Who was King James?
King James had a very interesting beginning to his reign as King. He was crowned King of Scotland at the grand old age of 1. He was born on June 19, 1566, to Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband Lord Darnley. Lord Darnley was murdered when James was eight months old and his mother was forced to abdicate the throne on June 24, 1567. After this abdication, her son was made king. Eventually, in 1603 he would be crowned King of England after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Just for clarity’s sake, you may see him referred to as James IV of Scotland and James I of England. These are referring to the same person.
When King James commissioned his Bible he gave specific instructions to the translators to use the best from the Bishops’ Bible, Tyndale’s Bible, Coverdale’s, Matthew’s, and Geneva’s Bibles.
In the preface to the 1611 authorized version the King James’s translation committees said they did not seek “to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, but to make a good one better”.
Published in 1611, the King James Bible spread quickly throughout Europe. Because of the wealth of resources devoted to the project, it was the most faithful and scholarly translation to date—not to mention the most accessible.
The King James, or Authorised, Version of the Bible remains the most widely published text in the English language. It was the work of around 50 scholars, who were appointed in 1604 by King James (r. 1603–25), and it is dedicated to him. Until the mid-1500s, attempts to give lay people access to an English-language Bible had resulted in severe punishment. Finally, in 1611, came an officially approved version that also had enduring appeal: the King James, or Authorised, Version.
Emerging at a high point in the English Renaissance, the King James Bible held its own among some of the most celebrated literary works in the English language (think William Shakespeare). Its majestic cadences would inspire generations of artists, poets, musicians, and political leaders, while many of its specific phrases worked their way into the fabric of the language itself.
Even now, more than four centuries after its publication, the King James Bible (a.k.a. the King James Version, or simply the Authorized Version) remains the most famous Bible translation in history—and one of the most printed books ever.
Carol Meyers, a professor of religious studies at Duke University, said “King James wanted to solidify his reputation as a good king by commissioning the translation,”
By giving more people direct access to the Bible, the King James Version also had a democratizing influence on Protestantism itself, especially in the English colonies being settled in the New World. The Puritans and other reformers “didn’t overtake the Anglican Church in England,” Meyers explains. “But in the colonies, the Anglicans no longer had supremacy, because the Puritans, Presbyterians, Methodists came,” all of whom made use of the King James Bible.
Meanwhile, back in England, the bitter religious disputes that had motivated the new Bible translation would spiral by the 1640s into the English Civil Wars, which ended in the capture and execution (by beheading) of King James’s son and successor, Charles I.
If James had hoped to quash any doubt of his (and his successors’) divine right to power, he hadn’t succeeded. Meyers points out that the King James Bible gave people access to passages that were not ordinarily read in church—passages that limit the power of secular rulers like James. As an example, she cites Deuteronomy 17, which reads, “One from among thy brethren shalt thou set a king over thee.” But it also suggests that the king should not acquire too many horses, wives, or silver and gold for himself; and that he, like anyone else, should be subject to the laws of God.
To keep it simple, here is a very brief outline of the Bible used before the King James Version. (By the way, I am primarily referring to translations that were done in English).
1382 – The Wycliffe Bible translated by John Wycliffe from the Latin Vulgate into English.
1455 – The Gutenberg Bible. This was not an English translation but was done in Latin.
1526 – The Tyndale Bible. We mentioned this one earlier.
1535 – The Coverdale Bible. Completed by Myles Coverdale, it was considered to be the first Modern English translation (I wonder what modern English was like in 1535).
1560 – The Geneva Bible. The first mass-produced Bible was available to the general public and the primary Bible of 16th Century English Protestants.
1568 – The Bishops Bible. The English Bible was written under the authority of the Church of England.
1611 – The King James Bible.
In the early 20th century the King James Version fell into disfavour among many mainstream Protestant churches, which viewed it as antiquated. Beginning in the
middle of the century, they increasingly turned to more-modern translations, such as the Revised Standard Version (1952), the New International Version (1978), and the New Revised Standard Version (1989). The King James Version, however, remained a popular source for the more famous Psalms and the Gospels.
In 1525 William Tyndale produced the first printed translation of the New Testament in English. Over the next ten years, Tyndale revised his New Testament and embarked on a translation of the Old Testament. Tyndale made some controversial translation choices, but the merits of his work and prose style made his translation the ultimate basis for all subsequent renditions into Early Modern English including the King James Version.
1539 – The official Great Bible with a preface picturing Henry VIII, was produced for reading aloud in churches and it used much of Tyndale’s previous work. Edited and adapted by Myles Coverdale, Tyndale’s New Testament and his incomplete work on the Old Testament became the basis for the Great Bible. This was the first “authorized version” issued by the Church of England during the reign of King Henry VIII.
1560 – The Geneva Bible was published. When Mary I succeeded to the throne in 1553, she returned the Church of England to the Roman Catholic faith and many English religious reformers fled the country, some establishing an English-speaking colony in Geneva. Under the leadership of John Calvin, Geneva became the chief international centre of Reformed Protestantism and Latin biblical scholarship. These English expatriates undertook a translation that became known as the Geneva Bible.
1568 – The official Bishops’ Bible was published. Soon after Elizabeth, I took the throne in 1558, the flaws of both the Great Bible and the Geneva Bible became painfully apparent. In 1568, the Church of England responded with the Bishops’ Bible, a revision of the Great Bible in the light of the Geneva version. While officially approved, this new version failed to displace the Geneva translation as the most popular English Bible of the age.
1601 – A meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland took place in Fife, which was attended by King James VI of Scotland. It was at this meeting that the proposal for a new translation of the Bible was first raised.
1603-James VI of Scotland became James I, King of England.
1604 – King James I convened the Hampton Court Conference to discuss the future of the church. It was at this meeting a new English version was proposed in response to the perceived problems of earlier translations as detected by the Puritan faction of the Church of England.
At the time the king said that he:
“Could never yet see a Bible well translated in English; but I think that, of all, that of Geneva is the worst. I wish some special pains were taken for a uniform translation, which should be done by the best-learned men in both Universities, then reviewed by the Bishops, presented to the Privy Council, and lastly ratified by the Royal authority, to be read in the whole Church, and none other.”
As a result, a resolution was made:
“That a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek; and this to be set out and printed, without any marginal notes, and only to be used in all churches of England in time of divine service.”
King James gave the translators instructions intended to guarantee that the new version would reflect the structure of the Church of England and its beliefs about an ordained clergy. The translation was undertaken by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. In common with most other translations of the period, the New Testament was translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text) series of Greek texts. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text, while the Apocrypha were translated from the Greek Septuagint (LXX).
1608 – The main translation was completed and submitted for editing. From January 1609, a General Committee of Review met at Stationers’ Hall, London to review the completed marked texts from each of the six committees. The General Committee included John Bois, Andrew Downes and John Harmar, and others known only by their initials, including “AL” (who may be Arthur Lake), and were paid for their attendance by the Stationers’ Company. John Bois prepared a note of their deliberations (in Latin) – which has partly survived in two later transcripts. Also surviving is a bound-together set of marked-up corrections to one of the forty Bishops’ Bibles – covering the Old Testament and Gospels, and also a manuscript translation of the text of the Epistles, excepting those verses where no change was being recommended to the readings in the Bishops’ Bible.
Archbishop Richard Bancroft was the chief overseer of the authorized version of the Bible. Bancroft insisted on having a final say, making fourteen changes, of which one was the term “bishopric” in Acts 1:20. He died at Lambeth Palace on 2 November 1610.
1611 – The King James Bible was published, the complete title page reading:
“THE HOLY BIBLE, Containing the Old Testament, and the New: Newly Translated out of the Originall tongues: & with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by his Majesties Special Commandment. Appointed to be read in Churches. Imprinted in London by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majestie. ANNO DOM. 1611.”
The King James Bible was printed with a small italicized Roman type to represent those words not in the original languages.
