subject: The Bible's Tainted History (part Ii) [print this page] THE COVERDALE BIBLE OF 1535 THE COVERDALE BIBLE OF 1535
The Coverdale was the first completed English translation of the entire Old and New Testaments. During the imprisonment of William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale (1488-1569) picked up where he left off. Coverdale produced a complete English version based on Tyndales New and Old Testament works. He also used the Latin Vulgate for the remainder of the Old Testament Tyndale never had the opportunity to translate.
MATTHEW'S BlBLE OF 1537
This is a revision of the Coverdale work. The author was Thomas Matthew; a pseudonym assumed by John Rogers who was a very good friend of William Tyndale.
THE GREAT BlBLE OF 1539
This is a revision of the Matthew's Bble. Richard Taverner, a student of Cardinal College [Christ Church], Oxford, at short notice was invited by some London printers to prepare a revision of the existing work by Thomas Matthew. The result was appointed by Henry VIII to be read in all churches.
THE GENEVA BlBLE OF 1560
This work of art is the Protestant church's rendition of the Great Bble. Its distinguishing feature; it was the first version to use division by verses to facilitate reading and locating passages.
THE BISHOP'S BlBLE OF 1568
This grand work is the Catholic Church's rendition of the Great Bble, as well as, their response to the Protestants (then) eight year old Geneva Bble. However, they did admire that division by verse feature, which they incorporated in this own version.
THE KING JAMES BIBLE OF 1611
Often referred to as the KJV, this is the only English version authorized by the king of England for the common people to possess. In essence, it is a revision of the Bishops Bible. However, unlike its predecessors, the KJV was not the work of one man. Rather, 54 men worked in teams checking each others work during this revision. They relied heavily on Tyndales work, as well as, the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Because of the king's approval, this quickly became the Standard English translation.
Many scholars ask, "If King James I of England was heavily rumored to be a homosexual (mainly based on the fact that he publicly French-kissed his favorite male acquaintances and loosely expressed, he loved certain men), why did he have anything to do with producing a Bible (which allegedly condemns homosexuality)?" First of all, the young king was well-versed in biblical scriptures; fluent in several different languages; and he often verbally translated the scriptures to his audience. However, he did not believe the scriptures condemned homosexuality. On the contrary, he believed the opposite. Regardless, as king of England, he was never on a mission to enlighten the masses in the same way Wycliffe and Tyndale were.
During the reign of King James I, the common people were fond of the Protestant Geneva Bible; King James was not. In addition to the verse format the Geneva used, it also included marginal notes; many of which contradicted the king's political views. Since, in those days, the government controlled religion, the king's government issued Bble was produced to replace the annoying Geneva Bble. Hence, the KJV continued the verse-division format but denied the common people the marginal notes that offended the king.
As it turned out, the king's intention was twofold. Since the church could no longer verbally tell the common people what to blindly think or believe, the KJV Bible was intended to accomplish the same goal based on what the people read. So, the people were satisfied having a government approved English version and the church was satisfied maintaining control. I should also note, (at the time) all other English versions were outlawed with imprisonment and death.
