No trace of this translation has reached us, but its influence was felt, and its existence

shows an early attempt to give the common people the Scriptures in their own tongue.

The Gospels of the Tenth Century.--The oldest manuscript was written by one Aelfric

at Bath about the year 1000.

The Old Testament of Aelfric about A.D.990.

Verse translations of the thirteenth century, the Psalters of William of Shoreland and

Richard Rolle, bring us to the days of Wycliffe.

Wycliffe's Translation represents the first complete Bible in the English language.

About 170 copies of Wycliffe's Bible are known to be in existence, including two

versions. Some of the expressions in Wycliffe's Bible remain in the A.V., although,

of course, the spelling has changed, e.g., "compass sea and land"; "first-fruits";

"strait gate"; "make whole"; "son of perdition"; "enter thou into the joy of thy Lord".

Wycliffe's version, however, was written while the English tongue was still in the

making, and many words became obsolete in the next century. It set the example,

however, and prepared the way.

After the days of Wycliffe there was a revival of the study of Greek and Hebrew, and

in 1484 was born William Tyndale, whose translation underlies every succeeding version

to the present day.

Tyndale's Bible (1525).--The presence of Erasmus at Cambridge drew Tyndale from

Oxford; and it was at Cambridge that Tyndale made the resolve which he so resolutely

carried out, with a faithfulness that was literally "unto death". "If God spare my life, ere

many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scriptures than

thou dost." Tyndale completed his translation of the N.T. in 1525. It was solemnly

burned in London at St. Paul's Cross, and the Bishops subscribed money to buy up all

obtainable copies; but it transpired that they were merely providing funds for proceeding

with the work. Tyndale's N.T. differed from all that preceded it, in that it was translated

direct from the Greek. Tyndale's words as he stood at the stake at Vilvorde in Belgium

were: "Lord, open the king of England's eyes."

Coverdale's Bible (1535).--

Miles Coverdale, in 1535, produced a translation that laid no claim to greatness, as its

author made no profession of Greek or Hebrew learning, and translated mainly from the

German and Latin. His English, however, was dignified and chaste, and appears in the

A.V. His version was not authorized, but it was circulated freely, and was the first

translation of a complete Bible to be printed in English.  Coverdale departed from

Tyndale, by bringing back into the English translation the ecclesiastical terms which

Tyndale had excluded.