Transforming Moments for September 28 2006

For many, the greatest English language version of the Bible ever translated is the King James Version of 1611. The beauty of its wording, even to today’s unschooled ears, is unsurpassed. “Ask, and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find…ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free…Lo, I stand at the door and knock.” All these are timelessly eloquent. But did you know that none of these phrases originated with the King James Version? They actually were translated three hundred years before, in the first English language version of the Bible ever translated. The man responsible was John Wycliffe, and he translated that Bible under fear for his life from an angry Catholic church. Finished in 1380, many of his phrases were so beautiful and accurate to the Greek that they were simply adopted, unchanged, into the King James translation in 1611. John Wycliffe was pursued until his death because of his brave translation that put the Bible into the hands of the common man for the first time in a thousand years. Next time you open your Bible, think of him, and give thanks.