Show
how the Bible has influenced the English language.
“The greatest of all translations is the
English Bible. It is even more than that: It is the greatest English book, the
first of the English classics, the source of the greatest influences upon
English Character and speech………. It is in a singular degree, the voice of a
people.” ---- George Sampson. It is needless to say that the influence of the
Bible on English literature has been immensely great and most valuable. Ever
since the publication of the first translation of the Bible by Wycliffe to the
publication of the Authorized Version in 1611, its influence on English
literature and language has been constant and steady. These productions exerted
great influence in the development of standard prose relinquishing the crude
style of the liturgical treatises. The influence of the Bible was immensely
felt in other branches of literature especially in poetry.
The Authorized Version of
the Bible was published in 1611. It was the work of forty-seven scholars
nominated by James I, over whom Bishop Lancelot Andrews presided. It is very
difficult to distinguish the influence of Authorized Bible from that of the
earlier forms yet it found a righteous conclusion of religions controversies
started in 1523 in England.
Humanism, the product of
the Renaissance and the religions Reformation came into conflict during the mid
16th century England. The greatest advantage of this was that they largely
contributed to the development of English prose. The controversialists wanted
to reach the public and win over their sympathies. For that purpose they had to
write their pamphlets and treatise in simple English so that it could easily be
understood by the common people. That is how the translation of the Bible into
English raised the controversies and how these controversies helped in the
development of English prose. Let us now study the Biblical influence upon the
modern English as it stands now.
Proverbs & phrases: Many proverbs and phrases,
which are in common use in modern English, are the gifts of the Bible.
Quotations from the Bible are given profusely. English language has been
enriched by the Bible so much that a proper assessment is practically
impossible. Some illustrations of Biblical phrases are given below: ‘arose as
one man’, ‘broken reed’, ‘a law unto themselves’, ‘the man of sin’, ‘moth and
rust’, ‘clear as crystal’, ‘the eleventh hour’, ‘city of refuse’, ‘whited
sepulcher’, ‘wash one’s hands off’ and many other familiar scriptural phrases
and allusions. From Tyndale we owe ‘long-suffering’, ‘peacemaker’,
‘stumbling block’, ‘the fatted calf’, ‘filthy lucre’, ‘mercy seat’, ‘day
spring’ and ‘scapegoat’. From Coverdale we have ‘tender mercy’, ‘loving-kindness’,
‘valley of the shadow of death’, ‘avenges of blood’ etc. Many such Biblical
phrases and idioms are current in modern English without even knowing its
source.
