The history of the English Bible cannot be adequately told in the short space allocated for my reflections. What follows is a very cursory look at the timeline of English translations. If you would like to know more I encourage you to read Wide As the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired by Benson Bobrick. He tells the story much better than I ever could.
While most commentators give John Wycliffe (1320-1384) credit for the first English translation there were others (Bede, Aldhelm, Elfric and those who created the Lindidfarne Gospels) who had preceded him in translating significant portions of the scriptures into English. While many of these early translations were basically extended commentaries more than accurate translations they paved the way for Wycliffe and those who followed. Wycliffe actually offered two different translations. The first attempted to follow the Latin text in word for word order, thus making it difficult to read. The second translation attempted to use more common English grammar. One last note about Wycliffe; many scholars now believe that Wycliffe did only a small portion of the actual translation of the scriptures that bear his name. Most of the day to day work was done by his associates.
The next great leap forward in translations of the English Bible came with the production of the Tyndale Bible (early 1500s). Tyndale's translation was different because he used the original Greek and Hebrew scriptures as the basis for his work in addition to the Jerome's Latin translation. Tyndale was also the first to use the printing press to manufacture multiple copies of his work. This translation was followed by the Great Bible translated by Coverdale (1539) and authorized by Henry VII; the Geneva Bible (1560) which was used by most English Protestants and was the first to be divided into verses; and the Bishop's Bible (1568) which was authorized by Elizabeth I. The most lasting of all the translations of this period was the King James Version (1611). James I of England wanted a translation that would reflect the episcopal nature of the church and its practice of having ordained clergy. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, it was to be translated in a manner that would allow it to be easily read and understood. The King James Version was adopted by an Act of Parliament and slowly replaced all older versions.
The first major move to update the King James Version came in 1881-1894 with the publication of the Revised Version. This version was the work of English and American scholars who were attempting to "adapt King James' version to the present state of the English language without changing the idiom or vocabulary" as well as "to adapt it to the present standard of Biblical scholarship." This version gained rapid acceptance though it never really challenged the KJV. The next major change came with the American Standard Version (1901). The great leap forward in updating the language of scripture to more modern was the Revised Standard Version (1952, 1971). The RSV was intended to be a readable and literally accurate version of the scriptures. As such it began to supplant the KJV in many protestant denominations. At the same time, especially in the Psalms, it maintained the poetic language of the KJV.
The Revised Standard Version opened the door for all of the translations which would follow. These included committee translations such as The New English Bible (1970), The Living Bible (1971), The New International Version (1978, 1984, 2011), The Good News Bible (1976, 1972), The New Revised Standard Version (1989), English Standard Version (2001, 2007, 2011). There have also been versions created by individuals such as those of J.B. Phillips (1972) and the Message (2002) by Robert Alter. Finally there are other newer translations in the works.
As you can see the speed at which new translation are being made continues to accelerate. I would argue that this shows the power of the scriptures and the deep desire of persons to know and apply them to their lives.
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