10/08/2026
Four hundred ninety years ago today—October 6, 1536—William Tyndale was martyred after giving his life to the work of translating the Bible into English.
Ten years earlier, the first complete copies of his English New Testament were smuggled into England. Tyndale was the first to translate the New Testament directly from Greek into English, and he did it because he believed that ordinary people should be able to read and understand the Word of God for themselves. Though authorities confiscated and burned copies, the Scriptures continued to spread.
Tyndale continued translating and revising until he was betrayed, arrested, and imprisoned near Brussels. After more than a year in prison, he was strangled and his body burned. His final prayer just before he was martyred was, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”
God answered that prayer in remarkable ways. English Bibles soon received royal authorization, and Tyndale’s translation became foundational to the English Bibles that followed. When the King James Bible was published in 1611, much of Tyndale’s wording remained. Some estimate that over 80 percent of the King James New Testament preserves Tyndale’s exact wording.
During Spiritual Leadership Conference last week, we were privileged to host an extensive exhibit from the Museum of the Book in London tracing the lineage of the English Bible, including Tyndale’s 1526 New Testament and the 1522 Greek text from which he translated.
Tyndale’s story reminds us that the Bible we so easily hold today came to us through extraordinary sacrifice—and that the greatest way to honor that heritage is to read, believe, preach, and share the Word of God.
Five hundred years later, the Word of God is still powerful.
