Peter Williams

Peter Williams was a Welsh Methodist preacher, biblical commentator, author, and translator born in Carmarthenshire in 1723. Educated at Carmarthen Grammar School, he experienced evangelical conversion after hearing George Whitefield preach in 1743. He was ordained deacon in the Church of England in 1745, but conflicts surrounding his Methodism prevented advancement to the priesthood. He joined the Methodist movement in 1747 and became an itinerant preacher and influential religious writer.

His most consequential publishing achievement was the annotated Welsh Bible issued at Carmarthen in 1770. Known for generations as “Beibl Peter Williams,” it became enormously important in Welsh homes, combining Scripture with chapter-by-chapter commentary and encouraging widespread Bible reading. He also produced a Welsh biblical concordance in 1773.

In 1771 Peter Williams published “Hymns on Various Subjects,” which contained the first securely identified English translation of portions of William Williams Pantycelyn’s pilgrimage hymn. His version supplied the opening stanza that became standard in English hymnody, while his other translated stanzas did not enter common use. Later in life he became embroiled in doctrinal controversy and was expelled from the Calvinistic Methodist Association in 1791 over accusations connected with Sabellianism.