William Tyndale

c. 1494 – October 6, 1536

Bible Translator & Martyr

Lord, open the King of England's eyes

Biography

English scholar who first translated the Bible into English from the original Hebrew and Greek. Strangled and burned at the stake in Belgium for heresy.

Faith & Testimony

Tyndale's dying prayer was 'Lord, open the King of England's eyes.' Within four years, Henry VIII authorized an English Bible based largely on Tyndale's translation. About 84% of his New Testament survives in the King James Version.

Sources

Tyndale — Wikipedia — Father of the English Bible
Tyndale's New Testament (1526) — The first printed English New Testament, translated from the original Greek — the work for which Tyndale gave his life
Foxe's Book of Martyrs — William Tyndale — Foxe's account of Tyndale's imprisonment, strangling, and burning at Vilvoorde Castle
The Obedience of a Christian Man — Tyndale's influential treatise on Christian obedience and the authority of Scripture over church tradition