The Manchester City defender said his place in the Three Lions squad would be divisive in light of damaging revelations about John Terry’s affair with his former girlfriend.
The scandal cost Terry the England captaincy, and although the coach Fabio Capello had suggested both players remained in his plans he will now not be given the chance to see if they could train and play in the same team.
"It has always been an honour to play for England. However, after careful thought I believe my position in the squad is now untenable and potentially divisive,” he said.
"Sadly therefore, I feel for the sake of the team and in order to avoid what will be inevitable distractions, I have decided not to put myself forward for selection. I wish the team all the very best in South Africa."
Bridge has earned 36 caps for England and could come up against Terry on Sunday when Chelsea travel north to the City of Manchester Stadium for a Premier League game.
Bridge has long been understudy to first-choice left-back Ashley Cole, but Cole has a broken ankle and is considered a doubt for the World Cup finals.
It raises the prospect of Everton’s Leighton Baines or Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock travelling to South Africa as first-choice in the position.
Right now they have eight minutes of international experience between them, with Warnock coming off the bench for Bridge in the 84th minute of the friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in May 2008.
England open their World Cup campaign against the United States in Rustenburg on June 12, they name their squad for a friendly against Egypt at Wembley on Friday.
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