While Tyndale’s Bible translation progressed at a steady clip the Inquisition raised its head in England. Under Richard II, translating the Bible had been proscribed in England. Under Henry VIII and the Inquisition, this law which had so far remained benign, suddenly grew teeth. Fearful of seeing his work brought to a halt, Tyndale left England. He first settled in Hamburg where he translated the majority of the New Testament by the end of 1524. He was impoverished and alone yet remained undaunted. 

From Hamburg Tyndale moved to Cologne where he finished his translation. He solicited the services of Quentel and Bryckman, the foremost printing house in Cologne to produce 3,000 copies of the Bible. Unfortunately, his plans were brought to a halt when the local senate, receiving word of his plans, sent guards to confiscate the cache of newly printed Bibles and arrest Tyndale. 

Tyndale escaped with only a satchel and a copy of the Bible he had labored so diligently to produce. With his assistant William Roye in tow, he made it to Worms where he found another printed and prepared the Bible for a second print run.