William Tyndale: The Cost of an English Bible - Christian Biographies

Tyndale lived his adult life as a fugitive outrunning both the King and the Church, all in an effort to provide everyone who spoke English access to the words recorded in the Bible. Tyndale gave the ultimate price to stand firm in his belief that everyone should have the right to read the words of God in their own language. If this sounds interesting to you, stay tuned to see why the English Bible you have in your hand (or digitally) costs much more than the price on the cover.
Time Stamps
0:00 Intro
0:59 The Student
4:20 Journey Away From Acadamy and Church
6:08 Going to Germany
9:25 Henry Phillips
10:14 Dungeon
11:22 Living Legacy
Born in Western Gloucestershire, Tyndale (sometimes spelled Tynsdale, Tindall, Tindill, Tyndall) went to Oxford and excelled in his studies in theology while mastering eight languages and setting himself up as a very respected scholar. But the educational system of the time cared little about Biblical studies and focused more on Catholic procedures and philosophical debates. But with the printing of Erasmus' Greek Bible, Tyndale found his passion, translating the Bible from its original language into the common English tongue. There was only one problem, this was illegal and the Church had no intention of letting him do it.
After trying for years to get the Church to sign off on the translation, he finally fled to Germany to print his translations himself. Constantly on the run, his passion would only grow deeper as after he translated the New Testament Greek into English, he sought to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into English as well. This would, unfortunately, be cut short however as after only getting through roughly half of the Old Testament he was betrayed, arrested, and was burned at the stake, all for simply translating the Bible.
His efforts would not be lost, sadly only a few short months later the King would commission the Bible translated into English and it wouldn't stop from there. Without the work that Tyndale put into crafting the translation into a smooth reading, many of the popular phrases English speaking Christians know today would have never occurred (for a shortlist of phrases watch the "Living Legacy" part of the video above). Knowing the life and trials of Tyndale, Christians are challenged to look at the Bibles they have differently. The English Bible cost the lives of many people, but ultimately their lives live on every time we pick up and read the magnificent and life-saving words of God.
Resources:
-Daniell, David. William Tyndale: a Biography. New Haven: Yale Nota Bene, 2001. (One of the best sources for the full life of Tyndale, if interested in knowing all about Tyndale you must read through this book.)
- • 22. The Effects of the... (Gives a pretty in-depth look at the life of Tyndale within the scheme of the Reformation movement, he starts talking about Tyndale at 21:00 if that is all you care about)
-William Tyndale KZbin Video: • Video .(A Documentary style of video, I'm pretty sure it's linked to the movie that they made since one of the guys played him in that movie)
- • William Tyndale - John... (John Piper-This is from a talk he did on William Tyndale, this is more similar to a sermon, but it is a great way of seeing how the life of Tyndale challenges the modern Christian today.)

[@Chaosic]

Great video man,Tyndale was a awesome man of faith,and thanks to me and other English translators we have the Bible in English.

[@ranwithit1907]

What a brave soul I'm sure that God used this man to bring the Bible so everyone can read it

[@ChristianBiographies]

His relentless pursuit set the groundwork for so many people to have personal access to the word of God.

[@bazjones5282]

I am a direct descendant of his.Our family had to change our name and many fled England.

[@wlenore8071]

@@bazjones5282isn’t it sad that just knowing the word of god for yourself could do this to your family?!? God beless your ancestors

[@patarikisoterion9899]

What an amazing man, but what an amazing God!

[@saffylew]

This is so informative thank you so much! Learning about Tyndale is making my own calling make sense! So many are self-professed Christians who have no idea that they are not actually part of the bride of Christ, they just attend a place every week that's happy for them to not think about being a disciple for the most beautiful one Jesus. I'm against false relgion and calling the body of Christ the ekklesia to wake up. Believe in Jesus that He came to earth, lived a sinless life and sacrificed Himself to die in your place and mine for all of the evil we've done. He then predicted He would come back to life and this was backed up by many other predictions and eye-witnesses. In Him there is eternal life for those who put their trust in HIM. Will you put your trust in Him?

[@totesbotes4660]

Great man. Billions of people

[@wlenore8071]

Thank you William T!

[@leonita2252]

Thank you Christian Biographies, God Bless this channel 🙏, and of course to our hero William Tyndale Blessed his soul in Heaven 😇

[@solomonternder]

I will see your face and embrace you when I get to heaven, my Mentor Tyndale. Thank you for giving us the English Bible.

[@wagnervana2000]

No wonder the Reformed theology took hold the way it did - and is still deeply lodged today. The Reformation happened alongside the release of the Bible in English... So the laymen got access to the Scriptures along with a particular interpretation of them. And now, it seems the "doctrines of grace" have been grandfathered in as truth, without reference to what the Bible actually says... endlessly fascinating. Nice work. Going to keep plumbing the depths of your channel.

[@ChristianBiographies]

Thanks again, and yes you are on the right track! Gaining this access to the Bible ushered in a whole new movement that was trying to "Reform" the way the Church was at that time. Because of this as you study Reformed Theology it's important to know what was considered Canon by the Catholic Church, and also how their practices were viewed by the soon-to-be leaders of the Reformed Theology.

[@wagnervana2000]

@Another Day What about using punctuation in KZbin comments? How do fools fare at that?

[@aldersgatelives9841]

Nicely done. I appreciated the emphasis on his relentlessness to bring the Scriptures to the the "ploughboy". Also appreciated your sharing that Tyndale wanted to work within the confines of the established church and with the King, but was turned away. Ever so grateful for Tyndale's sacrifice each day I open the Scriptures to my mother tongue. God bless you for this work.!

[@ChristianBiographies]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! To read Scripture in our mother tongue is a great blessing!

[@hagamapama]

As a Mormon, we take that line by tyndale to be prophecy, as Joseph Smith was a literal plowboy when first introduced to the Golden Plates and his own calling of translation. And Tyndale's work was the foundation of the KJV of the Bible which Smith was raised on As such there's a small scale debate in LDS circles whether Tyndale should be considered a Prophet of God. He certainly acted like one!

[@aldersgatelives9841]

@@hagamapama I appreciate your knowledge of Tyndale. I did find it interesting your comparison of the similarity of Tyndale and Smith. As someone who has read the BOM, D&C, PGP, and History of the Church(all 7 volumes), I am not sure there is alignment between the Gospel of Tyndale and the Gospel of Smith. More curiously, I believe if Tyndale indeed translated the very Word of God correctly into English, why was it necessary to restore the Gospel as stated in his First Vision? As the prophet Isaiah states: "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever"

[@hagamapama]

@@aldersgatelives9841 Well not to get into a big thing about it but the way I understand it, the prophets of the Restoration are about revealing the Word of the Lord more perfectly. The Word of God doesn't change, of course, but our understanding of doctrine is much less permanent. The Lord is perfect, but we are not, and as in Biblical times, we need reminders or clarifications for situations where we simply have it wrong. We've all seen people quote the bible to justify some very unChristlike horrors over the years. If that can happen to a perfect gospel , then clearly our understanding of the gospel must, itself, be imperfect. It's like trying to set a perfect course along an infinite vector. No matter how perfect we are in trying to plot a vector to match, infinitesimal human errors are inevitable and sooner or later we will eventually be infinitely astray -- that's not the vector's fault, it's because we stopped correcting course. I marvel that Christian society can possiibly have concluded that our knowledge and understanding of the Lord's Gospel is so unalterably perfect that new word of God to correct our understanding of the Gospel, is in some way unnecessary. To suggest this, to me, would be to suggest that we live in a perfected world and oh dear God, I hope not!

[@aldersgatelives9841]

@@hagamapama I do agree that KZbin is certainly not a "fruitful" instrument for serious dialogue concerning such an essential matter such as God's ability to preserve His gospel through the ages. While I would concede our knowledge of God's truth is certainly not "perfect" in the sense that it is complete on this side of Heaven(afterall we will be spending literally billions of years/Eternity with Him which He will reveal so much more than we could possibly understand here in our finiteness), I would say our understanding of the Gospel has always been "perfect" in the sense that our knowledge is sufficient to both be held morally accountable for our sin and either our rejection of the grace as shown in His offer of salvation through faith in Christ's death on the Cross or our acceptance of His gift through faith. Ultimately, Tyndale and Smith believed in two different Gospels. They each made their choice, now that choice is one each of us have to make. Thank you for your earnestness in your reply.

[@windyday8598]

shakespeare actually quoted tyndale's bible many multiple times in his writings

[@ChristianBiographies]

That is really cool! Thanks for the added information.

[@windyday8598]

@@ChristianBiographies he mostly used the geneva bible and either quoted or referenced the bible over 1300 times in his plays. i didn't know that either.

[@FellowshipAwakening]

Amazing video thanks brother !!!

[@user-wy5bl3vb2q]

This man was brave he sacrifice his life to save the bible ❤

[@private2371]

William Tyndale, Pray for us! ::Reads Bible::: Lord.....Tell William Tyndale thank you!

[@JohnReon]

Well done study, I can see from your understanding, Your 1st love is the Truth. As Jesus Christ revealed to us that he is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is also amazing that God chose William Tyndale 1494 - October 6, 1536 in the season of the birth of the Printing Press as William Caxton set up his printing press in Westminster, London, in 1475 or 1476 this season and time to even better the workings of the printing press come the New Testament from the original Greek printed in 1526. When I look at what these men when through to bring the truth to the world I know also they were filled with the Holy Spirit to endure bringing the Truth into the Light. Also to note: William means "resolute protector" or "strong-willed warrior and Tyndale means "Flow" as all of which his translations do. It is amazing what William Tyndale was able to do in his 42 years on this earth. Also remember what Jesus said to his chosen: John 15:16 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” Thank you for your work.

[@ChristianBiographies]

Thank you for the comment I appreciate your kind words. I think it is no coincidence that Tyndale's life was placed perfectly in a time when the printing press would allow his work to be published and spread on scales that had never been seen before. Every time I study William Tyndale's life, I am so grateful for the resources that I have available to me today.

[@edwinaabuta9253]

I'm awed!!

[@Saint.questions]

Wow 💖✝️🙏🏿

[@with-eyez2see]

As a greek myself , he translated correct

[@stevedavies8703]

The Greatest Englishman

[@matthewtyndale9122]

Wow so this is my ancestor interesting

[@ChristianBiographies]

You have a very prestigious last name within Christian studies! William gave up his life so that we would have the ability to read the Bible in common English.

[@seandmaccormack.8528]

Thank you mr Tyndall for keeping the word alive praise be to God & God bless you.

[@gooner420trippin]

What’s up fam. William didn’t get to have kids so is he your uncle too? Rowland Taylor is my grandfather. Also burned as a heretic, but had a child first

[@gooner420trippin]

Not sure what fam branch you would fall in, but this might be of interest. Crossed to the EastCoast US btw on the Mayflower. We seem to have a history of important spiritual OG’s *& probable uncle, the one and only Daniel frikken Boone. Take care bornofgreatness.weebly.com/our-famous-taylor-ancestors.html

[@gregmaeser]

Not related to Tyndale, but I just found out I'm related to John Knox and John Wesley.

[@voiceinwilderness7]

Well Done. Subscribed

[@ChristianBiographies]

Thanks!

[@jacobbamen682]

subbed, thanks bro

[@ChristianBiographies]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[@truthoftheuniverse]

Hallelujah 🙏🙏🙏

[@jenniferleason1322]

Thank you for this podcast. Such a welcome subject. Christian stories. However , please may I make one remark, that it seems to me that the narrator is speaking too fast.

[@ChristianBiographies]

Yeah, going forward I am trying to slow it down and leave some space between sentences and sections. The way I edited the first few of these I didn't realize how it would sound when I got completely done lol.

[@markcollins2876]

A true Christian Saint.

[@JonathanTyndallNC]

My many many Greats grandfather!

[@ccrum1127]

William Tyndale is my 15th Great Uncle..

[@ccrum1127]

Which Tyndall was your GGF..

[@tindlevibes4680]

That’s my cousin!

[@reaann3110]

He made sure to stress on tithes n offerings!! Many pentecostal evangelical full gospel churches are business places these days.demanding tithes which is written in old testament...why these churches don't keep d Sabbath? But keeping the law in Malachi about tithes n offerings!!

[@cubillosarzola]

It was the first english translation to use JEHOVAH’s name ! N it was translated directly translated from hebrew n greek text !

[@roeltingzon758]

The Catholic church has blood on its hands for Tyndale's death and burning at the stake.

[@davidwalsh4529]

He was befor dat

[@hagamapama]

Tyndale has all the hallmarks of a latter day prophet.

[@TOITN]

Gloucester is pronounced GLOSS-TER

[@alwaysdisputin9930]

Then why ON EARTH would they spell it Gloucester?? It Must be pronounced Glo-oostershersher as that it is how it is spelt.

[@krzysztofciuba271]

He should be declared the saint and martyr; I (you) see that still, his translation is not correct like "lead us not into temptation" is wrong; it must be not "temptation" but "trial".Well, a proof of how Devil works at Institutions like Govs,Church (1P4:17) and Akademia and still now.If someone denies the existence of the Devil he/she is a science and theological fool;an example how a folly exists also in science in the minds of not one person but..generations like in the case for example of so-called paradoxes (Twin or Cat Schrodinger)- textbooks are the perfect proof of it! (Devil means the cause of(any) lie (j8:44) or stupidity; naturally, it means these scientists do not know the methodology of science but it is no excuse for their idiocy and the (dumb)Mass Media spreading it+ I've tried to correct in on BBC program and my comment lasted there only a few minutes but I have proof(I made it a "snapshot"; consequently, the Censor will be identified, founded and executed on Lord's Day

[@kalebgullan4157]

Septuagint is the accurate scripture, NOT THE "HEBREW" WHICH IS EDITED IN 900AD AD by JEWS before christ the septuagint was an accurate jewish translation from the now lost hebrew into greek.. we still have the septuagint and that is the translation jesus and the apostles read from. hebrew translations are innacurate.... this is my current observation after much research

[@alwaysdisputin9930]

1:00 Glostershersher lol English spellings suck!

[@ChristianBiographies]

Lol yes I can’t lie I was struggling. I always try and look up correct pronunciations but this one did not turn out like I thought it would in my head while recording.

[@marymarry4387]

Church seems evil

[@mosthighchosen614]

It is.

[@williamhanson9428]

Jesus Jesus called the religious people a brood of vipers which is a basket of snakes. It's hard not to see churches as evil that I want you to know that Jesus said you will know them by their love where you see love and selflessness and people who believe that Jesus is the son of God there you should be able to distance yourself from the evil that you see and explain in churches.

[@jasondaniels640]

It is, so you're half way there Mary, further than most humans, so well done.

[@pandora3968]

Not the church, the people in it

[@djdjdax2253]

Looks a bit swarthy

[@beloved3244]

William Tyndale was a Hebrew...aka so called black man

[@ChristianBiographies]

What makes you say that?