Found in Translation

Giving Power to the People
A similar commitment to providing accessibility to common believers drove
the prisoner Martin Luther to take up the translation of the New Testament.
Shivering in the limited winter hours of daylight filtering into his stone cell in
the bailiff’s lodge at Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany, Luther picked up
his quill and began to translate. The result: 138,020 words in ten weeks—in the
year 1521. Assuming a five-day workweek, he translated 2,760 words per day,
which is similar to, if not slightly higher than, the standard daily output of the
modern translator (around 2,500 words per day). Even a present-day translator
with the conveniences of modern technology would find it challenging to
translate such a large amount of completely new text so quickly. But Luther
was not just any translator.
Before his translation, the Bible was read only by the richest and most

---

educated members of society. Sure, Bibles were available across Germany, but
most of them could be read in Latin only. German translations existed but were
not widely accessible to the masses. It was in the church’s financial and
political interests to keep the majority of the people ignorant about the Bible,
making them believe, for example, that if they wanted forgiveness for their
sins, all they had to do was pay for it.
When Luther ’s translation was disseminated, something remarkable
happened. The common people no longer had to rely on priests and monks to
read the book on which their faith was based. Even those who were considered
lowly members of society—the likes of shoemakers and (gasp!) women—
could suddenly understand the Bible for themselves. At a time when books
were scarce and access to education was limited, literate people memorized
and recited passages to others, so that those who couldn’t read also benefited
from the information. The number of people reading (and hearing) the New
Testament in German swiftly grew.
Within a few months of Luther ’s translation being printed, folks from all
walks of life began to discuss the Bible with priests, monks, and even highly
educated masters of theology. Laypeople began to contradict and even argue
with members of the clergy. Women were suddenly found holding intellectual
arguments with men. The church’s ability to hide behind Latin was gone.
Luther ’s translation gave information to the masses, a powerful weapon that,
combined with other factors, triggered a societal transformation.