Who was the first to translate the Bible from Greek/Hebrew into English?

Who was the first to translate the Bible from Greek/Hebrew into English?

• A. John Wycliffe
• B. Martin Luther
• C. William Tyndale
• D. King James I

Answer: (C)

Translating the Bible into English from the original Hebrew and Greek texts is a milestone in making Scripture accessible to everyday readers. William Tyndale is recognized as the first to do this directly in English, roughly in the 1520s and 1530s. He produced a New Testament translation straight from Greek and translated much of the Old Testament from Hebrew, paving the way for later English Bibles and influencing the language and phrasing that would shape translations for generations. Earlier English efforts, like John Wycliffe’s, used the Latin Vulgate as the source rather than the original languages, so they don’t fit the criterion of translating from Greek and Hebrew. Martin Luther translated into German, not English, and the King James Version, completed in 1611, was a later effort that drew on earlier English translations and sources rather than initiating a fresh translation from the originals.

Translating the Bible into English from the original Hebrew and Greek texts is a milestone in making Scripture accessible to everyday readers. William Tyndale is recognized as the first to do this directly in English, roughly in the 1520s and 1530s. He produced a New Testament translation straight from Greek and translated much of the Old Testament from Hebrew, paving the way for later English Bibles and influencing the language and phrasing that would shape translations for generations.

Earlier English efforts, like John Wycliffe’s, used the Latin Vulgate as the source rather than the original languages, so they don’t fit the criterion of translating from Greek and Hebrew. Martin Luther translated into German, not English, and the King James Version, completed in 1611, was a later effort that drew on earlier English translations and sources rather than initiating a fresh translation from the originals.