1526
Worms, Germany

“100,000 Pieces
of Money”

The scripture is the light and life of God’s elect, and that mighty power wherewith God createth them, and shapeth them, after the similitude, likeness, and very fashion of Christ; and therefore sustenance, comfort, and strength to courage them, that they may stand fast, and endure, and merrily bear their soul’s health, wherewith the lusts of the flesh are subdued and killed, and the spirit mollified and made soft, to receive the print of the image of our Saviour Jesus.

—William Tyndale, An Exposition upon
the First Epistle of John

Smuggling Size

In 1521, Martin Luther made his stand at the Diet of Worms, defying Pope Leo X and Roman emperor Charles V. It was a history-changing moment that opened the door to other reformers, including Tyndale, who fled to Worms with what he and Roye could salvage of their Cologne efforts. Worms was smaller than Cologne but much safer and firmly in the control of the reformers. Tyndale and Roye soon employed the services of Peter Schoeffer, who began printing a smaller-sized New Testament. Because of the difference in page size—Schoeffer printed Tyndale’s New Testament in octavo (eight pages of text per printing sheet), while Peter Quentell printed Matthew in quarto (four pages of text per printing sheet)—the whole project was started over.

To waste the Cologne Gospel of Matthew was unthinkable. So both the Cologne Fragment and the full Worms edition of the New Testament were shipped to England, which caused considerable confusion among those trying to keep them out. Where were all these New Testaments coming from? Paper costs constituted the major expense in printing. At the time, paper was made from old rags bought by full-time gatherers. The smaller volume cut costs considerably, making the New Testament even more affordable.

Tyndale also gave consideration to the convenience of hiding the smaller volume. Opposition was making him wiser. He was an intensely hunted man, engaged in an extremely dangerous occupation that required a certain street savvy for seller and buyer. A single misstep could cost him his life. His Worms edition was a perfect smuggling size. The first paperback-sized book to be printed, it could be hidden in the lining or tucked neatly in a sleeve of a coat or dress in, to borrow a phrase from Tyndale’s 1526 New Testament, “the twinkling of an eye.”

The work apparently went smoothly, and the first Greek-to-English New Testament in a portable format entered the world early in 1526, never to slip into darkness again. As Nephi had foreseen, the Gentiles would have their book—at least half of it, for the Old Testament still waited. But Nephi saw that the book “carried forth among them” contained records like those “upon the plates of brass,” as well as “the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record” (1 Nephi 13:20, 23—24). Worms had a sizeable Jewish population and provided an excellent opportunity for mastering Hebrew. England had expelled its Jews earlier, so the Lord in his wisdom brought Tyndale to the Continent, and not just for reasons of safety.

Tyndale’s New Testament marked a great historical milestone in paving the way for the Restoration. The compelling words that urged a searching youth into a grove of trees—“If any that is among you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5)—were now boldly laid before the eyes of every ploughboy searching for truth. In his 1534 edition, Tyndale improved his translation, dropping “that is among” for the more simple “of,” rendering James’s promise exactly as Joseph Smith read it.

Doing Good in Secret

If Tyndale’s original intention had been possible, we would not know who translated this first groundbreaking work. He did not attach his name to the translation—doing so for the purest of reasons, not fear of prosecution. For years it was thought that only two copies of the original 1526 edition had survived, both without a title page, but in 1996 a third copy surfaced in Germany, complete with a title page. As Tyndale had indicated, his name was not on it. In his preface to The Parable of the Wicked Mammon, he revealed why he deliberately excluded his authorship.

“The cause why I set my name before this little treatise, and have not rather done it in the New Testament, is, that then I followed the counsel of Christ, which exhorteth men (Matt. vi) to do their good deeds secretly, and to be content with the conscience of well-doing, and that God seeth us; and patiently to abide the reward of the last day, which Christ hath purchased for us: and now would I fain have done likewise, but am compelled otherwise to do.”¹

He was “compelled” to indicate his authorship because of his association with William Roye. After Roye departed from Tyndale, he joined a renegade friar named Jerome, also from Greenwich. They settled in Strasbourg and promptly proceeded to publish defamatory and distasteful rhymes sharply attacking Cardinal Wolsey. Tyndale warned Jerome about Roye’s character, but his warning went unheeded. The rhymes came off the press without an author’s name attached, and word had it that Tyndale was responsible. Fearing that association with such railings would compromise his precious New Testament, Tyndale detached himself totally from Roye, explaining what he had and had not published.

His dream was not yet fulfilled. The Old Testament had to be translated from the Hebrew, and the New Testament needed continual refining, so Tyndale could not afford a loss of dignity for the most critical of all publications, the Bible itself, because of cheap shots taken at the cardinal. His modesty and purity of motive are evidenced in the epilogue of the 1526 New Testament:

“Them that are learned christianly I beseech, forasmuch as I am sure, and my conscience beareth me record, that of a pure intent, singly and faithfully, I have interpreted it, as far forth as God gave me the gift of knowledge and understanding, that the rudeness of the work now at the first time offend them not; but that they consider how that I had no man to counterfeit [imitate—he had no previous English version to follow], neither was helped with English of any that had interpreted the same or such like thing in the scripture beforetime. Moreover, even very necessity, and cumbrance (God is record) above strength, which I will not rehearse, lest we should seem to boast ourselves, caused that many things are lacking which necessarily are required. Count it as a thing not having his full shape, but as it were borne before his time, even as a thing begun rather than
finished.”²

“Necessity, and Cumbrance above Strength”

Because of Tyndale’s unwillingness to play the martyr’s role or to boast, he largely concealed the burdens that of “necessity, and cumbrance above strength” he faced—a paraphrase of Paul’s words to new converts. “We would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:8—9; emphasis added). The context of Paul’s words suggests Tyndale’s own trials were serious and life threatening.

Tyndale worked with German printers who were unfamiliar with English. So to ensure that the typesetter, who would not know what he was composing, transposed the manuscript correctly, Tyndale had to employ constant vigilance and scrutiny.³ He frequented the printing shop, proofreading, making corrections, and thus placing himself in a public setting. Printers were known for hard drinking, as the Cologne troubles verified. Having survived a close call there, Tyndale would have been eager to see the final translation bound and ready for transport into England before the next onslaught by his enemies.

During the imperial diet in the summer of 1526 in Speyer, Germany, a friend to Luther named Spalatin wrote an entry in his diary that has survived to this day. At a dinner held August 11, one of the guests, Hermann von dem Busche, related that he had been to Worms and met Tyndale. Spalatin’s entry reads:

“Buschius told us that at Worms six thousand copies of the New Testament have been printed in English. The work has been translated by an Englishman, staying there with two other Britons, who is so skilled in seven tongues . . . that whichever he speaks, you would think it his native tongue. For the English, despite the opposition and unwillingness of the king, [have been] so long after the gospel, that they affirm that they will buy the New Testament, even if they must pay 100,000 pieces of money for it.”⁴

All religious motives aside, it is easy to see why Tyndale found such support among members of the merchant class, who were willing to risk their lives and fortunes on a Bible that England was hungering to receive. The demand was ready if they could meet the supply. Obviously the hesitation Tyndale had met from the Cologne printer had been overcome, and large runs were now the standard.

The Offending Words

The few surviving copies of the Worms edition bear testimony to the fierce opposition it met in England. Such hostility may have resulted from Tyndale’s translation of several key words the church perceived as an attack upon its most-favored traditions. Tyndale properly translated the Greek word metanoeo into the English word repent, instead of “do penance.” Repent suggested a turning of the mind, an inward self-evaluation between a man and his God. Do penance, on the other hand, supported acts required by the clergy, including pilgrimage, indulgences, purgatory, and so forth. These acts provided sources of financial stability, and Tyndale was undercutting them.

He translated the Greek ekklesia into the English congregation rather than into church. The true body of Christ was an assembly of believers, not a professional, hierarchal organization. Priest became elder(senior in 1526 and improved to elder in 1534), and confession of sins became a much more simple acknowledgment or admissionof them. Such a rendering would strip the formal confessional of its aura and once again threaten lucrative foundations. Essentially, Tyndale was simplifying the doctrine, making it a much more personal, individual experience based on faith in the atoning mercy of Christ, not on the sacramental rites of a concrete body.

The very nature of putting a Bible in the hands of a ploughboy took attention away from the priest performing the necessary rites to which that ploughboy looked for salvation. The word became dominant. Preaching the sacred narrative provided the key to Christ’s saving grace as faith was created in the soul, not in the pew or at the altar.

This difference is easily seen in one of the main distinctions between Protestant and Catholic churches. In Catholic cathedrals, the altar sits in the center, the focus of worship, with the pulpit on the side, implying the supremacy of ritual and ceremony. In Protestant churches, the pulpit commands the central position, suggesting that preaching the scriptures is paramount. A Latter-day Saint chapel follows Protestant tradition, with the pulpit in the center and the sacrament table on the side. But this is not to say that teaching is more important than ordinances. In the temple, the altar occupies the focal point, from which teaching emanates. Thus, Latter-day Saint worship balances necessary ordinances with saving knowledge.

Eloquence That Speaks of Holiness

Even with Tyndale’s challenge to some critical doctrines, it is hard to understand the fierce hatred his translation inspired. But in the end, he won, with 90 percent of his New Testament translation finding a permanent home in the King James Bible. A few examples of his inspired rendering of the prophetic voice should be enough to convince even the most ardent skeptic of his calling. The examples below show how strongly Tyndale framed the language of faith and how easily the cadence and common, unadorned speech combine to produce a unique eloquence. If the medium does not match the holiness of the message, the sacred truth is compromised. Beauty of expression helps us live a holier life, instilling faith and courage much like music.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

Fight the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12)

For in him we live, and move, and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

Fear not, little flock. (Luke 12:32; D&C 6:34)

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:34)

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. (Matthew 5:14)

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. . . . Give us this day our daily bread. . . . Lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:9, 11, 13)

How did the cobbler and blacksmith feel as they read these words for the first time in beautiful English prose? The phrases are so common we may not realize the genius behind them, even in the smallest of details. Notice how the smooth flow of words jolts to an end if we drop only one syllable of Tyndale’s rendering: “Knock and it shall be opened to you” rather than “Knock and it shall be opened unto you.” Unto keeps the rhythm harmonious.

The Gift of the Word Atonement

One final contribution of the 1526 edition is worthy of our deepest gratitude: “We also joy in God by the means of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have received this atonement” (Romans 5:11; emphasis added).

This verse is uniquely prized. It is the only place in the New Testament that the word atonement appears, yet it is the most significant word Tyndale provided for our faith. He was the first to use it in describing Christ’s redeeming act. Sir Thomas More, Tyndale’s enemy, used the word in a secular sense in his History of King Richard III in 1513, but atonement as it applied to Jesus made its debut in 1526. Today it is rarely used in any other context than that of the Savior’s redeeming act. Atonement is the single word of Anglo-Saxon origin that describes a theological doctrine;⁵ other doctrinal words come from Latin, Hebrew, or Greek. Atonement holds a prominent place in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, but it is Tyndale’s creation.

The Alternatives

To appreciate what this first edition of the New Testament did for the English language, we need only read translations from the Lollard manuscripts, which predate Tyndale. Lollard scriptures were essentially Latinized English. Tyndale’s translation, by contrast, put the old tongues into living English. The differences are easy to hear.

Compare “Rest thou, eat, drink and make feast” with Tyndale’s “Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” (Luke 12:19). The repeated long “e” sound gives the phrase its distinctive quality. Compare “Not serving with the eye as pleasing to men” with Tyndale’s “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers” (Colossians 3:22).⁶ Tyndale excelled at creating new words by combining two words.

Comparing Tyndale’s work with modern efforts shows similar disparity. The difference is best noted when reading aloud, as illustrated by Matthew 14:28—33, in which Christ saves Peter when he walks on water. The Phillips Modern English version renders the verses as follows:

“‘Lord, if it is really you,’ said Peter, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come on, then,’ replied Jesus. Peter stepped down from the boat and began to walk on the water, making for Jesus. But when he saw the fury of the wind he panicked and began to sink, calling out, ‘Lord save me!’ At once Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying, ‘You little-faith! What made you lose your nerve like that?’ Then, when they were both aboard the boat, the wind dropped. The whole crew came and knelt down before Jesus, crying, ‘You are indeed the Son of God!’”

Now we turn to Tyndale:

“Peter answered and said: If thou be he, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw a mighty wind, he was afraid. And as he began to sink, he cried saying: Master save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said to him: O thou of little faith: wherefore didst thou doubt? And as soon as they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him, saying: Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

Tyndale set a rhythmic standard that King James translators had sense enough to follow. As they produced their Bible, they maintained the musical bar he had raised.

The Genius of Joseph Smith

Masterful examples of the gift of interpretation of tongues make Joseph Smith’s translations remarkable by comparison with Tyndale’s work. A testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price is enhanced by realizing that they contain the same wonderful emphasis, rhythm, proverbial wisdom in strong memorable lines, and simplicity of expression found in Tyndale’s Bible translation. It is as if both men had been apprenticed to the same Master and moved by the same inspiration, which, of course, they had been. We should not be surprised. Joseph was raised in a Biblical rhetorical tradition that put him in tune with the pulse of the King James Bible. Having the gift of translation and an innate ability with language, Joseph drew on his predecessor’s talents as he produced an exceptional style of his own. Those who criticize the literary value of the Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price simply do not know what good writing is!

When Joseph Smith needed the right English expression to give voice to Nephi’s anguished cry, he echoed the words of Paul as rendered by Tyndale: “O wretched man that I am!” (2 Nephi 4:17; Romans 7:24). Though Joseph translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, he no doubt drew upon his knowledge of, and experience with, the Tyndale-inspired Bible as he produced, for example, the Savior’s Sermon on the Mount in Third Nephi. The best translators seek help from every source they can. But Joseph was a master in his own right. Listen to the Tyndale-like power found in 2 Nephi 2:25: “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” Notice the seven syllables before and after the word and. Here are other phrases familiar to every reader of the Book of Mormon:

 •Look to God and live. (Alma 37:47)

 •Come unto Christ. (Omni 1:26)

 •The plain and most precious parts of the gospel.
(1 Nephi 13:32)

 •The most lost of all mankind. (Alma 24:11)

 •Sing the song of redeeming love. (Alma 5:26)

The repetition of sound in these scriptures is exceptional! The following Book of Mormon sentences and phrases are also masterful.

 •O that I were an angel. (Alma 29:1)

 •Feast upon the words of Christ. (2 Nephi 32:3)

 •When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. (Mosiah 2:17)

 •I give unto men weakness that they may be humble. (Ether 12:27)

 •Have ye received his image in your countenances? (Alma 5:14)

 •Behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world.
(3 Nephi 1:13)

 •And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:5)

Here are some examples from the Pearl of Great Price:

 •Worlds without number. (Moses 1:33)

 •This is my work and my glory. (Moses 1:39)

 •The noble and great ones. (Abraham 3:22)

 •I know not, save the Lord commanded me. (Moses 5:6)

All of these breathe with the music of heaven that imprints the truths they teach indelibly upon the heart. It is not only the words that make them so memorable but also the fluid way they glide softly through the mind. Few men have been able to write with the pen of heaven, but Tyndale and Joseph Smith were among them. As a final example, notice how both used various types of repetition (first word, first and last word, back-to-back words) to create memorable scriptural expressions.

Tyndale: “Blessed are the poor in spirit. . . . Blessed are they that mourn. . . . Blessed are the meek. . . . Blessed are the merciful” (Matthew 5:3—7; emphasis added).

Joseph Smith: “I gloryin plainness; I glory in truth; I gloryin my Jesus” (2 Nephi 33:6; emphasis added).

Tyndale: “When I was a child,I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I imagined as a child” (1 Corinthians 13:11; emphasis added).         

Joseph Smith: “We talk of Christ,we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, weprophesy of Christ” (2 Nephi 25:26; emphasis added).

Tyndale: “My God,My God,why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; emphasis added).

Joseph Smith: “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible” (2 Nephi 29:3; emphasis added).

Both also used the device of mixing the senses for a particular effect. Tyndale writes, “Ye have made the savour of us stink in the sight of Pharaoh” (Exodus 5:21; emphasis added). Joseph Smith counters with Alma’s compelling question, “After ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?” (Alma 32:35; emphasis added). Recognizing why certain combinations of words delight and move us produces gratitude for the craftsmanship displayed. It also confirms our faith, particularly in Joseph Smith, for he did not have the decade-plus university training granted Tyndale. He was unlearned yet produced genius equal to the best learning of the age. When we read the Book of Mormon or the Bible, we witness the mark of the same eternal mind operating through the natural genius of two chosen men amplified by a spiritual gift bestowed by the Holy Ghost.

A Quiet Giant

Worms saw the beginning of the German Reformation when a resolute monk braced himself, looked into his own soul, and said, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. . . . Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.”⁷ It was also home to the first stirrings of the English Reformation as an unassuming Oxford scholar of Greek packed neatly printed hand-sized New Testaments in preparation for their bootleg journey into England. The English lion would soon roar at the Italian pope, with a determined Henry VIII seeking an heir and demanding the annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon in favor of the petite Anne Boleyn, but in the hum and hurry of Peter Schoeffer’s print shop a quiet giant rose up, and the world was changed forever.

Notes

^1. Greenslade, Work of William Tindale, 99.

^2. Duffield, Work of William Tyndale, 28; emphasis added.

^3.  Pirated editions produced later by Dutch printers were filled with errors but sold just as readily.

^4. Mozley, William Tyndale, 67; emphasis added.

^5. Webster’s Word Histories,27.

^6. Mozley, William Tyndale, 104—5.

^7. Bainton, A Life of Martin Luther,185.