Interactive Linguistic Exhibit
Verse Through Time
Witness how biblical phrasing transformed across 1,600 years of textual transmission—from Jerome's Latin Vulgate and Wycliffe's Middle English to William Tyndale, the 1611 King James, and modern translations.
John 1:1: The Eternal Word
Trace the majestic opening of John’s Gospel from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate through Wycliffe, Tyndale, Geneva, KJV, and modern translations.
405 AD
Latin Vulgate
VUL
"In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum."
Jerome translated the Greek Logos into Latin Verbum.
1382 AD
Wycliffe Bible
WYC
"In the bigynnyng was the word, and the word was at God, and God was the word."
Translated directly from Jerome's Latin.
1526 AD
Tyndale New Testament
English Bedrock (Greek Source)TYN
"In the beginnynge was the worde, and the worde was with God: and the worde was God."
First English translation directly from the Greek. Established the phrasing used by almost every subsequent English translation.
1560 AD
Geneva Bible
GEN
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and that Word was God."
1611 AD
King James Version
Authorized Jacobean StandardKJV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Adopted Tyndale's 1526 wording verbatim.
1901 AD
American Standard Version
ASV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
1978 AD
New International Version
NIV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
2001 AD
English Standard Version
ESV
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."