Sef Ples for Printim Bible

FROM MAN WEA RAET FOR WEKAP! LONG BELGIUM

Klosap 500 year bifor, olketa printim samfala long olketa firstfala full Bible long Antwerp, Belgium. Why nao olketa man wea printim Bible laekem datfala taon? Waswe, olketa stap long danger from olketa printim Bible? For faendaot, iumi mas luk go bak long samting wea happen long first part bilong mek-16 century.

ANTWERP hem stap long mouth bilong Scheldt River, 89 kilometer from North Sea. Long mek-16 century, long taem wea olketa kolem golden age, Antwerp hem muv ahed gud saed long selen winim enitaem bifor. Datfala taon hem grow kwiktaem and hem garem bigfala harbor wea winim eni narawan long Europe. Antwerp and tu-thri nara taon nomoa long Western Europe garem winim 100,000 pipol.

From Antwerp hem grow gud tumas, olketa bisnisman from evriwea long Europe kam long there. From diswan and wei wea living hem go ahed gud, olketa bigman bilong datfala taon letem Antwerp kamap ples wea acceptim and encouragem olketa niu idea. Diswan mekem olketa man for print feel olsem hem sef ples for printim and spreadim olketa niu idea hia. Kwiktaem nomoa, insaed long mek-16-century Antwerp garem 271 man for print and for pablisim and sellim olketa buk. Olketa magistrate long datfala taem tok praod and sei taon bilong olketa hem “wanfala sef ples wea isi for olketa samting olsem art, science, olketa nation and gudfala fasin for grow.”

Bonem Olketa Buk and Olketa Monk

Midolwan olketa nara niu idea wea olketa printim and spreadim hem olketa idea bilong Martin Luther (1483-1546). Hem nao leader bilong datfala Reformation, wanfala muvment bilong religion wea lead go long start bilong olketa Protestant religion. Sixfala month nomoa bihaen start bilong datfala Reformation, olketa buk stoa long Antwerp start for sellim olketa buk bilong Luther. Iumi no sapraes hao Catholic Church no hapi long diswan. Long Antwerp long July 1521, church bihaenem wei for bonem long pablik 400 long olketa buk wea olketa sei hem againstim church. Tufala year bihaen, olketa bonem long post tufala Augustinian monk from Antwerp wea agree witim olketa idea bilong Luther.

Olketa attak hia no stopem wanfala grup bilong olketa man for print long Antwerp. Wei wea olketa hia no fraet hem duim bigfala samting for mekem evri man fit for kasem Bible. Hu nao samfala man for print hia?

Man for Print Gogo Dae for Biliv Bilong Hem

Adriaen van Berghen hem man for printim and sellim olketa buk. For panisim hem from hem sellim olketa Lutheran buk, long 1522 olketa lokim hand and leg bilong hem and no longtaem bihaen putim hem long prison. Bihaen olketa letem hem go free, hem stretawe duim moa sem waka. Hem start for print moa—distaem wanfala transleison long Dutch languis bilong samfala part bilong “Niu Testament” bilong Luther. Olketa pablisim diswan long 1523, wan year nomoa bihaen olketa first pablisim “Niu Testament” bilong Luther long German languis.

Bat, long 1542, taem olketa faendem staka buk wea olketa tambuim long haos bilong hem long Delft, long Netherlands, olketa arrestim Van Berghen moa. Firstaem, judge givim hem smolfala panis nomoa—hem mas standap for tufala hour long stage wea olketa killim dae olketa criminal witim “samfala tambu buk raonem nek bilong hem.” Bat bihaen, olketa judgem Van Berghen for dae and olketa iusim sword for aotem hed bilong disfala man for print wea no fraet.

Hem Dae From Wanfala Marginal Note wea Hem Raetem

Long datfala taem, man wea printim staka Bible long Dutch languis hem Jacob van Liesvelt. Hem pablisim 18-fala difren Bible version long datfala languis. Long 1526 hem printim wanfala full Bible long Dutch languis. Datfala Bible hem kamap fofala year bifor first full Bible long French languis and naenfala year bifor first full Bible long English! Faondeson bilong Bible bilong Van Liesvelt hem German languis Bible bilong Luther wea no finis yet long datfala taem.

Lastfala Dutch languis version bilong Van Liesvelt long 1542 hem garem samfala piksa and samfala niu marginal note. Olsem example, saed long Matthew 4:3, wanfala piksa stap wea showim Devil olsem wanfala monk wea garem beard wea holem rosary and garem leg olsem goat. Bat, olketa marginal note nao mekem Catholic Church kros fogud. Olketa iusim wanfala note—wea hem sei “Salvation hem kam thru long Jesus Christ nomoa”—olsem reason for judgem Van Liesvelt for dae. Nomata Van Liesvelt talem hao hem kasem license for duim disfala printing waka, olketa aotem hed bilong hem long Antwerp long 1545.

Firstaem Appruvim, Then Tambuim

Long semtaem, long France, Catholic man Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples wea staka savve long hem, hem busy for transleitim Bible from Latin go long French languis, and hem lukluk tu long Bible wea olketa raetem long Greek languis. D’Étaples laek mekem hem isi for evri man kasem Bible. Hem raet olsem: “Long future pipol bae preach abaotem Christ long stretfala wei and no mixim witim olketa kastom bilong man, olsem distaem.” Long 1523 hem pablisim wanfala French languis transleison bilong “Niu Testament” long Paris. Olketa savveman bilong religion long Sorbonne University no appruvim transleison bilong hem bikos hem long French languis. Taem olketa againstim hem olsem, D’Étaples hem ranawe from Paris go long Strasbourg long northeast France.

From wei hia for againstim olketa, olketa man for print long France fraet tumas for printim eni moa Bible long French languis. So, wea nao D’Étaples savve printim Bible bilong hem? Luk olsem Antwerp nao best ples. Firstfala French Bible transleison long wanfala volume hem version bilong D’Étaples wea Merten de Keyser printim long Antwerp long 1530. Hem interesting for savve hao Catholic University of Louvain, barava old university bilong Belgium, and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V seleva letem De Keyser printim disfala transleison! Nomata olsem, long 1546, church listim transleison bilong D’Étaples witim olketa nara buk wea tambu for olketa Catholic readim.

“Bishop Kasem Olketa Buk . . . Tyndale Kasem Selen”

Long semtaem long England wanfala priest, William Tyndale, hem want for transleitim Bible long English. Bat, bishop bilong London, Cuthbert Tunstall, rejectim hem. Taem Tyndale luksavve hem no savve transleitim Bible long England, hem go long Germany. Gogo, long February 1526, olketa printim firstfala full English transleison bilong “Niu Testament” bilong hem. Insaed firstfala month, samfala copy bilong disfala transleison kasem England.

Bat, Bishop Tunstall disaed strong for stopem olketa man nating for readim Bible. So, hem bonem evri copy bilong version bilong Tyndale wea hem faendem. Nomata olsem, pipol still kasem olketa Bible hia. So datfala bishop mekem arrangement thru long wanfala bisnisman wea nem bilong hem Packington, for baem evri Bible bilong Tyndale bifor olketa buk hia kasem England. Tyndale acceptim datfala offer and iusim selen from diswan for mekem transleison bilong hem moabeta and for printim wanfala revised version. Wanfala man for raet long datfala taem hem sei: “And so gud samting kamaot from datfala agreement. Bishop kasem olketa buk, Packington kasem praise, and Tyndale kasem selen.” Long wei olsem, nomata hem no min for duim, bishop bilong London saportim waka bilong Tyndale saed long selen for transleitim Bible!

Saport for Tyndale Long Antwerp

Bat nomata datfala bishop peim and bonem evri copy hia, staka “Niu Testament” bilong Tyndale go ahed for kasem England. Hao nao olsem? Tufala man for print long Antwerp wea no fraet, Hans and Christopher van Ruremond, printim haed samfala copy bilong “Niu Testament” bilong Tyndale. Nomata samfala printing mistek stap insaed olketa Bible hia, pipol long England barava willing for baem olketa.

Bat, long 1528, from Hans printim 1,500 copy bilong “Niu Testament” bilong Tyndale and hem tekem kam 500 copy long England, olketa putim hem long prison long London. Luk olsem hem dae long prison long England. Long 1531, brata bilong Hans, Christopher, hem tu go long prison long England from hem sellim “Niu Testament.” Luk olsem Christopher tu dae olsem wanfala prisoner.

“Best Waka Bilong Tyndale”—Olketa Printim Long Antwerp

From 1529 go kasem 1535, Tyndale stap long Antwerp, wea hem moa isi for duim waka bilong hem. Long there, long 1530, Merten de Keyser printim transleison bilong Pentateuch bilong Tyndale, wea hem firstaem for datfala nem Jehovah hem kamap long English.

Long May 1535, olketa arrestim Tyndale long Antwerp. Taem Tyndale hem safa insaed prison, wanfala student bilong hem, Miles Coverdale, finisim Hebrew Scripture transleison bilong hem. Long October 6, 1536, long Vilvoorde, Belgium, olketa taemap Tyndale long wanfala post, skwisim nek bilong hem and bonem hem. Lastfala toktok bilong hem, hem olsem: “Lord, openem eye bilong King bilong England!”

Samting Iumi Kasem From Waka Bilong Tyndale

No longtaem bihaen olketa killim dae Tyndale, King Henry VIII bilong England givim freedom for olketa readim wanfala Bible transleison long olketa church service. Narafala man for print from Antwerp, Matthias Crom, printim diswan. Disfala Bible, wea pipol kolem Bible bilong Matthew (wea nem followim Thomas Matthew), hem followim transleison bilong Tyndale.a Hem hard for minim hao distaem olketa bishop iusim transleison wea tu-thri year bifor olketa bonem—sem transleison wea muvim olketa for killim dae Tyndale!

Big haf bilong transleison bilong Tyndale hem stap kam kasem distaem insaed King James Version. So, planti toktok from King James Version wea barava affectim English languis kam from Tyndale and olketa printim firstaem long Antwerp. Olketa wea transleitim King James Version tekem stret from Tyndale olketa toktok wea pipol barava savve olsem, “the signs of the times” and “the powers that be” and tu “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9; Matthew 16:3; Romans 13:1) Professor Latré talem hao Tyndale affectim English languis long wei wea moa big winim Shakespeare!

Long last part bilong mek-16 century, Antwerp finis for olsem ples wea acceptim olketa difren religion and olsem wanfala sef ples for printim Bible. Main samting wea kosim disfala change hem Counter Reformation bilong Catholic Church. Nomata olsem, wei wea olketa man for print bifor long Antwerp no fraet and willing for safa hem duim big samting for mekem Word bilong God stap for olketa wea laek readim raonem full world distaem.

[Footnotes]

[Piksa long page 15]

Antap: Redyim olketa leta for printim; Martin Luther transleitim Bible; map bilong taon bilong Antwerp bifor

[Piksa long page 16]

Buk stoa bilong Jacob van Liesvelt

[Piksa long page 17]

Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples and title page bilong Bible version bilong hem long 1530, wea olketa printim long Antwerp

[Piksa long page 17]

Bonem olketa English Bible long pablik long London

[Piksa long page 18]

William Tyndale, wanfala page from Bible bilong hem, and Miles Coverdale

[Credit Line long page 16]

Page 15: Typesetter: Printer’s Ornaments/by Carol Belanger Grafton/Dover Publications, Inc.; Luther: From the book Bildersaal deutscher Geschichte; map: By courtesy of Museum Plantin-Moretus/Stedelijk Prentenkabinet Antwerpen; page 17: Portrait: From the book Histoire de la Bible en France; Bible page: © Cliché Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris; burning Bibles: From the book The Parallel Bible, The Holy Bible, 1885; page 18: Tyndale: From the book The Evolution of the English Bible; Coverdale: From the book Our English Bible: Its Translations and Translators