King James Bible

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the most important event in the history of English Bible translation. In fact, the publication of
the King James Version of the Bible in 1611 was the most important event in the history of book printing as a whole, inasmuch as it is
the bestselling English book of all time. I tell my students that the publication of the King James Bible was the most important event in
the history of English and American literature.
-There are important ways in which the King James Version is a book of wonders, and that is the format I have chosen for this article.
Wonder #1​: the inauspicious origin of the KJV
The greatest English Bible was begotten in a moment of spite by a profane king. The origin of the King James Version is as follows. As
the coronation procession of King James of Scotland wound its way southward, Puritan leaders presented the king with the Millenary
Petition (so-called because it allegedly bore the signatures of a thousand Puritan ministers). In response, the king called the Hampton
Court Conference (held January, 1604).
The conference turned out to be a farce. Four moderate, hand-picked Puritans were pitted against eighteen Church-of-England
heavyweights. The king summarily dismissed all Puritan requests and threatened to "harry them out of the land--or worse." As a
last-minute attempt to salvage at least something from the conference, the Puritans requested that a new English translation of the
Bible be commissioned.
The king surprised the assembly by approving the request, but he did so with a scornful put-down of the Geneva Bible (the Puritans'
preferred-translation) and of the whole tradition of English Bible translation. The king's famous statement was that "he could never yet
see a Bible well translated in English, but the worst of all his Majesty thought the Geneva to be."
So this was the origin of the King James Bible--a "poor and empty" request (as the preface to the KJV calls it) from a handful of dejected
Puritans, granted by a sneering king. It is hard to imagine a less auspicious origin for the mighty King James Bible. Yet God chose to
override the scorn of a king who was seeking his own political advantage rather than the spiritual health of his nation.
Wonder #2:​ the unlikely process of translation
A whole host of wonders meets us when we learn the details of what is commonly called "the making of the King James Version." For
starters, even though the King James Bible originated in a climate of religious and political contentiousness, once the process was set in
motion by King James and Archbishop Richard Bancroft, everyone involved in the project rose above partisan spirit. Something like a
benediction fell on the venture.
The forty-seven men who did the translation were chosen solely on the basis of their scholarly ability. They were "the best of the best"
that England had to offer in Hebrew and Greek language studies and biblical scholarship. It is true that all of the translators were clerics
in the Church of England, but all viewpoints within that church were represented, from high church Anglo-Catholics to low-church
Puritans. Approximately a fourth of the translators were Puritans.
The second wonder is that a seemingly unwieldy committee structure did not impede the work. There were three primary committees,
but each of these was in turn divided into two committees, so in effect the work was performed by six committees. To add to our
astonishment, they met in three separate locations--Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the Jerusalem Chamber off the
entrance to Westminster Abbey in London.
Benson Bobrick, author of a book entitled Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired, sees a
delicate balancing act in the three locations where the committees met. Oxford University had royalist and high church associations.
Cambridge University was a hotbed of Protestant and Puritan fervor. Both universities were governed by Christian assumptions, but as
educational institutions the were "secular" rather than ecclesiastical. Westminster Abbey, by contrast, was a church institution, and
additionally its officials were appointed by the ruling monarch. Of course no one deliberately set out to orchestrate the venture in
these terms, but the effect was as Bobrick describes it.
While the committee structure would seem to have been unmanageable in size and location, the process was so thorough that
eventually all committee members read and had opportunity to comment on the entire manuscript. In yet another surprise, even
though the Geneva Bible was the best and most popular translation of the day, the Bishops' Bible of 1568 was the stipulated starting
point for the King James translators.
A final wonder is that the six committees produced not only a unified product but a literary masterpiece--the only one ever produced by
a committee, as is commonly asserted. The primary aim of the translators was to produce an accurate translation. But as Alister
McGrath writes in his book In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language and a culture,
"The king's translators achieved [literary merit] unintentionally, by focusing on what, to them, was a greater goal. . . . The achievement
of prosaic and poetic elegance that resulted was, so to speak, a most happy accident of history.
Wonder #3​: the language and style of the KJV
The language and style of the KJV are a wonder because they defy complete analysis. A symptom of this is that the King James style can
be parodied and imitated but never duplicated. Here, too, a benediction descended on the translation.
Modern advocates of colloquial Bibles have made fallacious claims about the King James style that need to be countered. The archaic
quality of the King James Version makes it seem formal and exalted to modern readers, but the archaisms of the KJV were equally
characteristic of the daily speech of the time. Another fallacy is that the King James translators spoiled the racy colloquialism of
Tyndale's translation by embellishing it upwards. It is true that the King James translators had "a sure instinct for betterment" (as one
expert puts it) as they massaged their inherited English translations, but I have found that this improvement often consisted of
simplifying Tyndale's formulation, not by making it ornate. For example, Tyndale rendered 1 Timothy 6:6 as, "Godliness is great riches,
if a man be content with that he hath." The King James translators tightened it up by rendering it, "Godliness with contentment is great
gain."
It is hard to know what descriptors to use for the King James style. It is not colloquial, but what is it? The adjectives beautiful, dignified,
and elegant (not to be necessarily equated with eloquent) are all accurate. Mainly, though, the King James style is as varied as the
original biblical text, which shares with the King James Version the paradoxical quality of combining simplicity with majesty.
Where the original text is exalted and rhetorically embellished, the King James Version is also: "Though I speak with the tongues of men
and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I cold remove mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-2).
But the simple can also be a form of beauty, and we find this as often as we find the embellished: "And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). Or this from the creation story: "And God said, Let
there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). Advocates of colloquial Bibles want us to believe that because the King James
Version does not sound like conversation at the bus stop it is stilted, but this is a fallacy that we need to resist.
The King James norm is simplicity of style combined with majesty of effect: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock
and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knoweth it shall be
opened" (Luke 11:9-10). The vocabulary of that passage is simple, but the elaborate rhetorical patterns of repetition elevate it above
everyday conversation. A good parallel is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, where the vocabulary is simple and the effect is elevating. I
note in passing that a scholar has written a whole book that explores the indebtedness of the Gettysburg Address to the King James
Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.
An additional quality of the King James style is that it is memorable and aphoristic. Dozens of familiar sayings entered the English
language through the King James Version (which both perpetuated felicitous formulations from earlier translations and added to the
storehouse): labor of love, my brother's keeper, fly in the ointment, the powers that be, like a lamb to the slaughter, the salt of the
earth, a law unto themselves, vanity of vanities, under the sun. There are so many memorable sayings from the King James Bible in
Bartlett's Famous Quotations that an editor segregated them out and published a freestanding book that runs to over 200 pages.
Wonder #4​: the unmatched influence of the King James Bible
The King James Version became the most influential book in the history of the English-speaking world and not impossibly in the world
as a whole. Sources claiming that the KJV is the best-selling book of all time are too numerous to cite. David Daniell, author of the
magisterial The Bible in English, claims that the KJV is "still the bestselling book in the world." Adam Nicolson, in his book God's
Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible, claims that more than five billion copies of the King James Bible have been sold.
Gordon Campbell, in his recent Oxford University Press book entitled Bible: The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011, calls the
King James Version "the most important book in the English language." Any book that elicits such claims as these is a "wonder book."
Until relatively recently, the King James Version was what people meant when they spoke of "the Bible." Wherever we dip into the
sermons and writings of the famous preachers and theologians of the English-speaking world, it is obvious at once that they used the
KJV. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitfield, D. L. Moody, Matthew Henry, and Billy Graham all used the King James
Version and did not need to tell their audiences what translation they were using.
From approximately 1700 to 1950, the King James Bible was the preeminent book in England and American in virtually every sphere of
society that we can name--family, religion, church, politics, education, literature, art, and music. The foundation on which everything
else rested was the influence of the King James Version on the English language. The influence of the English Bible on the language
started with William Tyndale, who gave English-speaking people what David Daniell calls an English plain style. But Tyndale's pioneering
work would have proven ephemeral if other Bible translations had not perpetuated his work.
In turn, the King James Version synthesized a whole century of English Bible translation into a climactic document. More importantly, it
was through the King James Bible that this linguistic accomplishment remained dominant for three centuries. If there was just one
book that the American pioneers carried in their covered wagons, it was the King James Version of the Bible. The King James Bible was
first of all a religious authority, but it also provided a standard of stylistic and linguistic excellence that the pioneers preserved amidst
conditions that doubtless seemed to threaten their cultural heritage. For more than four centuries, English-speaking people (around
the world and not just in England and America) had a touchstone for what constituted good written and oral communication.
For some glimpses into the spheres where the KJV was preeminent for three and a half centuries, I will dip into an area that emerged as
one of my favorites when I wrote my book The Legacy of the King James Bible, namely, public inscriptions of verses from the King James
Bible. As a graduate student at the University of Oregon, I could look up whenever I entered the library and read the engraved verse,
"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
Every year two million visitors have a chance to read Leviticus 25:10 on the cracked Liberty Bell in Philadelphia: "Proclaim LIBERTY
through all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof." The "Isaiah wall" across the street from the United Nations headquarters in New
York City bears these words from Isaiah 2:4: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
Texts from the English Bible have appeared on the walls of churches and cathedrals at least since the sixteenth century, and a majority
of these have been from the King James Version. A person sitting along the outer aisle of a pew of Tenth Presbyterian Church in
Philadelphia can read verses such as these: "he being dead yet speaketh" (Hebrews 11:4); "being made conformable unto his death"
(Philippians 3:10); "well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithfull over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things; enter thou into the joy of they Lord" (Matthew 25:21).
The scope broadens if we consider the King James texts imprinted on the walls of the Dunham Bible Museum on the campus of Houston
Baptist University. These texts mark famous moments in American history where the King James Bible was quoted. Specimens include
these: "What hath God wrought?" (Samuel Morse as he sent the first words over his newly invented telegraph machine, quoting
Numbers 23:23). "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained. . ." (Buzz
Aldrin as he spoke on a television broadcast after his space walk, quoting Psalm 1:3). "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in
vain that build it" (Benjamin Franklin during a debate the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, quoting Psalm 127:1).

For centuries, the King James Version of the Bible influenced the way Americans understood literary style. In his book​Pen of Iron:
American Prose and the King James Bible,​ Robert Alter explores the myriad ways this seminal work of literature has inspired writers
with its simple but vivid diction and egalitarian syntax. Challenging the typical academic focus on discourse and ideologies, Alter
considers the KJV from the perspective of style—the “magic of language,” in which words create the alternate realities that challenge
the prevailing narratives of the day: “The play of style in fiction is not only a source of deep pleasure, sometimes rapture, but also a
process that enables thought, inviting perception of complex associative links,” he writes. For Alter, literary style is what enables
readers “to see one frame of meaning in connection with another.”

The King James Bible: Its History and Influence

Four centuries after its first printing, the King James Bible (1611) remains one of the most influential books in the English language. The
Harry Ransom Center, with the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford, presents the compelling
story of how this translation came into being and its profound effect on our language and culture.
This exhibition traces the history of the King James translation, from the influence of earlier English Bibles to the work of a committee of
scholars who spent over six years poring over the text word by word. When the project was complete, printing such a massive work
proved a daunting task. A host of type-setting errors led to the infamous "Wicked Bible," "Unrighteous Bible," and "Judas Bible."
Ultimately, the text of the King James version appeared in a wide variety of forms: Bibles with blank pages for family histories, pocket
Bibles for soldiers to carry into battle, and richly illustrated editions for display.
The language and imagery of the King James translation has had a remarkable influence on English-speaking cultures and literature,
from John Milton's ​Paradise Lost​ to the poetry of Phillis Wheatley to Norman Mailer's ​The Gospel According to the Son​. The language of
the King James Bible permeated the Civil War-era writings of Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and both pro- and anti-slavery
advocates. It provided the title for Walker Evans and James Agee's ​Let Us Now Praise Famous Men​, a landmark work on sharecroppers
hard hit by the Depression, and even inspired the tattoos for Robert De Niro's character, convict Max Cady, in the film ​Cape Fear​. This
wide-ranging influence can be seen across the Center's literary, film, photography, and art holdings.
The exhibition also features other notable Bibles from the Center's collections and some of the finest examples of modern book design
featuring biblical texts. From the beginning of printing, the Bible was regarded as the ultimate challenge for artists, designers, and
printers. Perhaps no single object embodies this better than Gutenberg's 42-line Bible, on permanent display at the Center. Many other
monuments of classic fine printing, ranging from an early Nicolas Jenson illuminated Bible to the Christopher Plantin Polyglot Bible to an
eighteenth-century folio Bible printed by John Baskerville, are on display.
The Center's modern printing collections provide colorful and original treatments of biblical passages by well-known book designers and
artists. Included are a suite of prints from Marc Chagall's ​Exodus,​ the massive Oxford Lectern Bible designed by Bruce Rogers, plates
from art deco books by François-Louis Schmied, and the entire set of Jacob Lawrence's large silkscreen prints for ​Eight Passages​ from
the book of Genesis.
The King James Bible: Its History and Influence​ is the most comprehensive display of Bibles and related materials in the Ransom Center's
history.
-​Parallel structures: the word Blessed in ​Matthew 5:3-11: The Beatitudes
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
The King James Bible, which was first published 400 years ago next month, may be the single best thing ever accomplished by a
committee. The Bible was the work of 54 scholars and clergymen who met over seven years in six nine-man subcommittees, called
“companies.” In a preface to the new Bible, Miles Smith, one of the translators and a man so impatient that he once walked out of a
boring sermon and went to the pub, wrote that anything new inevitably “endured many a storm of gainsaying, or opposition.” So there
must have been disputes — shouting; table pounding; high-ruffed, black-gowned clergymen folding their arms and stomping out of the
room — but there is no record of them. And the finished text shows none of the PowerPoint insipidness we associate with
committee-speak or with later group translations like the 1961 New English Bible, which T.S. Eliot said did not even rise to “dignified
mediocrity.” Far from bland, the King James Bible is one of the great masterpieces of English prose.
The issue of how, or even whether, to translate sacred texts was a fraught one in those days, often with political as well as religious
overtones, and it still is. The Roman Catholic Church, for instance, recently decided to retranslate the missal used at Mass to make it
more formal and less conversational. ​Critics have complained​ that the new text is awkward and archaic, while its defenders (some of
whom probably still prefer the Mass in Latin) insist that’s just the point — that language a little out of the ordinary is more devotional
and inspiring. No one would ever say that the King James Bible is an easy read. And yet its very oddness is part of its power.
From the start, the King James Bible was intended to be not a literary creation but rather a political and theological compromise
between the established church and the growing Puritan movement. What the king cared about was clarity, simplicity, doctrinal
orthodoxy. The translators worked hard on that, going back to the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, and yet they also spent a lot of
time tweaking the English text in the interest of euphony and musicality. Time and again the language seems to slip almost
unconsciously into iambic pentameter — this was the age of Shakespeare, commentators are always reminding us — and right from the
beginning the translators embraced the principles of repetition and the dramatic pause: “In the beginning God created the Heauen, and
the Earth. And the earth was without forme, and voyd, and darkenesse was vpon the face of the deepe: and the Spirit of God mooued
vpon the face of the waters.”
The influence of the King James Bible is so great that the list of idioms from it that have slipped into everyday speech, taking such deep
root that we use them all the time without any awareness of their biblical origin, is practically endless: sour grapes; fatted calf; salt of
the earth; drop in a bucket; skin of one’s teeth; apple of one’s eye; girded loins; feet of clay; whited sepulchers; filthy lucre; pearls
before swine; fly in the ointment; fight the good fight; eat, drink and be merry.
But what we also love about this Bible is its strangeness — its weird punctuation, odd pronouns (as in “Our Father, which art in
heaven”), all those verbs that end in “eth”: “In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth vp; in the euening it is cut downe, and
withereth.” As Robert Alter has demonstrated in his startling and revealing translations of the Psalms and the ​Pentateuch​, the Hebrew
Bible is even stranger, and in ways that the King James translators may not have entirely comprehended, and yet their text performs
the great trick of being at once recognizably English and also a little bit foreign. You can hear its distinctive cadences in the speeches of
Lincoln, the poetry of Whitman, the novels of Cormac McCarthy.
Even in its time, the King James Bible was deliberately archaic in grammar and phraseology: an expression like “yea, verily,” for
example, had gone out of fashion some 50 years before. The translators didn’t want their Bible to sound contemporary, because they
knew that contemporaneity quickly goes out of fashion. In his very useful guide, ​“God’s Secretaries: The Making of the King James
Bible,”​ Adam Nicolson points out that when the Victorians came to revise the King James Bible in 1885, they embraced this principle
wholeheartedly, and like those people who whack and scratch old furniture to make it look even more ancient, they threw in a lot of
extra Jacobeanisms, like “howbeit,” “peradventure, “holden” and “behooved.”
This is the opposite, of course, of the procedure followed by most new translations, starting with Good News for Modern Man, a
paperback Bible published by the American Bible Society in 1966, whose goal was to reflect not the language of the Bible but its ideas,
rendering them into current terms, so that Ezekiel 23:20, for example (“For she doted vpon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh
of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses”) becomes “She was filled with lust for oversexed men who had all the lustfulness of
donkeys or stallions.”
There are countless new Bibles available now, many of them specialized: a Bible for couples, for gays and lesbians, for recovering
addicts, for surfers, for skaters and skateboarders, not to mention a superheroes Bible for children. They are all “accessible,” but most
are a little tone-deaf, lacking in grandeur and majesty, replacing “through a glasse, darkly,” for instance, with something along the lines
of “like a dim image in a mirror.” But what this modernizing ignores is that the most powerful religious language is often a little elevated
and incantatory, even ambiguous or just plain hard to understand. The new Catholic missal, for instance, does not seem to fear the
forbidding phrase, replacing the statement that Jesus is “one in being with the Father” with the more complicated idea that he is
“consubstantial with the Father.”
Not everyone prefers a God who talks like a pal or a guidance counselor. Even some of us who are nonbelievers want a God who
speaketh like — well, God. The great achievement of the King James translators is to have arrived at a language that is both ordinary
and heightened, that rings in the ear and lingers in the mind. And that all 54 of them were able to agree on every phrase, every comma,
without sounding as gassy and evasive as the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, is little short of amazing, in itself proof of something
like divine inspiration.