William Tyndale (b. 1494) was an English scholar, linguist, and priest who translated the Bible into English for the first time. His translation of the New Testament and part of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew and Greek texts was the basis for all subsequent English translations of the Bible.
Tyndale was a leader in the Protestant Reformation. He was a staunch opponent of the abuses within the Roman Catholic Church, such as the sale of indulgences. He believed that the Bible should be the sole authority for the Church’s doctrine and practices; therefore, every English speaker should have access to Scripture in his native tongue. He made it his life’s work to accomplish this goal.
Tyndale was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England as a heretic and traitor. He was betrayed by a friend, captured in the Netherlands, and burned at the stake in Antwerp in 1536. In God’s grand providential scheme to ensure that mankind had the Scriptures to guide their lives, perhaps no one played a greater role for billions of people than William Tyndale.
Kyle Campbell