500 years after Tyndale, Bible translators are still dying for the Word

“Nothing is more tragic and disastrous for any man or tribe on earth than not to have the Bible,” said Rev. Vumthang Sitlhou.

They were words he lived by. 

Just a few months ago, armed men ambushed Rev. Sitlhou’s vehicle after a church gathering in northern India, killing him and two fellow pastors in a deliberate and evil attack. 

Rev Sitlhou had spent years revising the Bible in Thadou, a language spoken by just 350,000 people. Before his death, he and his translation team completed the New Testament and much of the Old Testament. His son has now undertaken to complete the work his father began.

At Trinitarian Bible Society, the murder of one of our own translators reminded us that 500 years after William Tyndale translated the Bible into English — a mission that eventually cost him his life — the ultimate price is still being paid by those with a similar calling today.

At first glance, there seems little to connect a Bible translator executed in 16th-century Europe with a pastor killed in modern-day India. Yet the two are linked by a single conviction: ordinary people should be able to read God's Word in their own language.

William Tyndale's English New Testament first emerged from a printing press in Europe before being secretly smuggled into England in 1526. To mark the anniversary, we have delved into Tyndale’s life more than ever in recent months, producing a free documentary to tell his story. 

As we reflected on Tyndale’s amazing life when making the film, we found ourselves asking a question that goes far deeper than historical facts. 

What if Tyndale's story isn't really about the past? What if it’s actually about the Church’s mission today?

Too often, we remember Tyndale simply as a martyr. We picture the flames at Vilvoorde, recall his famous last words, “Lord, open the King of England's eyes,” and celebrate the extraordinary courage of a man who changed history.

All of that is true … but it’s not the whole story.

Tyndale did not give his life merely so the world could have an English Bible. He believed something much greater — that everyone should have access to God's Word through a faithful translation drawn directly from the original Scriptures. Tyndale refused to settle for second-hand work because he believed every word had been inspired by God and deserved the utmost care. 

That conviction transformed the English-speaking world and our lives and speech forever. His words still echo through our churches, our worship and even everyday English. Most people have no idea how often they quote William Tyndale. It’s estimated that more than 80% of the King James Version derives from his translation. 

Yet Tyndale’s greatest legacy is not found in the past, but wherever faithful Bible translation continues today.

Many Christians assume the work is largely complete. The reality is very different. 

Around the world, millions still lack access to a faithful translation of God's Word in the language they know best. Across Africa, Asia and Latin America, translators continue to devote years — even decades — to carefully rendering the Scriptures so that people can read, hear and understand the Bible for themselves.

Today, at Trinitarian Bible Society, we are privileged to continue that work. We are currently involved in more than 100 translation and revision projects, with many more languages under research and development. Last year, more than 4.5 million copies of Scripture and Bible resources were distributed through our ministry in 56 languages across 112 countries. 

Behind every one of those translations are years of prayer, scholarship and painstaking work. Every sentence is examined. Every phrase is tested. Every theological term is weighed with great care. Translation is never simply about communicating a general idea but about faithfully conveying what God has actually said.

That’s why 500 years after Tyndale, every word still matters.

Rev. Sitlhou's death reminds us that in many parts of the world, those involved in Bible translation are carrying out a mission in difficult and sometimes dangerous circumstances.

The names and places have changed since Tyndale's day, but the calling has not. Freedom to read God's Word in our own language was won at great cost and for millions of people around the world, the work is still not complete.

The greatest tribute we can pay William Tyndale is not simply to remember how he died, but to continue the work for which he lived.

Because 500 years later, every word still matters.