With the aid of the printing press, and with Tyndale's work as a foundation, other English translations quickly followed.
A. Miles Coverdale Bible (1535-36). While Tyndale was in prison awaiting judgment and death, the Miles Coverdale Bible was circulated in England without official hindrance. The King of England's attitude was changing towards English translations. Coverdale was neither a Greek nor Hebrew scholar, but he was a very capable editor who gathered the very best materials available at the time. His Old Testament work was based on the Zurich Bible, Luther's German translation, the Latin Vulgate, and Tyndale's work on the Pentateuch. His New Testament translation was founded upon Tyndale's version and Luther's German translation. This was the first complete printed Bible in the English language, and it was immensely popular. Isn't it ironic, that less than a year after Tyndale's martyrdom, the entire Bible was distributed, in the English language, without royal opposition?
B. John Rogers--Matthews Bible (1537). John Rogers, a graduate of Oxford in 1525, was a friend of both Tyndale and Coverdale. In fact, Tyndale turned over his unpublished translation of Joshua to II Chronicles. to Rogers, who then revised and completed the work. His version, published under the pseudonym Thomas Matthew, was granted permission by the King to be bought and read in England. Henry VIII, who apparently made no effort to save Tyndale's life, had now granted royal authorization to two Bibles,Coverdale's and Roger's, in the English language.
C. The Great Bible (1539). This was really a revision of Matthew's Bible and the Tyndle New Testament. It was completed under the direction of Oliver Cromwell. The name "Great Bible" came from its size: When opened it measured 18" by 14". When the Great Bible was placed in the churches throughout England, the preachers began to complain that the people were not listening to them. At the services the people would crowd around the Bible, read and discuss it, while the preacher was trying to deliver his sermon!
D. The Geneva Bible (1560). When Mary Tudor came to the throne of England in 1553, England again fell into the hands and power of Roman Catholicism. John Rogers and hundreds of others were burned at the stake. Because of this persecution, many Bible scholars fled to Geneva, which was friendly to their cause. The Geneva Bible was a very successful revision of the the Great Bible printed to the size of a hand Bible today. Its compactness and superior translation made it the most popular Bible among English-speaking Protestants for many years. It is often called the breeches Bible because of its wording in Gen. 3:7:" Adam and Eve "sewed figge tree leeves together, and made themselves breeches."
E. The Bishop's Bible (1568). The popularity of the Geneva Bible did not please high church officials. So they authorized this new revision of the Great Bible to compete with it. The Bishop's Bible was not widely accepted.
F. The Douay Version (1609-10). This Catholic Bible is a translated from the Latin.