500th Anniversary of Martin Luther's German New Testament

Trinitarian Bible Society

It would be remiss of us not to recognise the anniversary of Martin Luther's New Testament translation. First published in 1522 it was the vanguard for Reformation translations that would shape the church and Christianity today. Luther completed this translation over a number of months while in Wartburg Castle. He was the subject of a staged kidnapping by Fredrick II while returning to Wittenberg from Worms, and remained in Wartburg Castle from May 1521 to March 1522. Concealed under the name of 'Knight George' he translated the New Testament into German, working from the Greek rather than the Latin as most previous translators into German had done. Luther used the skills of colleagues at Wittenberg to ensure linguistic accuracy- Philip Melanchthon is believed to have supplied feedback on this edition of the New Testament and then a larger team for the whole Bible. The New Testament was published in 1522, six months after he left Wartburg.