Luther Bible
From Textus Receptus
The Luther Bible is a German Bible translation by Martin Luther, first printed with both testaments in 1534. This translation is considered to be largely responsible for the evolution of the modern German language.
The task of translating the Bible absorbed him until the end of his life. While he was sequestered in the Wartburg Castle (1521–1522) Luther began to translate the New Testament into German in order to make it more accessible to all the people of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German nation." He used Erasmus's second edition (1519) of the Greek New Testament—Erasmus's Greek text would come to be known as the Textus Receptus. To help him in translating Luther would make forays into the nearby towns and markets to listen to people speak. He wanted to ensure their comprehension by a translation closest to their contemporary language usage. It was published in September 1522, six months after he had returned to Wittenberg.
