the global lingua franca. A ravishing solo effort, this book and its author deserve proper recognition.

Start of Tyndale's St John Gospel,1525 New Testament

Tyndale translated straight from the Greek (New Testament) and later Hebrew (Old). He bypassed the Latin (Vulgate) version used by the Church for hundreds of years, and through the printed word, made these works directly accessible to hundreds of thousands of ordinary people. The medieval church tried hard to stop this, fearing, rightly, that it would lose power if bishops and priests were circumvented. Tyndale further compounded this opposition by cutting away institutional props: ‘faith hope and charity’ became ‘faith hope and love’; Church was ‘congregation’; ‘do penance’ became ‘repent’.

Tyndale was originally from Gloucestershire and went on to study at Oxford. Based in London for a while, he found it an increasingly hostile environment for religious reformers. Forced overseas in 1524, Tyndale then plied his trade of writing and translation mainly in Hamburg, Worms and, later, Antwerp. He would never see his own country again, for despite Antwerp’s reputation for tolerance, Tyndale was eventually betrayed by the English agent, Phillips. Cromwell wrote to Charles V pleading for his life but Tyndale was finally executed by the imperial authority near Brussels in October 1536.

Power of Tyndale's English

Tyndale, a phenomenal linguist, found Greek and Hebrew texts lent themselves far more readily to English than to Latin. ‘Let there be light’ shows strength and simplicity. Tyndale preferred a strong direct English phrase, and short sentences, to the Latinate pattern of circumlocution and sub-clauses. We can admire phrases of lapidary beauty - ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you’. (Matt. 7). Or perhaps ‘With God all things are possible’ (Matt.19). Or some of the lovely passages from John 1: ‘In the beginning was the word’; ‘in him was life, and the life was the light of men’; ‘And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us’. We can see here the cadence and rhythm of the wonderful English language, the language of Tyndale.

We still use his phrases all the time: Am I my brother’s keeper?; salt of the earth; sign of the times; they made light of it; eat drink and be merry; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak; in his right mind; the scales fell from his eyes; full of good works; a law unto themselves; the powers that be; filthy lucre; the patience of Job; fight the good fight; the twinkling of an eye; gave up the ghost.

William Tyndale memorial Vilvoorde, near Brussels

The flow and power of these English words comes straight off the page. Their influence is vast. "No Tyndale, no Shakespeare", as scholar David Daniell said. Yet the anniversary of the 1611 Bible passed with barely a mention of Tyndale. Media coverage suggested that his role might rather have obstructed the prepared narrative - or in other words they simply hadn't considered him. Some of Tyndale's strong phrases were used with admiration, though never attribution. 1611 was not the date of an ‘Authorised’ or ‘King James Version’ in a way we would understand (it was never signed off by the monarch). It was accepted for centuries though its full idolatry only began 150 years later in the 1760s. And as the committee producing it often reverted to Latinate prejudices the text has a reputation it does not merit.

Precursor to the Enlightenment

Tyndale surely deserves wider recognition. The European Reformation was politically crucial in shaping the modern world of today - a sine qua non of progress in learning and its application in philosophy, law, science and medicine. Tyndale was writing 150 years before the Enlightenment, but his work was a vital stepping stone to what we now take for granted.

Thousands of copies of Tyndale’s bible were smuggled into Britain. People read them. His tolerant, modest attitude shines through all his work. Some of the Protestant reformers were as self-righteously cruel and dogmatic as the most extreme Catholic diehards. But Tyndale’s approach was more relaxed - ‘democratic’ we might say. If someone could improve on his writing, fine. Justification by faith, not works, perhaps. But what works! Tyndale was eventually burned at the stake for this heresy.

Tyndale's achievement

The 16^th century began with a debate on the worthiness of ‘rough’ English. By the 1530s Tyndale had given English its first classic prose - with its flexibility, directness, nobility and rhythmic beauty. He showed just what English could do. Given its lucidity, suppleness and expressive range, it was clearly a language which could far out-reach Latin in stature.

Supposed William Tyndale from 1620 - likelier to be John Knox 

Despite some fine recent biographies, and Ian Mortimer's brilliant, memorable keynote address to the 2015 Oxford Tyndale Society Symposium, Tyndale has largely been denied his place in the 16^th century learning revival. The achievements were his role in breaking the suffocating power of the medieval church, and as father of the modern English language. Towering feats by any standard. 

And that’s why Tyndale is so important. A revolutionary, of course, and clearly a prophet without honour in his own land. But his effect on our culture is incalculable and his final legacy is with us today. Crucially he bridges the gulf between the religious and the secular, so that people of faith and of no faith can be equally grateful to him. Some achievement.