The First Bible Translations into German Based on Erasmus’s New Testament: Johannes Lang’s and Martin Luther’s Versions of the Gospel of Matthew

Abstract

With his Greek New Testament and accompanying Latin translation (1516, revised 1519), humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam created new opportunities for Western Bible translators. The first known translations into the vernacular based on this work are the versions of Matthew by Johannes Lang (June 1521) and of the whole New Testament by Martin Luther (September 1522). Luther’s Septembertestament is well known and plays a part in myths of Luther, Protestantism, and Bible translation. Johannes Lang, Luther’s friend, colleague, and co-worker in reforming the church, is much less known, and his translation seldom considered. This analysis of both translations pays special attention to their respective paratextual materials. Although based on the same source texts, these two translations from the early 1520s perform very different politics of translation and exhibit different attitudes to influence their readers.