When William Tyndale undertook to translate the New Testament into English in the early 16th century, he faced enormous opposition from the English crown and the powerful clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. The translation of the Bible into English was highly contentious and even dangerous during those times. The Church feared that if commoners were able to read the scriptures themselves, it would diminish their power and challenge established religious doctrine.
Despite these setbacks, Tyndale was more resolved than ever to bring the Bible to the masses. Since England was not a secure place for him to undertake such a dangerous task, he fled to the city of Worms in the Holy Roman Empire, a place where the Reformation had already begun to take hold. There, encouraged by the teachings of Martin Luther and in an environment which was conducive to religious reformation, he was finally able to complete his English translation of the New Testament. The printing press, the cutting-edge technology of the time, enabled mass production of his translated scriptures.
Now that they were printed, these English New Testaments needed to find their way into the hands of the English people. This was a risky endeavor, since King Henry VIII and English Church leaders were determined to suppress any unauthorized Bibles. To circumvent this resistance, Tyndale's supporters devised clandestine methods to smuggle the copies into England. The books were packed in barrels, hidden among cargo of cloth, grain, or other goods, and transported across the English Channel. Some were sewn into bales of wool or concealed in sacks of flour to evade detection by customs officials.
After the smuggled Bibles arrived in England, they were secretly distributed by a network of devoted colporteurs—peddlers and itinerant booksellers who risked their lives to distribute the Word of God. These men moved discreetly through towns and villages, from door to door, selling copies of Tyndale's New Testament to anyone willing to buy them. Some of these colporteurs were merchants, but the majority were ordinary men and women who believed that it was vital to possess scripture in a language that people could understand.
Despite repeated efforts on the part of the authorities to confiscate and burn those illicit books, many copies still found their way into the hands of English people. Those who were caught with Tyndale's translation often endured horrific punishment, including imprisonment or death. Yet the call for an English Bible continued, and the seeds planted by Tyndale's translation would eventually lead to the widespread acceptance of English translations of the Bible.
Tyndale himself made the ultimate sacrifice for his work. In 1536, he was arrested, tried for heresy, strangled, and then burned at the stake. Yet his vision lived on. Within a few years, during the reign of Henry VIII, an official English Bible was finally published—taken largely from Tyndale's translation. His daring innovations not only transformed English religious life but also assisted in paving the way for the English Reformation, changing the course of history irreversibly.
