The "Authorized Version"
of 1611
Exactly 400 years ago (1603), following the death of Queen Elizabeth I,
James I became King of England. It was this James who gave the necessary
impetus to the translation of the Bible which bears his name.
"Have you ever heard someone speak of `The Authorized Version of the Bible?'
Did their tone of voice indicate that they believed that the King James
Version (subtitled The Authorized Version) was the only translation which
God ever authorized? Have they sometimes spoken as though the English of
1611 was the language in which Paul wrote? Probably you have heard these
and other similar sentiments expressed. There is a considerable amount of
emotional attachment to the translation. Indeed, the King James version has
become the Bible to many people. Unfortunately, most of these people do
not know the story behind its writing."1
To put James I in a more recognizable historical perspective, let us begin
with the man Christopher Columbus. His voyage to the Americas (Bahamas) in
the last decade of the 15th century was financed by Emperor Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella had a daughter, Catherine
of Aragon, who became the first wife of King Henry VIII of England. Elizabeth,
mentioned above, was King Henry's second daughter by his second wife, Anne
Boleyn. This James succeeded Elizabeth on the English throne and was, previous
to coming to the throne, James VI of Scotland, son of Mary, Queen of Scots.
In the summer of 1611, as King James was on his way to London to receive
the English Crown, an event occurred which ultimately led to the version of
the Bible which bears his name. The Puritan clergy met him on the road and
presented him with a petition of grievances. This confrontation led the
King to call a conference, "for hearing and for the determining of things
pretended to be amiss in the church."2 "The Puritans were members
of the Church of England and their underlying interest was that the Church
be purified of unnecessary remnants of Roman Catholicism."3 "While
this version is called the Authorized Version, no act of Parliament
was ever passed approving it. King James vigorously promoted such an undertaking
but there was no subsequent royal endorsement."4 It will be of
interest in passing to note that the first permanent English colony in America
was established in Virginia in 1607. It was named Jamestown in honor of James
I.
On July 22, 1604, the King announced the appointment of 54 men as translators.
These translators were divided into six groups; two at Westminster, two at
Cambridge, two at Oxford. "The revisions were governed by 15 rules, the gist
of a few of them being (1) The Bishops' Bible shall be followed and as little
altered as the truth of the original will permit; (2) The old ecclesiastical
words shall be retained; (3) The chapter divisions shall not be changed, unless
very necessary; (4) No marginal notes at all, except explanation of Hebrew
and Greek words which cannot be briefly and fitly expressed in the text;
(5) Whenever the Tyndale, Matthew, Cloverdale, the Great Bible, or the Geneva
agrees better with the text than the Bishops' Bible, they are to be used."5
Moreover, the translation was to agree with the theology of King James.
Thus because he did not believe in immersion as the New Testament mode of
baptism, he did not allow the Greek word to be translated--that is, for each
Greek letter the corresponding English letter was used."6 For
example, the Greek word baptisma was translated as baptism.
"A generation ago, few people asked, `which version of the Bible is best?'
The Authorized, or King James Version, had been the most popular and widely
read Bible for 350 years. But an explosion of English Bible translations
over the past 40 years has challenged the long reign of the KJV. And the
question, `Which version of the Bible is best?' is now a common concern.
It is a question not easily answered. For every Bible translation there is
someone who will say it is the best of all possible versions. And the search
for the best version is crowded with `experts,' loaded with opinion, choked
with rhetoric, confused by misused terminology, and short of objective information.
In fact, there is no `best' translation. Even the New Testament writers
translated from several versions of the Old Testament."7
By no stretch of the imagination does the above cover the history of the
origin and development of this treasured version of the English Bible; you
must look elsewhere for "the rest of the story." Hopefully, this brief sketch
will create an increased interest in further research of not only the "Authorized
Version," but all versions; those in current use and those which came before.
We all would do well to remember a promise of God concerning His Word.
"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not
thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it
may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that
goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to
I sent it (Isaiah
55:10-11). Amen!
1. Book Alive, John W. Tresch, Jr., and Kathryn Griffin, page
29.
3,6. Ibid, p. 30
2,4. New King James Version, Holy Bible, Publisher's Forward, 1982
5. General Biblical Introduction, H. S. Miller, M.A., p. 364
7. Which Bible Translation is Best for Me?, John R. Koblenberger, p 1.
--via World Bible School Newsletter, May/June 2003
Back to Contents Does God Exist?, SepOct03.