This article is part of theHistory of the English Bible series. |
Old English Bible translations |
John Wyclif |
William Tyndale |
Great Bible |
Bishops' Bible |
Geneva Bible |
Douai Bible |
King James Version of the Bible |
Revised Standard Version |
New American Standard Version |
New English Bible |
New International Version |
New Revised Standard Version |
The Great Bible was the first authorised edition of the Holy Bible in English, authorised by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England.
The Great Bible was published by Myles Coverdale in 1537. It contains a very slight revision of the New Testament and Old Testament passages that had been translated by William Tyndale, with the remaining books of the Old Testament translated by Coverdale, who used mostly the Latin Vulgate and Martin Luther's German translation as sources rather than working from the original Greek and Hebrew texts.
The psalms in the Book of Common Prayer are taken from the Great Bible rather than the King James Bible.
The Great Bible was superseded as the authorised version of the Anglican Church in 1568 by the Bishops' Bible.