The Decision to Translate the Entire Bible Into English

By the early 1380s, Wycliffe’s theological convictions had sharpened into a single, unshakeable conclusion: the Bible must be placed in the hands of the English people. His earlier works had established that Scripture alone carries divine authority, that every believer stands accountable before God for obedience to His Word, and that clergy must not withhold Scripture from the laity. Yet as long as the Bible remained confined to Latin, these principles remained theoretical for most of England.

The decision to translate the entire Bible into English did not arise from a moment of sudden inspiration. It was the culmination of years of pastoral observation, academic dispute, and ecclesiastical conflict. Wycliffe had seen the ignorance that dominated parish life. He had watched clergy rely on tradition rather than Scripture. He had witnessed the corruption among monastic orders, the sale of indulgences, the spread of superstition, and the distortion of the Gospel.

All these problems pointed to the same underlying cause: the people did not know the Scriptures, because the Scriptures were inaccessible to them.

Wycliffe believed this problem could no longer be justified. God had given His Word to all people, not just scholars, bishops, or doctors of theology. If the common plowman was expected to obey Christ, then the plowman must be able to hear Christ’s words. Wycliffe famously wished that every parish church in the land would have not only a Bible but “good expositions” so that priests could teach accurately and the people could learn faithfully.

The only way to make such a vision possible was to give England a Bible in its own tongue. And so, in the final years of his life, Wycliffe undertook one of the greatest literary and spiritual labors in the history of the English-speaking world: the first complete translation of the Bible into English.

Teamwork: Nicholas of Hereford, John Purvey, and Others

Although Wycliffe stands as the central figure in the movement, the translation itself was a collaborative effort. His vision shaped the project, but the sheer volume of work required a dedicated team of scholars—men who shared his convictions and possessed the linguistic skill to carry out the task.

Nicholas of Hereford, a learned academic associated with Oxford, took primary responsibility for translating a significant portion of the Old Testament. His renderings reflected the same intense literalism that characterized the entire project, often following the Latin structure with meticulous fidelity. Nicholas was not merely a scribe; he was a scholar capable of rigorous attention to detail. His work set the tone for the earliest stage of the translation and demonstrated the seriousness of Wycliffe’s circle.

John Purvey, Wycliffe’s associate and secretary for many years, assisted in organizing manuscripts, preparing portions of the text, and supporting Wycliffe’s wider theological work. Though Purvey would later assume a far greater role in the revision of the translation (addressed in your next chapter), even at this early stage he contributed intellectual labor and pastoral insight that helped shape the movement.

Other unnamed helpers played important roles as well. Some copied manuscripts. Others compared Latin texts. Still others prepared sermons and notes that circulated alongside the developing translation. The “Poor Priests” who preached throughout England became conduits for spreading early drafts of biblical books, sharing them with village communities eager to hear God’s Word in their own tongue.

The teamwork behind the First Wycliffe Bible reflected a truth central to Wycliffe’s theology: the Bible belongs to the whole Church, not to a secluded elite. The translation itself became a living demonstration of that belief.

Working From the Latin Vulgate, Not the Original Languages

One of the most defining features of the First Wycliffe Bible is that it was translated directly from the Latin Vulgate, not from the Hebrew or Greek originals.

In Wycliffe’s England, the practical reasons were clear. Knowledge of Greek was exceedingly rare, and Hebrew was virtually unknown among English scholars. The Vulgate was the authoritative biblical text of Western Christendom and had been used for centuries in liturgy, doctrine, and scholarship. Its dominance meant that any English Bible produced for the people would inevitably rely on the Vulgate rather than inaccessible manuscripts in languages scarcely studied in England.

Wycliffe was fully aware that translating from a translation introduced limitations. Yet he believed the Latin Vulgate still preserved God’s Word faithfully. His aim was not to reconstruct the pristine linguistic texture of the original texts but to make the Bible intelligible to those who had never encountered Scripture except through liturgical recitations.

The team approached the Vulgate with reverence and precision. Their method was simple:
Translate each Latin word into English with the greatest fidelity possible.
Preserve the order, structure, and phrasing of the Latin text wherever possible.
Add explanatory words only when the English sentence could not stand without them.

This method had strengths and weaknesses. It preserved the meaning of the Latin text with rigorous care. It reflected the translators’ commitment to honesty, literalness, and fidelity. But it also produced a style of English that was at times awkward, stiff, or foreign to English idiom. The translators valued accuracy above elegance.

Their goal was not beauty—it was fidelity.

Literalness Above Elegance: Early Middle English Style

The First Wycliffe Bible is remembered today for its striking literalness. Its translators adhered so closely to the Latin text that their English sometimes feels like a word-for-word mirror, replicating the grammar, syntax, and idiomatic structure of Latin even when such patterns were unnatural in English.

This extreme literalism produced an English style that was at times wooden, but never careless. For example:
Latin participles often appeared unchanged, producing long strings of clauses unfamiliar to English ears.
Latin word order, especially the placement of verbs at the end of sentences, shaped the rhythm of many verses.
Latin vocabulary influenced English phrasing, resulting in a noticeable Latinate tone.

Yet this literalness had a purpose. Wycliffe believed the translator must not intrude between God’s Word and the reader with paraphrase or embellishment. If the text was difficult, the reader must wrestle with it. If the phrasing was unfamiliar, it must be understood that the unfamiliarity lay in the sacred text itself, not in a translator’s attempt to simplify.

Thus the First Wycliffe Bible became a monument to fidelity—a translation that cared more about preserving meaning than achieving literary polish. Though later generations would refine and improve English biblical style, the first translation into English stands as an act of reverent, painstaking devotion.

Completing the New Testament and Progress on the Old

By approximately 1382, the translation of the New Testament was completed. This milestone represented a transformative moment in English religious history: for the first time, ordinary believers possessed the entire record of Christ’s life and teachings in their own language.

The New Testament’s completion likely occurred under Wycliffe’s direct supervision. Though he may not have personally translated every verse, his fingerprints are unmistakable across the work. The strong literalism, the reverent tone, and the unmistakable commitment to placing Scripture above ecclesiastical authority reflect Wycliffe’s theological heart.

Work on the Old Testament continued simultaneously. Nicholas of Hereford was responsible for a large portion, completing his sections with the same literalistic rigor as the New Testament. His translation includes distinctive marks of his academic method, such as highly precise renderings of legal passages and prophetic texts.

Not all the Old Testament was finished during Wycliffe’s lifetime, but significant portions circulated while he was still alive, carried by itinerant preachers and eagerly copied by scribes. Even incomplete, these manuscripts gave English readers access to Scripture at a level unimaginable only a generation earlier.

In both testaments, the translators saw themselves not as authors but as servants of the text. Their task was to open the Bible, not interpret it; to reveal its words, not reshape them. Their work provided the foundation for all future English translations.

Manuscripts, Hand-Copying, and the Birth of an English Bible

Because printing had not yet reached England, every copy of the First Wycliffe Bible was reproduced by hand. This laborious process required skilled scribes, enormous patience, and costly materials. A complete Bible might take months to copy and could cost more than a laborer’s annual wages.

Yet despite the cost, hundreds of manuscripts were produced. Their survival today—often elaborately decorated with illuminations, colored initials, and marginal notes—testifies to the devotion of those who believed the English Bible was worth every sacrifice.

Many copies were large folio volumes for noble households, scholars, or wealthy patrons sympathetic to Wycliffe’s cause. Others were smaller, more portable manuscripts—intended for the preachers who carried God’s Word into villages, or for common believers who risked punishment to read Scripture in their own language.

The creation of these manuscripts marked the birth of a movement. The English Bible was no longer an idea; it was a physical reality. Its pages circulated across the country, sowing seeds of reform in every direction.

Those who copied these manuscripts did so at personal risk. Ecclesiastical authorities increasingly condemned vernacular Scripture, fearing its potential to challenge Church doctrines and weaken clerical control. Yet the work continued, often secretly, always passionately.

Thus, through its translators, scribes, and readers, the First Wycliffe Bible became more than a translation. It became a testimony—a declaration that God’s Word belongs to all His people.

It was the beginning of a transformation that no decree could reverse and no persecution could extinguish.

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