ABOUT five hundred and fifty years ago, in the little village of Lutterworth, sat an old man. His name was John Wycliffe. Years before, he had started on the huge task of translating the Bible—that is, to write it in a language which people in England could understand. At last he had finished it, and there, for the first time, lay a complete English Bible. It is true that other people before this had done parts of it, but it was left to Wycliffe to produce the first complete Bible.
But how different it was from the Bibles of to-day. There were no printing machines then, and these Bibles had to be written out word for word, by hand. Not only did this take a very long time to do, but the Bible, when finished, was so expensive that only rich people could afford to buy a copy. They cost about £40. How very different it is now! We can buy a complete Bible for a few pence, and any of the gospels for a halfpenny. So anxious were many people in Wycliffe's day to read this wonderful book, that if they could not afford to buy a whole copy they would give a load of hay in exchange for a few chapters!
Exactly one hundred years after Wycliffe had died, William Tyndale was born. He realized, as Wycliffe had done, that the Bible was none less than the Word of God, and he set out to improve upon Wycliffe's work by translating the Bible from the very language in which it was first written. But many people were very angry with Tyndale for attempting to do this and he had to flee for his life to another country. He continued his work away from his home, and after very much difficulty, he succeeded in getting the New Testament finished and printed. The next difficulty was how to get these copies into England. It was no use bringing them openly, as any other books might be brought, but Tyndale managed to hide quite a large number of Testaments in sacks of flour, and thus he got them in secretly. These were quickly sold for £2 each, but before long these first printed Bibles were discovered and many of them were taken and publicly burned.
Tyndale did not live to complete the Old Testament, but a friend of his, by name Myles Coverdale, finished the parts which he had left, and in 1535—over four hundred years ago—the entire Scriptures were printed in English. This Bible of Coverdale's was probably printed in Germany and then brought to England to be made up into books, but three years later printing machines actually in England were busy printing the Wonderful Book.
During the years which followed this, several other slightly different copies of the Bible were produced and printed. King James I saw this fact, and he realized what an advantage it would be to have one version of the Holy Scriptures which everybody could read and accept. Thus it was at his special command that fifty-four of the most learned men of the country were entrusted with the task of producing this.
So we have traced over the story of how the Bible came to England. No other book has ever had such an adventure. People have hated it, they have even burned it, but still it lives; and it is now thought that over twenty-five million copies of the Bible, printed in more than seven hundred languages, are published every year! How truly is it still called "The world's best seller"!
The Bible, however, is no ordinary book, for God Himself put the actual thoughts and words into the minds of those who wrote it, as it says, "holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost," 2 Peter 1:21. This is exactly what is meant when you hear people say that the Bible is "inspired." It is God's Book telling of His thoughts of love and blessing for His creatures.
Oh! how great is God's love that He should have had all this written down for us to read, and it comes within our reach for a few pence. How do we value it? May we all be like the boy Timothy of old, of whom it was said, "that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus," 2 Tim. 3:15.
G. H. S. P.