The Coverdale Bible was a result of the work of Miles Coverdale, who took the work of Tyndale and completed what Tyndale was unable to finish before his martyrdom at the hands of the Catholic authorities. Tyndale translated all of the New Testament from the orignal language (Greek) and much of the Old Testament (Genesis through 2 Chronicles and the book of Jonah) from the Hebrew. Coverdale translated the remaining Old Testament from The Latin and Dutch translations and published the first printed complete English Bible.
Miles Coverdale was a Catholic priest that got into trouble with the Catholic church because he read and believed “too much” of what the Word of God had to say!
If the truth be known, had the Catholic church been free to have her way, no man would ever lay eyes on the Scriptures in his mother tongue! 2 Timothy 2:9 ”…but the word of God is not bound.”
The Scripture had a profound impact on Miles Coverdale!
Some areas of Coverdale’s beliefs that were transformed by the the Scriptures brought him into ill-favor with the Catholic authorities:
The Coverdale Bible
What a treasure for the English peoples of the world!
The BLOT on the record of Miles Coverdale. Coverdale was a “Reformer” in that he sought like many to reform the corrupt Catholic church rather than separating from it as the Word of God would command. As a result of his continued attchment he also continued with some of the false philosophies that included the validity of a state church. This caused a serious flaw in his thinking and let to a fatal blot on his record! It is important to note, before the Reformation and durig the Reformation, there were faithful Bible-believers already presecuted by the Catholic church and later, unfortunately by the Reformers as well. Many of these were Baptist people!
The Biblical Interpretation of Miles Coverdale and expressed in the Coverdale Bible:
Coverdale’s reliance on the Holy Spirit rathar than “the holy See”
Let the Scriptures speak rather than the ecclessiastic ”scholarly and spirtual” authorities!
It takes a warped view of self (think too highly) as well as a warped viw of Scripture (think too lowly) to believe that one has a handle on God’s Word. Woe unto me when I get to the point that God cannet correct me with His Word!
Where the literal sense makes common sense, seek no other sense!
Coverdale’s Explanation of the view of the Apocrypha and the Cannon of the Scripture:
The fourth Bible to be examined is the Matthew’s Bible. The article is to be found HERE.
