When Was the Bible First Translated into English?
Quick Summary
The first complete English translation of the Bible was produced by John Wycliffe and his followers in the 1380s. However, parts of the Bible had been translated into Old English centuries earlier. Later, William Tyndale’s translation in the 1520s marked the first English Bible translated directly from Hebrew and Greek. These early efforts laid the foundation for the King James Version in 1611 and all modern English Bibles today.
Introduction
We take English Bibles for granted now, with dozens of translations on bookshelves and apps. But for centuries, ordinary people in England had no access to Scripture in their native tongue. Translating the Bible into English was not only a spiritual milestone—it was a dangerous, radical act.
This post explores the major milestones of Bible translation into English, from early medieval fragments to full translations that shook the church and changed the world.
Old English Translations (7th–11th Century)
Long before Wycliffe, parts of the Bible were translated into Old English. These weren’t complete Bibles, but paraphrases, commentaries, and selected passages:
Caedmon’s Hymn (late 7th century): A poetic paraphrase of Genesis, possibly the earliest biblical content in English.
Aldhelm and Bede: Church leaders who translated Psalms and Gospel portions into Old English, though their works survive only in fragments.
Alfred the Great (9th century): Sponsored translations of parts of the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, into Anglo-Saxon.
The Lindisfarne Gospels (c. 950): Contain an interlinear gloss (word-for-word translation) of the Latin text into Old English.
These early works made Scripture somewhat accessible to Anglo-Saxon monastics and nobility, but not to the general population.
Wycliffe Bible (1382–1395)
The first complete Bible in English was translated from the Latin Vulgate by John Wycliffe and his followers. Two versions were produced:
1382: The first complete version, very literal and awkward.
1395: A later revision with improved readability.
Wycliffe believed every Christian should be able to read Scripture. The Church opposed this, and after his death, his writings were condemned and his bones exhumed and burned.
Still, hand-copied Wycliffe Bibles circulated widely, preparing the ground for future reformers.
Tyndale Bible (1525–1536)
While Wycliffe used Latin, William Tyndale translated from the original Hebrew and Greek. His work was groundbreaking:
1525: Published his English New Testament.
1530s: Translated parts of the Old Testament before being executed for heresy in 1536.
Tyndale’s legacy is immense: about 80% of his wording was later used in the King James Version. Phrases like "Let there be light" and "the powers that be" come from Tyndale.
The King James Bible (1611)
Commissioned under King James I of England and completed by a team of scholars, the King James Version became the standard English Bible for centuries. It drew heavily on Tyndale’s work and earlier translations like the Geneva Bible.
Its literary beauty and doctrinal weight shaped English-speaking Christianity for over 400 years.
A Comparison of Translations
| Version | Luke 18:1 | Luke 18:2 |
|---|---|---|
| Old English (c. 950, glossed) |
And he sæde him ane spell þæt hi scolden symle gebiddan, and ne beon wacemode. (And he said to them a parable, that they should always pray and not be faint-hearted.) |
Wæs sum dēma on sumre ceastre, se noldra Gode ondrǣdan ne mann forhycgan. (There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor respected man.) |
| Wycliffe Bible (1382) |
And he seide to hem also a parable, that it bihofte to preye euere, and not faile; | seiynge, Ther was a iuge in a citee, that dredde not God, nethir schamede of man. |
| King James Version (1611) |
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; | Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: |
Why This Matters
English Bible translation was not just a linguistic achievement—it was a theological revolution. It empowered people to read God’s Word for themselves, sparked reform movements, and influenced the development of the English language itself.
The story reminds us that access to Scripture is a privilege that others risked—and gave—their lives to provide.
