Records Of The English Bible

Presents the history of the translation of the Bible into English, from the fourteenth century to the twentieth century.

The Bible in the English language is among the great achievements of all time, not only as a masterpiece of inspired writing but as a witness to the place of the Scriptures in the life of the English-speaking peoples, and Bruce's work, recognised for 30 years as the best on its subject, documents its history and shows the impact of some of the translations on the use and development of the English language. Formerly The English Bible, this comprehensive study of the various English translationsof the Bible is again available in paperback. The author traces the story from the earliest partial translations in Saxon times, through Wycliffe, Tyndale and The King James Version, to the publication of such contemporary versions as The New English Bible, The New American Standard Version, The Living Bible, and The Good News Bible. Authoritative and highly readable, this remains one of the standard works on its subject.

Excerpt from Records of the English Bible: The Documents Relating to the Translation and Publication of the Bible in English, 1525-1611 Although the documents here printed are mainly those which I used in writing my Introduction1 they take a considerably wider range. The personal element which the bibliographer was bound to leave very imperfectly indicated here crops up at every turn, and in their own words in prefaces and letters, or in the narratives and comments of contemporaries, we get intimate glimpses into the characters of many of those who played their part in the century which it took to determine the great question as to what Bible the English people should be allowed to read. Another point which the documents emphasize is the political importance attached to that struggle. Just as the documents relating to the quarrel of Tyndale and Joye have little bearing on the main history of the English Bible, and yet are worth all the pages they fill because of their human interest, so the long reports of Hackett to \volsey, or, again, the diplo matic correspondence about the Bible of 1539, which takes us so far away from text and translators, are yet thoroughly relevant as showing the immense importance attached by the statesmen of the day to stopping or forwarding the supply of the Scriptures in English, according as their policy dictated. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book, first published in 2000, explores 500 years of religious and literary ideas contained in the King James Bible.