October 6, 1536: The Martyr Who Prayed, “Lord, Open the King of England’s Eyes”
By Naija247news Faith & Society Desk
October 6, 2025
On this day in 1536, William Tyndale, an English scholar, linguist, and reformer, was strangled and burned at the stake in Vilvoorde, near Brussels, for one crime — translating the Holy Scriptures into English for ordinary people to read.
Tyndale’s story stands as one of the most courageous acts of faith in the Reformation era. At a time when the Bible was chained to church pulpits and locked away in Latin — a language few commoners could understand — he dared to believe that every ploughboy in England had the right to read God’s Word in his own tongue.
“If God spare my life,” he once told a priest who challenged him, “I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost.”
For this conviction, Tyndale was branded a heretic, hunted across Europe, betrayed by a friend, and finally executed under the authority of the Holy Roman Empire. As he faced death, with flames and rope around him, he used his final breath to pray:
“Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”
That prayer was answered.
Within four years of his death, King Henry VIII authorized the printing of the Great Bible — the first officially approved English translation, much of it drawn directly from Tyndale’s manuscripts. Later, the King James Version of 1611 would preserve nearly 90% of Tyndale’s original New Testament phrasing, embedding his language into the soul of English Christianity forever.
Tyndale’s sacrifice transformed not just faith, but language, literacy, and personal devotion across centuries. His translation gave ordinary believers access to the living Word of God — a freedom many take for granted today.
His legacy reminds the modern world that the Bible we hold so easily was bought with blood, ink, and fire. It calls believers to return to the discipline he died for — to read it, study it, memorize it, obey it, and cherish it.
“The Reformation was not won by swords,” one historian wrote, “but by words — and those words were first Tyndale’s.”
Today, nearly five centuries later, the echo of his prayer still challenges nations and churches alike: that eyes may be opened, hearts renewed, and truth restored.
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Reporting by Naija247news in Lagos, Nigeria.
