燃燒生命為聖經 一 William Tyndale 丁道爾威廉 (1494 － 1536)

威廉自幼受到良好教育，在牛津大學取得碩士，並熟悉八種語言，成為歐洲一名極傑出的學者。本來他可以優越過一生，但為了翻譯原文聖經而變為被當時教廷追捕的逃亡者。最後在羅馬審判受審，他原有機會不被處死只要他放棄翻譯聖經。但他拒絕妥協，教會將他判以異端之名，囚禁十七個月，直到被判，被火燒死之前，威廉仍為英國禱告，威廉的死看起來是個挫敗，但他朋友接續他未完的舊翻譯，2年後，英王終於同意每間教會均可有一本英文聖經供人自由閱讀。

丁道爾是第一個把原文本聖經譯為現代英語的聖經翻譯家。後來著名的欽定版聖經有百分之九十採用了他的譯本。2002年，丁道爾被英國廣播公司選為最偉大的100名英國人。

在丁道爾的時代，羅馬天主教教廷只允許唯一的拉丁文聖經譯本，不容許私自翻譯，並且只有神職人員可以擁有和詮釋聖經。丁道爾就是在這背景出現，他留下来的遺產，永遠改變英語世界的人所閱讀的聖經。丁道爾主張應該讓普通老百姓都可透過讀聖經來認識神，決心把聖經譯成英文，於是被誣陷為異端，後來在比利時被殺害。

约翰·弗里思是丁道爾的工作伙伴，他後来在倫敦也被燒死。丁道爾在給弗里思的信中曾説：「我從沒有違背良心，竄改上帝話語的一個音節。今日即使有人把世上一切享樂、尊榮和財富給我，我也決不會這樣行。」

Rekindle Life for the Bible一William Tyndale was born in 1494 － 1536

William Tyndale received a good education in his upbringing and obtained a Master degree at Oxford University. He was fluent in eight different languages and had become one of the most distinguished scholars in Europe. He could have enjoyed a superior life, but he became a fugitive pursued by then Curia for the sake of translating the original texts of the Bible. At last, he was put on trial in Rome. He was given an opportunity not to be put to death provided he gave up the translation of the Bible. He refused to compromise and hence was imprisoned of 17 months for heresy followed by the verdict of death sentence. Even prior to his burning to death, William was still praying for Britain. His death might have appeared as a defeat, but his friend succeeded his translation work. Two years later, the King of England finally agreed to place one English bible in every church for free reading by people.

Tyndale was the first person to have translated from the original Bible language into modern English Bible. Subsequently, ninety percent of his translation was applied to the famous King James Version Bible. In 2002, Tyndale was elected as one of the 100 Greatest Britons by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

In the times of Tyndale, the Roman Catholic Church only allowed one Latin Bible translation. Private translation was prohibited, and only the clergy could possess and interpret the Bible. Tyndale came to scene during this background, he left behind a legacy which changed the bible reading of all the English-speaking world forever. Tyndale was an advocate of ordinary people knowing God through reading the Bible. He was determined to translate the Bible into English, but was then falsely accused of heresy and later put to death in Belgium.

John Frith was Tyndale's working partner, he was also subsequently burned to death in London. In Tyndale’s letter to Frith said: "I never go against my conscience, tampering any syllables of God's Word. Even if the world gave me all the pleasure, honour and wealth, I would never change anything. "

澳門耶路撒冷之城

Website： coj-macau.com　　　E-Mail：coj@macau.ctm.net

Tel：853-28529277 　　 　　　Add：澳門文第士街39號A地下

愛．是永不止息！   愛．能征服一切！
LOVE never fails！ LOVE can overcome all！