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William Tyndale's English New Testament
NT printed 1526; executed 1536· Person· People
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
English scholar who first translated the New Testament into English from the Greek and was executed for heresy in 1536.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Refused support by the Bishop of London in 1523, William Tyndale (c. 1494–1536) left for Germany. A Cologne printing was raided in 1525; the full New Testament was printed at Worms in 1526 and smuggled into England in bales of cloth. Bishops bought and burned copies. He then translated the Pentateuch and other Old Testament books from Hebrew. Betrayed in Antwerp in 1535, he was strangled and burned near Brussels in 1536, praying 'Lord, open the King of England's eyes.'
Why it matters
His phrasing shaped English: 'let there be light', 'the powers that be', 'scapegoat'. The King James Version (1611) kept roughly 80% of his New Testament wording.
Life, legacy and sources
Three copies of the 1526 Worms edition survive, plus his later books and records of his trial. Word-by-word comparisons with the King James Version measure his influence.
Questions and debates
His exact last words are uncertain; they come from John Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563), written decades later.
Connections (3)
▸John Wycliffe and the first English Bible paved the way for William Tyndale's English New TestamentHistorical record
The connection
Wycliffe's Bible proved demand for scripture in English and led church authorities to ban unlicensed translations in 1409. Tyndale, over a century later, defied that ban; unlike Wycliffe's team he translated from Greek and Hebrew rather than Latin, and used the printing press.
When and where
England: Wycliffe Bible about 1382–1395; Archbishop Arundel's Constitutions, 1409; Tyndale refused support in London, 1523.
Historical evidence
The 1409 ban is documented, and Thomas More's attack on Tyndale (1529) also discusses the older English Bibles.
Questions and debates
Whether Tyndale used Wycliffe's version at all is unclear; most scholars think his translation was largely independent.
▸William Tyndale's English New Testament supplied much of the wording of King James Version of the BibleHistorical record
The connection
Tyndale translated the New Testament (1526) and much of the Old from Hebrew and Greek, coining phrases such as 'the powers that be' and 'let there be light'. The King James translators were told to revise earlier English Bibles, all descended from Tyndale's, so his wording survived: one study credits him with about 83% of the King James New Testament.
When and where
Tyndale worked in exile in Germany and the Low Countries, 1524–1536, and was strangled and burned near Brussels in 1536; the King James team worked 1604–1611.
Historical evidence
Side-by-side comparison of the texts shows the overlap; a 1998 study by Jon Nielson and Royal Skousen calculated the 83% figure.
Questions and debates
The percentages vary with method, and some scholars credit Miles Coverdale and the Geneva Bible's revisers with part of the wording usually called Tyndale's.
▸Luther's German Bible was a model for William Tyndale's English New TestamentMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Tyndale modeled his 1526 New Testament on Luther's: he translated from Erasmus's Greek, borrowed and adapted Luther's prefaces and margin notes, and followed his ordering of books, with Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation placed last.
When and where
Probably Wittenberg in 1524, then Cologne 1525 and Worms 1526; his 1526 prologue to Romans largely translates Luther's.
How do we know?
Side-by-side comparison of Tyndale's prefaces and notes with Luther's shows heavy borrowing.
Questions and debates
Whether Tyndale studied at Wittenberg is uncertain; a 1524 register entry, 'Guillelmus Daltici ex Anglia', may be his name reversed and disguised.