This is the tumultuous tale of how the Bible was transformed from medieval manuscripts read only by clergy to a bestseller widely available in contemporary languages.

In this glossy-page book, author Donald L. Brake of Multnomah Bible College and Seminary chronicles the history of the English Bible from medieval manuscripts to contemporary translations.

Brake opens his book with a brief history from the earliest manuscripts that were written in the original languages to the documents copied during the Middle Ages. Most of the book, however, covers the conflict between monarchs and the Roman Catholic Church authorities and those brave reformers who desired to make the Bible accessible to the masses.

Ever since Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in AD 380, the Roman Catholic Church had clung to the Vulgate as the sacred edition of the Bible. This decision trapped God’s word in a language incomprehensible to most Europeans. The Roman Catholic Church forbade anyone from translating the Bible into a vernacular language. They feared that the common people would

John Wycliffe, in his passion for providing the Scriptures in the language of the “people of the plow,” defied church leaders and translated the Bible into English. He wrote his 1384 translation using Middle English, the language of Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of The Canterbury Tales.

In reaction, the Roman Catholic Church issued the Constitutions in 1408. This made translating, owning, or even reading an English Bible heretical acts.

Next, the author explains how the Gutenberg Bible, Martin Luther, and the Reformation increased the desire for Bibles in vernacular languages. At the same time, various rulers and church leaders fought against this trend.

Finally, the Authorized King James Bible of 1611 brought the struggle between the English authorities and the common man to an end. The English people, at last, could have God’s word in their own language without fear of government or church punishment.

As Brake describes the various translations and printings of the English Bible, he gives detailed examples of translation problems that the scholars ran into. He also told stories of the numerous typographical errors that escaped the printers’ notice.

Most importantly, the author demonstrates how God kept his message from being distorted despite some errors. Our modern translations do express the message of the oldest Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

The last part of the book describes modern English translations and their source manuscripts.

Throughout this book, Brake inserts sidebars containing anecdotes of his insatiable hobby of antique Bible collecting. Living up to its title, the book offers numerous beautiful photos of various antique Bibles, some of which belong to the author.

For reference, the book has a table of contents for illustrations, an illustrated timeline, maps of England and Germany, a glossary, chapter notes, a selected biography, a scripture index, and a general index. These sections will aid students, authors, or pastors in finding facts quickly.

Each chapter takes a different path, and occasionally the author repeats himself when his train of thought crosses with facts from another section. Overall, readers who love history or have a specific interest in how we gained our English translation of the Bible will find this book an enjoyable read.

This was a fascinating book. Brake has taken his gentle obsession and come to be an expert in this field. Although I have done some study in the past on certain aspects of the inspiration and transmission and interpretation of the Bible, I came away with numerous new insights into this absorbing topic. For those who believe that "the only Bible is the King James Version", but still have an open mind (which is an all too rare combination in my experience) this book will open your eyes. In fact, my impression after reading this book, is that there seem to have been fewer errors when the Bible was being copied manually than when put in typeface! However, that being said, there is still no concern for the accuracy of the Bibles or for the faithfulness to the originals of the versions that we read today. Brake appears to have a great respect for the KJV but recognizes that we need modern translations because the English language is changing. For the modern person to understand most fully what the original languages meant, it is necessary to stay on top of what was written then so that we can faithfully transmit those thoughts to people living now. And, since language will continue to morph in ways yet unknown, scholars will need to continually keep that in mind as they do their work.
The intrigues and even the persecutions that arose because of the early attempts to put the Bible into the language of the common man has resulted in a very dramatic history with several ironic twists and turns. I believe that this story deserves a wide audience and hope that many will ponder over the truths contained in this book so central to Western Civilization. ( )

The topic of Bible manuscripts fascinates me, so I was really excited when our library purchased this book. I enjoyed the book so much, I've added it to my Amazon wish list ( )