Home of the New Matthew Bible Project

We remember that which we first received,
and strengthen the things that are ready to die
(Rev 3:2,3)

Our goals:

  • To increase awareness of the Matthew Bible, first published in 1537.
  • To publish the New Matthew Bible (“NMB”), a gentle update of the full work.
  • To publish other forgotten and worthy writings from the early English Reformation.

Our websites:

We have three websites for you to browse:

  1. This one, our ‘hub’ website, with information about our publications and links to the other websites.
  2. www.newmatthewbible.org (linked above too). This is our Project website, with information about the Matthew Bible and our work to update it, interesting articles, sample scriptures, and more.
  3. www.TrueToHisWays.com. Our first website, created in 2006 for our first book, True to His Ways, answering questions about charismatic Christianity. There are sample chapters and related articles.

About the Matthew Bible:

The Matthew Bible was the work of three men, the “Matthew men,” who gave us the word of God in our own language when it was against the law to do so.

William Tyndale was one of the translators. He gave us the New Testament and the first half of the Old. However, he was captured, imprisoned, and executed in 1536 before he could finish his work. Myles Coverdale, less known but equally competent, gave us the rest of the Old Testament and the Apocryphal books.

Their friend John Rogers collated their translations, added commentaries and study aids, and in 1537 published under the pseudonym ‘Thomas Matthew.’ The false name was necessary to conceal William Tyndale’s involvement, because Tyndale’s works were banned in England. Rogers was burned at the stake by Queen Mary in 1555.

The martyrdom of both Tyndale and Rogers makes the Matthew Bible the only English Bible bought with blood. It is also the unacknowledged base of the King James Version. Computer studies have shown that 83% of the KJV New Testament is from the Matthew Bible. However, readers will find in the Matthew Bible a return to greater clarity (even though it dates from the prior century), a satisfying fullness of truth, and a sweet gentleness.

The New Matthew Bible Project:

The New Matthew Bible (“NMB”) is the gentlest possible update of the Matthew Bible. The goal is to keep all the doctrine, dignity, and beauty of the original, with the historic language that has informed the best books and hymns over the centuries. That is one reason why we call it the only ‘modern’ Bible which is not. But it is also important to recover the meaning of the original translation, which has in places been significantly obscured by changes in English language and grammar. When it comes to God’s word, by which only we find life unto eternal salvation, love calls for clarity and for all fullness of truth. As Tyndale said in his 1534 New Testament, “Words that are not understood, profit not.”

 

Our story:

Ruth Magnusson Davis is a retired lawyer and student of early modern English and the Reformation. As a teenager, she worked in France as an au pair girl, where she learned that she loved languages and grammar. She went on to obtain an undergraduate degree in French and German. Law school followed, and a successful professional career, before she retired from law to dedicate herself to the New Matthew Bible Project. She lives on the west coast of Canada.

Ruth founded Baruch House Publishing in 2005 to publish her first book, True to His Ways (information is here and also at our separate website, linked above). Baruch was the prophet Jeremiah’s scribe and secretary, and it is symbolic for Ruth, who feels like something of a scribe to the Matthew men. ‘Baruch’ also means ‘blessed’ in the Hebrew tongue.

In 2016 we published our first New Testament edition of the New Matthew Bible, called the October Testament. The reference to October recalls Martin Luther’s September Testament and reminds us that these present days in the year of the Lord are drawing to a close.

To purchase the October Testament in Ruth’s favourite format, the “full size” (8×10) edition hardcover, click here

To purchase the regular-sized (original edition), click here.

In 2018 we published the world’s first history of the Matthew Bible, The Story of the Matthew Bible. Information and links to purchase are here:

Work on Part 2 of The Story and on the Old Testament of the New Matthew Bible is underway.