More On the William Tyndale Translation of II Thessalonians 2: 3-8
Here is William Tyndale's 1534 translation of II Thessalonians 2: 3-8:
"Let no man deceive you by any means, for the Lord comes not, unless there come
a departing first, and that sinful man be revealed,
the son of perdition which is an
adversary, and is exalted above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped: so that
he shall sit as God in the temple of God, and show
himself as God. Remember ye
not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these
things?
And now you know what withholds, that he might be revealed at his time.
For the mystery of that iniquity
does he already work, which only locks until it be
taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the appearance of
his coming..."
Here is the King James Version for II Thessalonians 2: 3-8:
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, unless there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told
you these things?
And now you know what withholds, that he might be revealed
in his time. For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets
will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy
with the brightness of his coming..."
II Thessalonians 2: 7 is translated differently in the King James Version than in Tyndale's 1534 New Testament. Tyndale says "For the mystery of that iniquity
does he already work, which only locks until it be
taken out of the way."
But the King James says "For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets
will let, until he be taken out of the way."
Tyndale translates μονον ο κατεχων αρτι εως εκ μεσου γενηται as "which only locks until it be
taken out of the way."
The King James says "only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way." This is where the idea of the restrainer comes from. But in Tyndale's translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 there is no restrainer. The takeover of the temple of God, which is the believer (I Corinthians 3: 16-16, I Corinthians 6: 16), is locked in place until that takeover is removed.
"Letteth" is from The Greek kateko, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Number 2722, "to hold down, withhold..." Letteth can mean to restrain. But Tyndale translates it as "locks," meaning to lock in place that takeover of the temple of God in the believer by the sinful man.
In his writings Tyndale explains that the anti-Christ is not a single individual but is a present danger to Christians, since it is not something that is always in the future. The dispensationalist one man anti-Christ is to come in the future.
Lets see what the Geneva Bible says for II Thessalonians 2: 7, "For the mysterie of iniquitie doeth already worke: onely he which nowe withholdeth, shall let till he be taken out of the way."
The Geneva Bible translation group changed Tyndale's translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 and the King James Committee followed the Geneva Bible.
See: http://genevabible.com/history.php
"The Geneva translators produced a revised New Testament in English in 1557 that was essentially a revision of Tyndale's revised and corrected 1534 edition. Much of the work was done by William Whittingham, the brother-in-law of John Calvin. The Geneva New Testament was barely off the press when work began on a revision of the entire Bible, a process that took more than two years. The new translation was checked with Theodore Beza's earlier work and the Greek text."
Theodore Beza published his own Greek and Latin versions of the New Testament.
S. L. Greenslade The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day 1975 p.62 “Calvin's successor at Geneva, Théodore de Bèze (Beza), was the editor of the next important edition of the Greek New Testament, which appeared in 1565 (his own Latin version had been printed in 1557).
Here is Theodore Beza's Latin version (1557) of II Thessalonians 2: 7: Jam enim peragitur mysterium
impietatis hu^us ; tantum qui nunc
obstat, obstabit usquedum e medio
sublatus fuerit.
7 Now we have the mystery
impiety hu ^ us; only now
an obstacle, an obstacle until the middle
The Calvinist Theodore Beza's 1557 translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 differs radically from the 1534 translation of Tyndale. Remember that it was also Beza who changed Tyndale's consistent translation of ekklesia as congregation to church.
In the King James for II Thessalonians 2: 7 the man of sin, who many in the churches say is the one man anti-Christ, is being held back by something or someone restraining or holding him back at present, until the restrainer is taken out of the way in the future. The dispensationalist view that the anti-Christ as a one man figure is to appear in the future - probably during the tribulation - when the anti-Christ sits in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem - is easier to arrive at from the King James Version than from the Tyndale translation.. In the King James the man of sin is being held back now but he will be released to appear later. And the restrainer is said to be the Church or the Holy Spirit.
But William Tyndale taught that the man of sin is at work now and will be locked in place until he or it will be taken away.
Tyndale saw that the Jews missed the Messiah when he came, and they are still looking for him to come later. In like manner, Christians fail to correctly identify the man of sin of II Thessalonians 2 because they are looking for him to come later, and "he" is not one man as is taught by the huge number of false prophets (Matthew 24: 11, II Peter 2: 1-3).
John Wycliffe in his 1382 English translation of the Latin ecclesia used chirche. For example, Wycliffe says for Acts 6: 1, "But Saul was consentynge to his deth. And greet persecucioun was maad that dai in the chirche, that was in Jerusalem."
William Tyndale did not follow Wycliffe in using chirche, which would have been conistent with the Catholic meaning of Church, but instead used congregation for ekklesia consistently except for two verses in Acts where he used churche to mean a pagan place of worship. For example, Tyndale's translation for Acts 8: 1 says "Saul had pleasure in his deeth. And at yt tyme there was a great persecucion agaynst the congregacion which was at Ierusalem."
Theodore Beza in 1556 returned to the use of church to translate ekklesia - and the Geneva Bible followed him, using church instead of congregation.
Did the same thing happen with the translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7? Did Tyndale break with the Roman Catholic translation of II Thessalonians and then Theodore Beza, the Calvinist, returned II Thessalonians 2: 7 to the older Catholic version?
Jerome's Latgin Vulgate for II Thessalonians 2: 7 says nam mysterium iam operatur iniquitatis tantum ut qui tenet nunc donec de medio fiat
See the Douay-Rheims for an English translation of the Latin: "For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way. "
But Tyndale does not follow the Catholic version of II Thessalonians 2: 7 and instead writes, "For the mystery of that iniquity does he already work, which only locks until it be taken out of the way."
Here is Theodore Beza's Latin version (1557) of II Thessalonians 2: 7:
"Jam enim peragitur mysterium
impietatis hu^us ; tantum qui nunc
obstat, obstabit usquedum e medio
sublatus fuerit."
7 Now we have the mystery
impiety hu ^ us; only now
an obstacle, an obstacle until the middle
The Calvinist Theodore Beza's 1557 translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 differs from the 1534 translation of Tyndale, and returns to the meaning of the Catholic Vulgate version.
John Wycliff New Testament for II Thessalonians 2: 3-7;
http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/impo...cliffe/2th.txt
"No man disseyue you in ony manere. For but dissencioun come first, and the man of synne be schewid, the sonne of perdicioun,
4 that is aduersarie, and is enhaunsid ouer `al thing that is seid God, or that is worschipid, so that he sitte in the temple of God, and schewe hym silf as if he were God.
5 Whether ye holden not, that yit whanne Y was at you, Y seide these thingis to you?
6 And now what withholdith, ye witen, that he be schewid in his tyme.
7 For the priuete of wickidnesse worchith now; oneli that he that holdith now, holde, til he be do awe."
I have not been able to find out what the word priuete means in verse 7. I am not sure that Wycliffe is following Jerome's version of II Thessalonians 2: 7.
But it looks like the Catholic version of II Thessalonians 2: 7 makes it easier to arrive at the dispensationalist teaching that the man of sin, as literally one individual, is held back by a restrainer, the Church or the Holy Spirit, until the time of the tribulation, when the dispensationalist scenario will begin and the one man anti-Christ sits in a literal rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.
Here is William Tyndale's 1534 translation of II Thessalonians 2: 3-8:
"Let no man deceive you by any means, for the Lord comes not, unless there come
a departing first, and that sinful man be revealed,
the son of perdition which is an
adversary, and is exalted above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped: so that
he shall sit as God in the temple of God, and show
himself as God. Remember ye
not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these
things?
And now you know what withholds, that he might be revealed at his time.
For the mystery of that iniquity
does he already work, which only locks until it be
taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the appearance of
his coming..."
Here is the King James Version for II Thessalonians 2: 3-8:
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day
shall not come, unless there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;
so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing
himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told
you these things?
And now you know what withholds, that he might be revealed
in his time. For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets
will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy
with the brightness of his coming..."
II Thessalonians 2: 7 is translated differently in the King James Version than in Tyndale's 1534 New Testament. Tyndale says "For the mystery of that iniquity
does he already work, which only locks until it be
taken out of the way."
But the King James says "For the mystery of iniquity does already work: only he who now lets
will let, until he be taken out of the way."
Tyndale translates μονον ο κατεχων αρτι εως εκ μεσου γενηται as "which only locks until it be
taken out of the way."
The King James says "only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way." This is where the idea of the restrainer comes from. But in Tyndale's translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 there is no restrainer. The takeover of the temple of God, which is the believer (I Corinthians 3: 16-16, I Corinthians 6: 16), is locked in place until that takeover is removed.
"Letteth" is from The Greek kateko, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Number 2722, "to hold down, withhold..." Letteth can mean to restrain. But Tyndale translates it as "locks," meaning to lock in place that takeover of the temple of God in the believer by the sinful man.
In his writings Tyndale explains that the anti-Christ is not a single individual but is a present danger to Christians, since it is not something that is always in the future. The dispensationalist one man anti-Christ is to come in the future.
Lets see what the Geneva Bible says for II Thessalonians 2: 7, "For the mysterie of iniquitie doeth already worke: onely he which nowe withholdeth, shall let till he be taken out of the way."
The Geneva Bible translation group changed Tyndale's translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 and the King James Committee followed the Geneva Bible.
See: http://genevabible.com/history.php
"The Geneva translators produced a revised New Testament in English in 1557 that was essentially a revision of Tyndale's revised and corrected 1534 edition. Much of the work was done by William Whittingham, the brother-in-law of John Calvin. The Geneva New Testament was barely off the press when work began on a revision of the entire Bible, a process that took more than two years. The new translation was checked with Theodore Beza's earlier work and the Greek text."
Theodore Beza published his own Greek and Latin versions of the New Testament.
S. L. Greenslade The Cambridge History of the Bible, Volume 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day 1975 p.62 “Calvin's successor at Geneva, Théodore de Bèze (Beza), was the editor of the next important edition of the Greek New Testament, which appeared in 1565 (his own Latin version had been printed in 1557).
Here is Theodore Beza's Latin version (1557) of II Thessalonians 2: 7: Jam enim peragitur mysterium
impietatis hu^us ; tantum qui nunc
obstat, obstabit usquedum e medio
sublatus fuerit.
7 Now we have the mystery
impiety hu ^ us; only now
an obstacle, an obstacle until the middle
The Calvinist Theodore Beza's 1557 translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 differs radically from the 1534 translation of Tyndale. Remember that it was also Beza who changed Tyndale's consistent translation of ekklesia as congregation to church.
In the King James for II Thessalonians 2: 7 the man of sin, who many in the churches say is the one man anti-Christ, is being held back by something or someone restraining or holding him back at present, until the restrainer is taken out of the way in the future. The dispensationalist view that the anti-Christ as a one man figure is to appear in the future - probably during the tribulation - when the anti-Christ sits in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem - is easier to arrive at from the King James Version than from the Tyndale translation.. In the King James the man of sin is being held back now but he will be released to appear later. And the restrainer is said to be the Church or the Holy Spirit.
But William Tyndale taught that the man of sin is at work now and will be locked in place until he or it will be taken away.
Tyndale saw that the Jews missed the Messiah when he came, and they are still looking for him to come later. In like manner, Christians fail to correctly identify the man of sin of II Thessalonians 2 because they are looking for him to come later, and "he" is not one man as is taught by the huge number of false prophets (Matthew 24: 11, II Peter 2: 1-3).
John Wycliffe in his 1382 English translation of the Latin ecclesia used chirche. For example, Wycliffe says for Acts 6: 1, "But Saul was consentynge to his deth. And greet persecucioun was maad that dai in the chirche, that was in Jerusalem."
William Tyndale did not follow Wycliffe in using chirche, which would have been conistent with the Catholic meaning of Church, but instead used congregation for ekklesia consistently except for two verses in Acts where he used churche to mean a pagan place of worship. For example, Tyndale's translation for Acts 8: 1 says "Saul had pleasure in his deeth. And at yt tyme there was a great persecucion agaynst the congregacion which was at Ierusalem."
Theodore Beza in 1556 returned to the use of church to translate ekklesia - and the Geneva Bible followed him, using church instead of congregation.
Did the same thing happen with the translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7? Did Tyndale break with the Roman Catholic translation of II Thessalonians and then Theodore Beza, the Calvinist, returned II Thessalonians 2: 7 to the older Catholic version?
Jerome's Latgin Vulgate for II Thessalonians 2: 7 says nam mysterium iam operatur iniquitatis tantum ut qui tenet nunc donec de medio fiat
See the Douay-Rheims for an English translation of the Latin: "For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way. "
But Tyndale does not follow the Catholic version of II Thessalonians 2: 7 and instead writes, "For the mystery of that iniquity does he already work, which only locks until it be taken out of the way."
Here is Theodore Beza's Latin version (1557) of II Thessalonians 2: 7:
"Jam enim peragitur mysterium
impietatis hu^us ; tantum qui nunc
obstat, obstabit usquedum e medio
sublatus fuerit."
7 Now we have the mystery
impiety hu ^ us; only now
an obstacle, an obstacle until the middle
The Calvinist Theodore Beza's 1557 translation of II Thessalonians 2: 7 differs from the 1534 translation of Tyndale, and returns to the meaning of the Catholic Vulgate version.
John Wycliff New Testament for II Thessalonians 2: 3-7;
http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/impo...cliffe/2th.txt
"No man disseyue you in ony manere. For but dissencioun come first, and the man of synne be schewid, the sonne of perdicioun,
4 that is aduersarie, and is enhaunsid ouer `al thing that is seid God, or that is worschipid, so that he sitte in the temple of God, and schewe hym silf as if he were God.
5 Whether ye holden not, that yit whanne Y was at you, Y seide these thingis to you?
6 And now what withholdith, ye witen, that he be schewid in his tyme.
7 For the priuete of wickidnesse worchith now; oneli that he that holdith now, holde, til he be do awe."
I have not been able to find out what the word priuete means in verse 7. I am not sure that Wycliffe is following Jerome's version of II Thessalonians 2: 7.
But it looks like the Catholic version of II Thessalonians 2: 7 makes it easier to arrive at the dispensationalist teaching that the man of sin, as literally one individual, is held back by a restrainer, the Church or the Holy Spirit, until the time of the tribulation, when the dispensationalist scenario will begin and the one man anti-Christ sits in a literal rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.