First English Bible Printed: Tyndale's Legacy Lives
William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake in Vilvoorde, Belgium, in October 1536 for the crime of translating the Bible into English. His final words were reportedly 'Lord, open the King of England's eyes.' One year later, Henry VIII authorized the Matthew Bible, which was largely Tyndale's translation completed by Miles Coverdale. The irony was total: the king had approved the very text that got Tyndale killed. Scholars estimate that 83% of the New Testament and 76% of the Old Testament in the 1611 King James Version came directly from Tyndale's phrasing. Everyday English expressions like 'let there be light,' 'the salt of the earth,' and 'the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak' are his translations, unchanged after 500 years.
October 4, 1537
489 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on October 4
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