William Tyndale – FirstEnglishBible.com

William Tyndale on the Value of Scripture

When William Tyndale translated and printed the Pentateuch (Five Books of Moses) in the year of 1530, he added a “Prologue Showing the Use of Scripture” before the book of Genesis.

Below are a few sentences from this prologue:

“Though a man had a precious jewel and a rich, yet if he wist not the value thereof, nor wherefore it served, he were neither the better nor richer of a straw. Even so, though we read the scripture and babble of it never so much, yet if we know not the use of it, and wherefore it was given, and what is therein to be sought, it profiteth us nothing at all.”

“So now the scripture is a light and sheweth us the true way, both what to do, and what to hope; and a defense from all error, and a comfort in adversity that we despair not.”

“As thou readest, therefore, think that every syllable pertaineth to thine own self, and suck out the pith of the scripture, and arm thyself against all assaults.”-

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We are excited to announce…

We have published a new book about William Tyndale’s translation of the Old Testament prophet, Jonah.

The title of the book is: William Tyndale’s JONAH: A modern-spelling edition of the 1531 translation with facsimile of Tyndale’s 16th century original.
The book is available in two formats: 1) Paperback and 2) Audiobook

The paperback is 44 pages. Click this link to learn more.

Tyndale-Jonah-paperbk-book-Nov-4-2020 — Book Cover (William Tyndale’s JONAH: A modern-spelling edition of the 1531 translation with facsimile of Tyndale’s 16th century original)

For a limited time, ten (10) people may get the ENTIRE audiobook for FREE. Click this link to learn more. No credit card is required. We hope you will take advantage of this limited time offer!

Below is fuller description of the paperback edition:

Have you ever wondered about the English Bible translations which came before the King James Bible?

This book gives you three (3) unique views of William Tyndale’s translation of the Old Testament prophet, Jonah, which he published in 1531. Surprisingly, his translation predates the 1611 King James Bible by 80 years!

View 1: A modern-spelling edition of Tyndale’s Bible text of Jonah.

View 2: A facsimile of the 16th-century Bible text of Jonah as published by Tyndale in 1531.

View 3: A transcription of the facsimile in modern typeface but with the original 16th-century spelling.

Tyndale’s translation of Jonah (discovered in 1861) was nearly lost to posterity. In 1863, English Bible scholar, Francis Fry published a book containing a facsimile of this rare work from Tyndale. Fry’s 1863 publication is the source for View 2 of Tyndale’s Jonah found in this book.

There is something sobering in seeing this facsimile. One gets to glimpse — via Francis Fry’s lithographs — the very text of Jonah which Tyndale received from his 16th-century print shop. Tyndale was putting his life in danger to bring the Bible in English to his countrymen.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR: William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536) labored over his English Bible translations while in exile from his native country. His courageous efforts helped bring the Bible in English, first of all, to his own countrymen and ultimately, to millions of English speakers worldwide. Authorities opposed Tyndale’s work. He was arrested and charged with heresy. After more than a year of imprisonment, he was executed in 1536.

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The Scriptures – Light for those in Darkness

When you read William Tyndale’s 1525 Prologue to the New Testament, you get a glimpse into his character. His concern for his countrymen is moving. He wants them to have the Light of Scripture to drive away their spiritual darkness. Pictured below is Page 1 of this 1525 Prologue. You will find a transcript of page 1 just below the picture.

Below is the transcript of page 1 in modern English spelling:

Prologue

I have here translated (brethren and sisters most dear and tenderly beloved in Christ) the new Testament for your spiritual edifying, consolation and solace: Exhorting instantly and beseeching those that are better seen in the tongues than I, and that have higher gifts of grace to interpret the sense of the Scripture, and meaning of the Spirit, than I, to consider and ponder my labor, and that with the spirit of meekness. And if they perceive in any places that I have not attained the very sense of the tongue, or meaning of the Scripture, or have not given the right English word, that they put to their hands to amend it, remembering that so is their duty to do. For we have not received the gifts of God for ourselves only, or for to hide them; but for to bestow them unto the honoring of God and Christ, and edifying of the congregation, which is the body of Christ.

The causes that moved me to translate, I thought better that others should imagine, than that I should rehearse them. Moreover I supposed it superfluous, for who is so blind to ask why light should be showed to them that walk in darkness, where they cannot but stumble, and where to stumble is the danger of eternal damnation, other so despiteful that he would envy any man (I speak not his brother) so necessary a thing, or so bedlam mad to affirm that good is the natural cause of evil, and darkness to proceed out of light, and that lying should be grounded in truth and verity, and not rather clean contrary, that light destroyeth darkness, and verity reproveth all manner lying.

Please note: Some of my transcription of page 1 of the 1525 Prologue to the New Testament could be incorrect in a few places. I have done my best. Feel free to let me know or comment on this post, if you think something isn’t correct.

The 1525 Prologue to the New Testament referred to in this article is from what is known as the 1525 Cologne Fragment. Details about this are below:

It is thought by scholars that William Tyndale’s first attempt at translating and printing the New Testament is contained in what is known as the Cologne Fragment or the Matthew Fragment. There is only one copy known to exist. It is housed in the Grenville Collection at the British Library. All that has survived is 31 leaves/pages containing Tyndale’s Prologue, a woodcut of St Matthew, and chapters 1-22 of Matthew’s Gospel. It is said to have been printed in Cologne, Germany.

Thanks for reading!

Kind regards to all who stopped by this small corner of the internet! If you wish, leave a comment or question.

We are excited to announce…

We have published a new book about William Tyndale’s translation of the Old Testament prophet, Jonah.

For a limited time, ten (10) people may get the ENTIRE audiobook for FREE. Click this link to learn more. No credit card is required. We hope you will take advantage of this limited time offer!

Bible

02 Daily Verse / 1534 Tyndale NT / Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-16)

Today’s Bible Verse is from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 1 to 16. These verses are some of the most widely known verses in the New Testament, and rightly so, since this is the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.

The verses below (Matthew 5:10-12) may have been especially poignant to William Tyndale since he was persecuted and slandered by the English government and church authorities and would eventually be killed in October 1536 for the work he was doing.

5:10 “Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 5:11 Blessed are ye when men revile you and persecute you and shall falsely say all manner of evil sayings against you for my sake. 5:12 Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the Prophets which were before your days.”

Original Spelling of these verses is below.

When he sawe the people he went up into a mountayne and when he was set his disciples came to hym and he opened hys mouthe and taught them sayinge:

Blessed are the poure in sprete: for theirs is the kyngdome of heven.
Blessed are they that morne: for they shalbe comforted.
Blessed are the meke: for they shall inheret the erth.
Blessed are they which honger and thurst for rightewesnes: for they shalbe filled.
Blessed are the mercifull: for they shall obteyne mercy.
Blessed are the pure in herte: for they shall se God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shalbe called the chyldren of God.

Blessed are they which suffre persecucion for rightwesnes sake: for theirs ys the kyngdome of heuen.
Blessed are ye when men revyle you and persecute you and shall falsly say all manner of yvell saynges agaynst you for my sake.
Reioyce and be glad for greate is youre rewarde in heven. For so persecuted they the Prophetes which were before youre dayes.

Ye are ye salt of the erthe: but and yf the salt have lost hir saltnes
what can be salted ther with? It is thence forthe good for nothynge but to be cast oute and to be troaden under fote of men.

Ye are the light of the worlde. A cite yt (that) is set on an hill cannot be hid nether do men lyght a candell and put it under a busshell but on a candelstick and it lighteth all that are in the house.

Let youre light so shyne before men yt (that) they maye se youre good workes and glorify youre father which is in heven.

Modern Spelling of these verses is below.

When he saw the people he went up into a mountain and when he was set his disciples came to him and he opened his mouth and taught them saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which suffer persecution for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when men revile you and persecute you and shall falsely say all manner of evil sayings against you for my sake.
Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the Prophets which were before your days.

Ye are ye salt of the earth: but and if the salt have lost her saltiness what can be salted therewith? It is thence forth good for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel but on a candlestick and it lighteth all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments and feedback.

Bible

Video: TTS Reading – 2 Peter 3:8-10 (1526 Tyndale NT)

2Pet-3v8-10-Oct3-FI-FEB

Below is another video from our new YouTube changes. It is a Bible reading from the 1526 William Tyndale New Testament that has been done using Text-to-Speech (TTS) software.

The YouTube video shows the original spelling. Below is the modern spelling of these verses.

Any who are familiar with the King James Bible will recognize how similar the King James is to Tyndale’s translation.
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“Dearly beloved be not ignorant of this one thing how that one day is with the Lord as a thousand year and a thousand year as one day.

The Lord is not slack to fulfill his promise as some men count slackness: but is patient to usward and would have no man lost but would receive all men to repentance.

Nevertheless the day of the lord will come as a thief in the night in the which day the heavens shall perish with terrible noise and the elements shall melt with heat and the earth with the works that are therein shall burn.”
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Published on Wednesday, October 3, 2018
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Thanks for reading!

Kind regards to all who stopped by this small corner of the internet! If you wish, leave a comment or question.

Store

I am truly encouraged by all who visit here. I hope you learned something about William Tyndale and his work and of course, learned more about God’s Word, too.

If you are curious about owning a William Tyndale Bible, check out our small Store. Orders are fulfilled by Christianbook Distributors located in Peabody, Massachusetts, USA.

The British Library paid over one million pounds in 1994 for an original copy of the 1526 New Testament. A facsimile (digital photocopy) of this same New Testament is available in our store — for a very reasonable price.

The Tyndale New Testament, 1526 Edition

We have items in the store related to William Tyndale and items related to the King James Bible. Some are very inexpensive.

One example, you can rent or purchase via streaming the “Man with a Mission” documentary which features Tyndale scholar, David Daniell. It is very low cost, but quite an interesting video.

Man with a Mission: William Tyndale–DVD

(NOTE: To see how to do streaming video rental or purchase, click on the DVD link above to get further details.)

For full disclosure, I do earn a small advertising fee, if you purchase something.

Disclaimer

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We Have a YouTube Channel – Intro Video

FEB-YT-Channel-Featured-Image-10-02-post

We now have a YouTube channel where we will be posting videos. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel if you wish to be notified when we publish new videos.

Below is the first video published to our new channel. It is only 28 seconds long and is a short introduction to our channel. We found some beautiful background music we want to feature on more of our videos. Click the play button on the video to hear it.

Published on Tuesday, October 2, 2018
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Thanks for reading!

Kind regards to all who stopped by this small corner of the internet! If you wish, leave a comment or question.

Store

I am truly encouraged by all who visit here. I hope you learned something about William Tyndale and his work and of course, learned more about God’s Word, too.

If you are curious about owning a William Tyndale Bible, check out our small Store. Orders are fulfilled by Christianbook Distributors located in Peabody, Massachusetts, USA.

The Tyndale New Testament, 1526 Edition

We have items in the store related to William Tyndale and items related to the King James Bible. Some are very inexpensive.

One example, you can rent or purchase via streaming the “Man with a Mission” documentary which features Tyndale scholar, David Daniell. It is very low cost, but quite an interesting video.

Man with a Mission: William Tyndale–DVD
(NOTE: To see how to do streaming video rental or purchase, click on the DVD link above to get further details.)

For full disclosure, I do earn a small advertising fee, if you purchase something.