This theolgian was the first to translate the Bible into his native English?

Answer 1

This is a difficult thing to answer. The original manuscripts that became The Bible were written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

Prior to the 4th century, the scrolls were already translated into Latin. Then Jerome compiled what became the standard for centuries - the "Latin Vulgate"

Compilation of individual books into Old English happened sporatically.

In the 1300's, John Wycliffe (who was fluent in Latin), assembled a team to translate the Bible into English and this took about 20 years. Around 1382, the first English version of the Bible was released by this group. Ten years later, one released a revised version, easier to read. These copies were made by hand.

By the 1500's, that Old English was obsolete. William Tyndale began translating another version from the Latin Vulgate. His work was completed by Miles Coverdale.

I believe you could conclude that John Wycliffe was the first to translate the Bible into his native tongue, English.

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