Luther Bible

A landmark vernacular Bible, the Luther Bible presents a complete Protestant Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek, drawing on the Hebrew Old Testament and the Erasmus/Greek New Testament as its base texts. Produced in the early decades of the Reformation, it is classified as a fresh translation rather than a revision of earlier work, and its translation philosophy favours idiomatic vernacular rendering with careful literary shaping, aiming to place scripture in the everyday language of German readers. Among its distinctive features are its strong literary influence on standard German and the fact that it was revised repeatedly during Luther's lifetime, as its maker continued to refine wording and phrasing. Its style and translation choices also influenced early English reformers, who looked to it as a model in their own vernacular efforts, and it remains a foundational text in the Lutheran tradition and in the wider history of Bible translation.