A short history of the
English Bible
Compiled by : Hofstätter Manuel, Leithinger Christoph ( 8.A)
Hurth Helene, Knittl-Frank Daniel, Keiblinger Julian, Miglbauer Lena, Weishäupl Katharina (5.B)
2.Tim 3, 15-17
15 for thou hast knowun hooli lettris fro thi youthe, whiche
moun lerne thee to heelthe, bi feith that is in Crist Jhesu.
16 For al scripture inspirid of God is profitable to teche, to
repreue, to chastice, to lerne in riytwisnes, that the man of
God be parfit, lerud to al good werk.
Wyclif Bible (late) 1395
15Since
childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are
able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and
be saved. 16Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word. All of it
is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them
and showing them how to live. 17The Scriptures train God's
servants to do all kinds of good deeds.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
• Today there are over 500
translations of the Bible in
English, available at
bookstores, the library, and
even on the Internet.
• But once, there was just one.
This one
Oure fadir that art in heuenes,
halewid be thi name;
thi kingdoom come to;
be thi will don in erthe
as it is in heuene;
yue to vs this dai oure ech
dayes breed
and foryue to vs oure dettis
as we foryuen to oure
dettouris
and lede vs not in to
temptacioun,
This is
The Lord‘s Prayer
in John Wyclif‘s translation
of the Bible.
There were translations
before, e.g. an Anglo Saxon
one. As you can easily
recognize, the following
passage is a version of the
LORD‘S PRAYER, too.
Anglosaxon Translation of the Lord’s Prayer (Our
Father)
Middle Ages (600– 1100)
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, Si þin nama gehalgod.
to becume þin rice, gewurþe ðin willa, on eorðan swa on
heofonum. urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg, and
forgyf us ure gyltas, swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum.
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele.
soþlice.
The first who translated the Bible into English
was...
John Wyclif (1328-1384)
He studied and taught philosophy and theology in Oxford
Studierte und lehrte Philosophie und Theologie in Oxford
Later he became a pastor in a little village
Später wurde er Pfarrer in einer kleinen Landgemeinde
He didn’t like the political power of the pope, because “God alone gives
authority”  he was banned by the pope
Verneinte politischen Machtanspruch des Papstes, weil Gott allein Autorität verleiht  vom
Papst verbannt
Preachers at his time often mixed biblical stories with folk tales and
superstition
Wanderprediger seiner Zeit vermischten oft biblische Geschichten mit Fabeln
oder Volksaberglauben
People only heard Latin Words from the bible in the church, but didn’t
understand what they heard
Volk hörte in der Kirche lateinische Worte aus der hl. Schrift ( verstand sie aber nicht)
From 1380 on he sent out preachers (lollards) to spread his teachings
Ab 1380 schickte er Wanderprediger um seine Lehrer zu verbreiten
In 1382 his writings were not accepted in Oxford lost his jobs in the
church, but he wasn’t accused/ persecuted
1382 wurden seine Schriften in Oxford als ketzerisch verurteilt  verlor seine kirchlichen Ämter,
wurde aber nicht angeklagt
In 1383 he translated the New Testament into English in 1384 he died;
his followers were persecuted and murdered
übersetzte 1383 als erster das neue Testament ins Englische,
verbliebene Anhänger verfolgt und hingerichtet
starb 1384 in seiner Pfarre;
William Tyndale (1494-1536)
Historic Facts Everybody Ought To Know . . .
Tyndale, An Ana-Baptist, Was Hanged . . . His Body
Burned . . . For Translating The Bible Into
English.
No Tyndale, No Shakespeare
Tyndale's sense of rhythm and poetic proportion gives force to such
classic sentences as these:
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find;
knock and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7)
Tyndale was a pioneer in the use of ordinary language for poetic
aphorism. His phrases are as widely used as Shakespeare's "the milk of
human kindness," or "to be or not to be," and it well may be that he made
Shakespeare possible.
Miles Coverdale (1488-1569)
Coverdale's was the first complete Bible printed in
English, published in 1535 and printed at Zurich.
King James (1566-1625)
Born in 1566 to Queen Mary of Scots
Ascended the Scottish throne in 1567
Ascended English throne in 1603
Initiated translation of English Bible,
which is now known as
King James Version
(Authorised Version)
Why are there so many Bible translations?
•Important old manuscripts were found in the last 200 years
•Ancient languages are very different from modern languages
•All living languages continually change and develop over
time
•Cultural developments require new sensitivities in language
Translation Philosophies:
Formal Correspondence Translations
Stick as closely as possible to the original wording of Hebrew and
Greek texts, are good for in-depth academic study but difficult to
read and understand (YLT)
Dynamic Equivalence Translations
Put the sense of the original text into best modern English, faithful
to the original text, better suited for public proclamation (NIV)
Biblical Paraphrases
Not accurate translations, freely change wording of original, easy
to understand and relevant for readers (CEV)
Books of the Bible
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1+2 Samuel, 1+2 Kings, 1+2 Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther,
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Salomon,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, Malachi,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
Acts, Romans, 1+2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians, 1+2 Thessalonians, 1+2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon,
Hebrews, James, 1+2 Peter, 1+2+3 John, Jude,
Revelation
Now read the first verses of
the Bible in different
versions
Genesis 1: 1, 2 :: William Tyndale
Translation (WTT)(1530)
In the begynnynge God created heaven and
erth. The erth was voyde and emptie, ad
darcknesse was vpon the depe, an the spirite
of god moved vpon the water ... .
Genesis 1: 1, 2 :: The Coverdale
Bible (TCB) (1535)
In ye begynnynge God created heauen and
earth: ye earth was voyde and emptie, and
darcknes was vpon the depe, and ye sprete
of God moued vpo the water.
Genesis 1:1,2 :: Young's Literal
Translation (YLT)(1898)
1 In
the beginning of God's preparing the
heavens and the earth -2 the earth hath existed waste and void, and
darkness [is] on the face of the deep, and
the Spirit of God fluttering on the face of
the waters.
Genesis 1:1,2 :: King James
Version (KJV) or Authorized
Version(1611), Revised Standard
Version (RSV)(1901)
1 In
the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face
of the waters.
Genesis 1:1,2 :: New
International Version
(NIV)(1966)
1 In
the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was hovering over the
waters.
Genesis 1:1,2 :: New King James
Version (NKJV)(1982)
1 In
the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was on the face of the deep. And
the Spirit of God was hovering over the face
of the waters.
Genesis 1:1,2 :: Contemporary
English Version (CEV)(1992)
1 In
the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
2 The earth was barren, with no form of life;
it was under a roaring ocean covered with
darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving
over the water.
Genesis 1:1,2 :: New Living
Translation (NLT)(1996)
1 In
the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.
2 The earth was empty, a formless mass
cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God
was hovering over its surface.
Sources:
www.bible-researcher.com
www.bible.org/netbible
www.williamtyndale.com
www.bible-history.com
www.gospelcom.net
Much can be found with the help of search engines. Just look
for „English translations of the Bible“
For more information see webpage About the Bible from the
Canadian Bible Society
or
http://clwww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/Bible/English_Translations.htm
„Your word is a lamp to
my feet and a light for my
path.“
Psalm 119, 105 (NIV)