Lesson 5: The King James Bible

The First Edition

King James I of England commissioned fifty-four prominent Hebrew and Greek scholars from the Anglican Church to produce this English translation of the Bible. To make this translation, the committee consulted previous English translations (see here). In their work on the Old Testament, they also referred to the rabbinic Hebrew Bibles of 1519 and 1525 and the Hebrew texts in the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglots. In their work on the New Testament, they also referred to Greek texts compiled by Erasmus, Stephanus, Beza, and the Complutensian Polyglot. Beyond this, they evaluated the Greek Septuagint, Latin Vulgate, Aramaic Targums, and Bible translations from other languages.They completed their work and published the King James Bible in 1611. This translation strongly resembled the work of William Tyndale, but with many differences as well. Many people criticized this translation because the translators included the apocryphal books between the Old and New Testaments without clarifying that these books were not a part of the biblical canon. The Reformers, Puritans and Pilgrims also criticized this translation for its ties to the Anglican church and government of England, preferring the Geneva Bible instead.

Subsequent Editions

The King James Bibles we use today are not identical to the 1611 edition. This edition included the Apocrypha and featured spellings and punctuation markings which we would not understand today. The majority of KJV Bibles in use today are either the 1769 edition or a similarly updated edition. In fact, beyond 1611, the King James Bible underwent a series of revised editions.

The King James Bible underwent a series of revised editions.

Unidentified representatives of Cambridge University produced the Cambridge Revision of 1629. They made many helpful changes and corrections.A Cambridge Revision of 1638 completed the purposes of the first Cambridge revision, with the additional help of John Boise, a man who had served on the original 1611 committee.In 1762, another Cambridge Revision corrected italicized words, added marginal notes and cross-references, and modernized spellings and punctuation markings which had become outdated after 150 years of change to the English language.In 1769, Benjamin Blayney produced the Oxford Revision of 1769, pursuing a purpose similar to the previous Cambridge Revision. This edition provided additional revisions to italicized words and punctuation. It is the version that most English readers use today more than 200 years later.

English readers use the 1769 KJV today, not the 1611 edition.

In 1833, Noah Webster, the author of American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), attempted a revised KJV. He attempted to correct grammatical errors and replace archaic words with modern ones. Unfortunately, his project never succeeded.

The King James Preface

The original King James Version printed in 1611 contained an eleven-page preface entitled “The Translators to the Reader.” This preface describes the purpose of the translation and defends it against those who would criticize it. This preface also provides helpful perspective about what the translators believed regarding Bible translation. It expresses their desire to provide an excellent translation that would enable more English-speaking people to understand God's Word. They also recognized that no translation would ever be perfect, including their own. They even added in the margins occasional variations for how some words could be translated to help readers better understand the Bible.

The King James translators recognized that no translation would ever be perfect, including their own.

The King James translators did not believe that the translation they published was a final culmination of Bible translation in the English language. Instead, they believed that it was an important step in the progress of Bible translation. As the English languages continue to change, new English translations today continue this wonderful heritage.

The Blessing of the King James Bible

The King James Bible stands out as the most influential book in the history of the English-speaking world, and perhaps of the entire world in general. Its widespread influence reaches from approximately 1700 into modern times. It translates the Word of God in a careful, accurate manner which reflects the underlying Hebrew and Greek expressions in a remarkable way. It also translates the Bible in a dignified and elegant style that encourages respect for Scripture. As such, it continues to be an excellent and valuable translation for personal reading and Bible study, alongside other more recent translations that account for changes to the English language and continued historical discoveries.