[healty-back]

Did you know?

• King James the I of England, who was also King James VI of Scotland, actually did not write a single word in this Bible. He financed it.
• The king the Bible is named after, was a bisexual. It was said in London at the time, "In Elizabeth [Elizabeth I, James' predecessor], we had a King, but in James, England has a queen!"
• The King James Bible preceeds the formal Oxford Dictionary. At the time, this book containing thousands of English words codified the English language to print and became an education tool that would later give rise to what is now known as the Oxford English Dictionary. The KJV helped spread the English language around the globe. This fact was not lost on Richard Trench, the principal person behind the first English dictionary. If the KJV acted as the common textbook for the English language, then a dictionary of the entire language would codify "good English" in perpetuity.
• The KJV is considered a Shakespearean-era masterpiece as it changed the English language forever. After publication, the rate of change in the English language dramatically slowed down, codified grammar was introduced to the language, and English changed to a more static language that acquires new words. This single book is why English in the Elizabethan era is easily understandable where generations prior are difficult to understand to modern speakers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/op...ml?ref=opinion


Sometime in 1611, a new English Bible was published. It was the work of an almost impossibly learned team of men laboring since 1604 under royal mandate. Their purpose, they wrote, was not to make a new translation of the Bible but “to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one.” What was published, 400 years ago, was indeed one principal good one: the King James Version of the Bible.

It’s barely possible to overstate the significance of this Bible. Hundreds of millions have been sold. In 1611, it found a critical balance in a world of theological conflict, and it has been beloved since of Protestant churches and congregations of every stripe. By the end of the 17th century it was, simply, the Bible. It has been superseded by translations in more modern English, translations based on sources the King James translators couldn’t have known. But to Christians all around the world, it is still the ancestral language of faith.

To modern readers, the English of the King James Version sounds archaic, much as Shakespeare does. But there would have been an archaism for readers even in 1611 because the King James Bible draws heavily from a version of William Tyndale’s New Testament published in 1534 and from translations by Miles Coverdale also published in the 1530s.

Tyndale’s aspiration was to make his New Testament accessible to “the boy that driveth the plough.” Though readers often talk about the majesty of the King James Bible, what has made it live is in fact the simplicity of its language.

Scholars have often debated just how much the King James Bible has influenced the English language. They count the number of idioms — “the powers that be,” for instance — that entered the language from the Bible. They look at how often it’s cited in the Oxford English Dictionary.

T. S. Eliot and C. S. Lewis deplored the idea of considering the secular literary or linguistic influence of the King James Bible. Eliot said it had such a profound effect because it was “the Word of God.” Lewis went further. He argued that the King James Bible had little influence on the rhythms of English and that many of the Bible’s characteristic rhythms were simply “unavoidable in the English language.”

But Lewis missed the point. The King James Bible has had an enormous impact on English for the very reason that it captures and preserves — and communicates down through the centuries — the unavoidable rhythms of good English. Its words are almost never Latinate, and its rhythms are never hampered by the literalism that afflicts other translations.

It would have been so easy to get that wrong, to let scholarship overwhelm common sense, to let theology engulf plainness. We owe an enormous debt to William Tyndale’s imaginary plowboy. All who speak this wonderful language still speak in the shadow of the King James Bible.

[tiereenny]

What's curious about the King James Bible is that, despite its beauty and profound effect on English, it is also based on what is regarded by many Bible scholars as the least reliable complete version of the Greek Bible, making it somewhat shaky theologically.

[LongaDonga]

What's curious about the King James Bible is that, despite its beauty and profound effect on English, it is also based on what is regarded by many Bible scholars as the least reliable complete version of the Greek Bible, making it somewhat shaky theologically.

It's all on shaky ground. Religious history has been re-written and chopped up so many times, no one really knows what it said at the beginning. Neat story none the less and a great peice of work.

Thanks Mayfair for the link.

[Everwondopedo]

It's all on shaky ground. Religious history has been re-written and chopped up so many times, no one really knows what it said at the beginning. Neat story none the less and a great peice of work.

Thanks Mayfair for the link.

Yes, that's a given. But the KJV isparticularly so, even by the murky standards of the Christian Bible.

[uncoodync]

Yes, that's a given. But the KJV isparticularly so, even by the murky standards of the Christian Bible.

The KJV Bible also firmly planted Protestantism in England. Before King James, England had major convulsions between papists and Protestants. Two things happened that helped Protestants survive the period. After Catholic Queen Mary I died, her half-sister Elizabeth ruled England for a considerable length of time, and most of her powerful opponents within England died out (some involuntarily) as people became accustomed to Protestant rule. With James, it was assured that it would stay.

Long enough in fact to quiet the bishops who had witnessed the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries where many of England's grand cathedrals were sacked, altered or destroyed. Bloody Mary as she was called, Queen Mary brought a ferocious return of Catholicism in a nation that was almost evenly divided between Catholics and Protestants. Her two predecessors before her were Protestant monarchs, and her father, King Henry VIII, broke England's ties to Rome. Catholics were being massacred all over England and many were forced to practice in seclusion. Mary wanted to invert this and force all Protestants to endure the pain that her mother suffered as Catholics had, and to appease her very powerful husband, Phillip of Spain.

This change was so profound in England, turmoil in in the country wouldn't be centered around Catholicism again, including the years of Oliver Cromwell, or even foreign-tongued princes who would rule England later. This conflict wouldn't end for Ireland, though (and still hasn't).

Elizabeth's cousin James was also precarious... since his mother, Mary Queen of Scots, was also Catholic and she was very determined to take the English crown and get rid of Elizabeth. When she was caught in a plot to murder Elizabeth, her cousin executed her. Since James was removed from his mother and spent all his early years in Scotland which was in control of Presbyterians and shared Elizabeth's views of moderate religion and to some degree, tolerance, the succession was favored for him, and England willingly gave the crown over to a Scottish king who ruled both realms in personal union (the country we know as Great Britain did not form until Queen Anne).

For Protestants who wanted to control all levers of power in England, including making the King a puppet, they wouldn't find a friend in James. James firmly believed in the divine right of Kings, which superseded any edicts that would come from pious men. James published a book anonymously that explained his beliefs in the regency.

Long after the publication of this Bible, it supplanted the English Book of Common prayer, which was re-executed by Elizabeth and amended numerous times. The newer Protestant sects that came about ditched prayer books in reverence for the KJV which was considered the only true spiritual text and the word of God, penned in the King's English.

Save for the Protestants in Germany and The Netherlands, this text is still one of the most important works of faith for many Christians worldwide, particularly for those who practice in English. English-speaking Catholics are also influenced by this work, since the barrier of language was (and still is) considered one of the factors that led to England's break with Rome, the problem of reaching the laypeople in a language they can understand, which is not Latin, lead to dramatic revisions of the English Catholic bible sourced from KJV.

[SNUfR8uI]

Hello King James Enthusiasts.

I thought I'd let you know that this spring Haverford College will open an exhibition in recognition of the King James Bible anniversary. In addition to our copy of the 1611 King James Version, we will also have its English predecessors, the Great Bible, the Geneva Bible, and the Bishop's Bible. Other highlights will include the earliest Hebrew Bible located in North America, as well as early manuscript bibles in Syriac, Ethiopic, and Hebreo-Samaritan; a Medieval illuminated bible and prayer book; a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible; bibles owned by William Penn, George Fox, and others; 19th-century Missionary bibles in many languages, and more.

Here is the official info. Please keep it in mind and come pay a visit in the spring!

Gather all nations and tongues: Rare and Unique Bibles from Haverford College
March 14 to September 16, 2001 - Sharpless Gallery - Magill Library - Haverford College

As a collection of scripture sacred to both Judaism and Christianity, the bible is the most translated text in the world. In addition to serving a central place in the religious lives of millions of the world’s people, bibles themselves tell a fascinating story about the development of language, the movement of people, the history of technology, the wielding of power, and the transmission of culture. In this 400th anniversary year of the creation of the King James Bible (1611), we bring together a selection of rare and unique bibles – dating from the mid-13th to the 20th century – from the special collections of Haverford College.

[avappyboalt]

Does anyone want to guess in which Shakespeare play James I/James VI appears?

[SzefciuCba]

"This is great"
Sometime in 1611, a new English Bible was published. It was the work of an almost impossibly learned team of men laboring since 1604 under royal mandate. Their purpose, they wrote, was not to make a new translation of the Bible but “to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one.” What was published, 400 years ago, was indeed one principal good one: the King James Version of the Bible.

It’s barely possible to overstate the significance of this Bible. Hundreds of millions have been sold. In 1611, it found a critical balance in a world of theological conflict, and it has been beloved since of Protestant churches and congregations of every stripe. By the end of the 17th century it was, simply, the Bible. It has been superseded by translations in more modern English, translations based on sources the King James translators couldn’t have known. But to Christians all around the world, it is still the ancestral language of faith.

To modern readers, the English of the King James Version sounds archaic, much as Shakespeare does. But there would have been an archaism for readers even in 1611 because the King James Bible draws heavily from a version of William Tyndale’s New Testament published in 1534 and from translations by Miles Coverdale also published in the 1530s.

Tyndale’s aspiration was to make his New Testament accessible to “the boy that driveth the plough.” Though readers often talk about the majesty of the King James Bible, what has made it live is in fact the simplicity of its language.

Scholars have often debated just how much the King James Bible has influenced the English language. They count the number of idioms — “the powers that be,” for instance — that entered the language from the Bible. They look at how often it’s cited in the Oxford English Dictionary.

[Suvaxal]

I've had mine for about three weeks now and I am very pleased with it. It is large, and as such it's not a carry Bible and it's not a read in bed Bible. It is, however, a really pleasant experience reading this Bible at a desk. I happen to do a lot of my reading at my desk anyhow, so it works out great. The layout of the text is fantastic, with lots of white space in the text, which makes it very easy reading. The line spacing is very generous as well. The references are just great; not nearly as overwhelming as, say, a 1560 Geneva or any modern reference Bible. I like the sparse references. There are lots of alternate readings provided, which I actually prefer over the cross-references. They really make reading the KJV much easier by clarifying vague or confusing verses. I get goosebumps when I read this by candlelight; simply amazing. God bless and peace to all my brothers and sisters in Christ!