The Great Bible

"I can scarce think any pains misspent that bring me in solid evidences of that great truth, that the Scripture is the word of God, which is indeed the GRAND FUNDAMENTAL." Annuls of the English Bible Preface: (first paragraph) The work which is now offered to public attention has been drawn from authentic and unpublished manuscripts, from the original printed authorities in succession, and the editions of the Scriptures themselves. It will be found to contain the historic Annals of the English Bible, viewed in contrast or connexion with national affairs; including Memoirs of Tyndale, his contemporaries and successors; the first introduction of the Sacred Volume, as printed in the native language, into England, Scotland, and America; the earliest triumphs of Divine Truth, and its progress down to the present day; the imperative obligations of British Christians in such extraordinary possession of the Word of God. Luke 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Note: England would experience a back and forth struggle between Roman Catholic/ Papist authority and the authority of her kings and their brand of Reformed/State religion.

Succession of English Bibles:

Wycliffe Bible (1380) As we continue our look back into the history of the English Bible we must begin to recognize the miracle that was taking place in the English speaking world. Before Wycliffe translated his Bible form the Latin Vulgate there was NO complete Bible in the English language. The portions of English Scriptures that did exist were very sparse and only in very small portions. As a people, English speakers in effect were in total darkness. The Bibles came then in succession: Tyndale New Testament (1525) Coverdale Bible: (1535) It was printed in Europe in late 1535 and and shipped to England for distribution. The title page said: BIBLIA. THE BIBLE, that is the holy Scripture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully and truly translated out of Douche and Latyn in to Englishe, 1535. It was dedicated to King Henry VIII and his dearest just wife, and most vertuous pryncesse, QUEEN ANNE. When Anne Boleyn was put to death in May 1536, the dedication in the Coverdale Bible became an obstacle to its distribution in England. Some copies were therefore modified. Christopher Anderson says that some were changed to Jane and in other copies the name of the queen has been removed entirely. Some replaced the title page with a new one that changed the year to 1536 and removed the words translated out of Douche and Latyn. The difference in spiritual character between William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale is testified by the flattering dedication that Coverdale made

to King Henry VIII. He compares the wicked king to Moses, David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josias and says: I thought it my duty, and to belong unto my allegiance, when I had translated this Bible, not only to dedicate this translation unto your Highness, but wholly to commit it unto the same: to the intent that if any thing therein be translated amiss, it may stand in your Grace's hands, to correct it, to amend it, to improve, yea, and CLEAN TO REJECT IT, if your godly wisdom shall think it necessary! In contrast, Tyndale always spoke the plain truth to the king and when he gave a specially printed copy of his New Testament to Queen Anne Boleyn to honor her for her assistance to the persecuted brethren it contained no dedication. Coverdale as a Study Bible: Page layout was clear, with summaries at the head and end of each chapter and book. This was in sharp contrast to the Bibles before Luther which could be described as large blocks of heavily printed paper, with no relief, and no obvious indicators on any page of which chapter of which book the reader may be on. Coverdale included Luther's prologue as well as Tyndale's preface to Romans. The Bible included cross-reference and marginal notes on the text. Matthew's Bible: (1537) The Matthews Bible was intended for serious study. 1.) It had a collection of biblical passages constituting An Exhortation to the Study of the Holy Scripture. The initials J.R. appear at the end, indicating that this was the work of John Rogers. 2.) It had a summary of Bible doctrine adapted from Jacques Lefevres French Bible of 1534.

3.) It also had an alphabetic concordance to Bible subjects, translated from Pierre Robert Olivetans French Bible of 1535. 4.) It had more than 2000 marginal explanatory notes and crossreferences. The GREAT BIBLE (1539) The Great Bible was published in 1539 and was an edition of the Matthews Bible. Miles Coverdale oversaw the completion and printing of the first Great Bible, but there were several editions that were printed by other parties. Christopher Anderson in the Annals of the English Bible mentions five or six editions that appeared by 1540 and four more in 1541. This Bible was persecuted by Roman authorities from its inception. The printing began in Paris in 1538. Coverdale wrote that the work was daily threatened. The license they obtained for the printing had a provision that warned that the project had to conform to inquisition laws. Before the printing could be finished, the Romanist French ambassador to England learned of the project and wrote to French authorities, suggesting that it be destroyed. Being warned of impending trouble, Coverdale and his workers labored diligently to ship the portions that had already been printed to England. Coverdale wrote, If these men proceed in their cruelness against us, and confiscate the rest yet this at the least may be safe. Four days later the Roman Catholic Inquisitor-general for France demanded that the printing cease and called for any completed sheets

to be removed. The feared Roman Catholic inquisitors descended upon the printing facility, seized the sheets which had not already been shipped to Britain, amounting to, some say, 2500 Bibles, and ordered them burned. Bible translator Miles Coverdale and his friend Grafton, who had been overseeing the printing, had to flee from Paris to avoid persecution. Later, through diplomatic negotiations, they were able to return to Paris and recover the printing presses and type. Some historians also tell us that, by Gods grace, they were able to recover even many of the condemned sheets. Instead of burning these sheets, the authorities had sold them for waste paper, and the men who had purchased them were more than willing to sell them back to Coverdale! The first printing of the Great Bible was completed in April 1539. The Story of the Great Bible It was called great because of its large size. It was published in six volumes, each measuring 16.5 X 11 inches. What a Protestant England would mean would be eventually shown when the English king would demand that his subjects read the Scriptures in English!

...This happened first under, of all people, Henry VIII.

In 1536 Henry gave permission for an English translation of the Bible to be published in England. He commissioned Miles Coverdale with this charge. He also ordered that a copy of this Bible should be placed in every church in his kingdom. Henry still considered himself to be a Catholic, but by taking this action, he began to move the Church in the direction of Protestantism. The story of the Great Bible is truly a historical illustration of the Scriptural truth found in Proverbs 21:1 "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." Henry VIII, who was a Roman Catholic in genuine belief, broke away the nation of England from the Roman Catholic Church for the "spiritual reason" of divorcing his present wife. Henry was a wicked man that took the opportunity presented to him to create his own church (the Church of England) of which he would be the head.

Henry would order the printing of a Bible for the English speaking peoples of his realm.

The Irony: Henry hated William Tyndale. In fact, he was ultimately responsible for Tyndale's Martyrdom. He would also order the burning of all copies of Tyndale's New Testament in the kingdom, yet in ordering the production of the Great Bible, he would authorize and publish the very work of Tyndale. Miles Coverdale, who would oversee the work, would use all of Tyndale's work in the Old and New Testaments in Henry's Great Bible! In fact, The Great Bible would really just be another edition of the Matthew's Bible, the results of Tyndale and John Rodgers. Both of these men would pay the ultimate price for their work in translating God's Word into the English language! Gods Providence overruled the king as he would order a rebranded Tyndale/Matthews Bible with the name the Great Bible to be placed in every church of his realm!

Copies were placed in all of the churches of England upon royal authority. Cromwell ordered that a copy of the Great should be placed in every parish church in England. Thus it came about that Tyndales Bible was circulated extensively for many years in the name of others, and with the kings formal authorization, and became the basis for subsequent translations (Simms, Bible from the Beginning, p. 178). The Great Bible also attained the name The Chained Bible, because copies were often chained to reading desks that were attached to a pillar in the church. This was to discourage theft.

Because of the work of translators, like Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale, John Rogers, and many others, the English speaking peoples of the world would truly become a people in extraordinary

possession of God's Word. So extraordinary, that in fact, it could be considered unprecedented in all of the history of mankind!