One of Martin Luther’s greatest achievements was undoubtedly the German Bible, which brought to a nation of many dialects one modern language. Sequestered for his own safety under dire conditions, Luther translated the New Testament in just eleven weeks, followed in later years by his translation of the Old Testament. It was Luther’s desire that his translation reflect a “spoken” language as opposed to a more formal “written” German. He said: “We must ask the mother in the home, the children on

The first edition of Martin Luther’s New Testament in 1522 was a best seller! It had a print run of 3,000 copies—selling out completely within weeks. His translation of the Bible into German wasn’t the first. But it became the translation with the most impact! Luther chose a Saxon dialect understood throughout Germany. And he was the first to consult the original Greek and Hebrew texts when translating the Bible into German. It became the Bible used to teach reading and the German language. Klau