John Worsley (scholar) facts for kids

John Worsley (born March 30, 1696, died December 16, 1767) was an English schoolmaster and a smart person who studied ancient Greek. He is best known for translating the New Testament part of the Bible into English that people spoke in his time. This translation was published a few years after he passed away.

A Teacher and Translator

John Worsley was a very successful schoolmaster for 50 years in Hertford, England. He ran his school inside Hertford Castle, which must have been a cool place to learn!

He spent a lot of time working on a new translation of the New Testament. His goal was to make it easier for people to understand by using everyday English. Before his translation, the most common English Bible was the King James Bible. Worsley's version was special because it didn't divide the text into small verses like other Bibles.

After he died, his translation was published in 1770. It was called The New Testament or New Covenant. His son, Samuel Worsley, helped get it published. People liked that he changed old words, like "mote," into words people understood, like "chaff" or "splinter." This made the text much clearer.

Besides his Bible translation, John Worsley also wrote other books. He created books about grammar, like "grammatical tables" in 1736 and Exemplaria Latino-Anglica in 1745. Another book, A Short, Plain and Comprehensive Grammar for the Latin Tongue, came out in 1771. These books helped people learn Latin.

His Family

Around 1727, John Worsley married Grace Hughes. She was the great-granddaughter of a clergyman named George Hughes (clergyman).

John and Grace had a son, also named John Worsley. This son followed in his father's footsteps and became a schoolmaster too. He took over the school after his father. This younger John Worsley was also the father of Israel Worsley, who became a well-known writer.