A brief history of Bible translation

‘There is scarcely a century in the Christian era when Bible translation of some sort was not going on somewhere’. It really does seem that Bible translation has always been integral to God’s mission.

Early Translations and the Septuagint

The Septuagint was almost always the source text for the Old Testament at this stage. This was a translation from Hebrew into Greek, completed around 130 BC, for Greek-speaking Jews. It was what Paul used when quoting the Old Testament. Nowhere is this more striking than in the early Syrian Church. Amazingly, the Church that Saul intended to persecute in Acts 9 became a centre for mission. The first translation of the Scriptures in the Christian era was into Syriac around 170 AD, as spoken in Damascus! Bible translation activity then spread out from Syria over the following centuries into Armenia, Georgia, Samarkand and beyond.

Jerome and the Latin Vulgate

Around 382 AD the Pope commissioned his secretary, Jerome, to produce a new translation in Latin, as the Septuagint-based versions were rather messy. Jerome set about the task with reported trepidation, but also with great seriousness. He learnt Hebrew and, thanks to the work of Origen, was able to access Scripture texts in both Hebrew and Greek. The remark, attributed to him, that ‘ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ’ reveals something of his passion. The resulting translation, produced in the Latin of the people, is known to us as the Vulgate. Words like Scripture, salvation, justification and regeneration made their way into English via their Latin form in the Vulgate.

The Middle Ages and Early English Efforts

You might think that the ‘Dark Ages’ would not have seen many Bible translators at work. And yet this was the time of Cyril and Methodius, missionaries and Bible translators for the Slavs. There was also impressive activity in translating passages of Scripture into Arabic in Seville, Baghdad and Damascus. We know too that Bede translated John’s Gospel into Old English and Peter Waldo did similar things in France.

John Wycliffe emerged in 14th century England as a high profile opponent of privilege and power in the Church. Towards the end of his life he gave expression to his convictions by translating the Scriptures from the Vulgate into Middle English for the ordinary people. After his death, Wycliffe had an effect that rippled across Europe: Jan Hus and others in Prague produced Scriptures in Hungarian and Bohemian.

The Impact of the Printing Press and New Scholarship

Two events in the 15th century changed the course of Bible translation like little else. Gutenberg’s development of the printing press is well known, but the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is often overlooked. When Constantinople fell, scholars fled westwards clutching their Greek and Hebrew texts. It was Erasmus of Rotterdam who produced an edition of the Greek text of the New Testament in 1516.

Printing Bibles created entirely new distribution possibilities and having the Greek text available meant translation was far more accurate. By 1600, printed versions of the entire Bible had appeared in 15 European languages.

William Tyndale and the King James Version

William Tyndale’s translation of the Bible into the English of the 1530s stands out for English speakers. He coined so many expressions that communicated powerfully. Many phrases, such as ‘land of the living’, ‘the parting of the ways’, and ‘apple of my eye’ are so familiar that we forget their biblical origin. The King James Version, published in 1611, retained much of Tyndale’s groundbreaking work.

Chronology of Key Bible Translation Milestones

  • 130 BC: Completion of the Septuagint (Hebrew into Greek).
  • 170 AD: First Christian era translation into Syriac (Damascus).
  • 382 AD: Jerome begins the Latin Vulgate translation.
  • 14th Century: John Wycliffe translates the Bible into Middle English.
  • 1453: Fall of Constantinople brings Greek/Hebrew texts to the West.
  • 1516: Erasmus produces the Greek New Testament.
  • 1530s: William Tyndale produces his English translation.
  • 1600: Entire Bibles available in 15 European languages.
  • 1611: Publication of the King James Version.