ARRANGE, ACCESS, ADAPT
January 15, 2022LIFE IS NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYONE!
January 17, 2022On Friday the 16th of January, 1604, “Puritan John Rainolds suggests to King James I, *“that there might bee a newe translation of the Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek.” James will grant approval the next day. Seven years later, the Authorized Version (King James Version) will be published.” [How We Got the Bible]
Charles McGrath writing for New York Times [NYT] says, “The KJV Bible was the work of 54 scholars and clergymen who met over seven years in six nine-man sub-committees, called “companies.”
“…they diligently scrutinized and compared over 5000 copies they did have of Hebrew, Latin and Greek documents dating from as early as the 5th Century AD to as late as the 12th.” [Bible Project]
Sarah Pruitt of history.com says, “Not only was it the first “people’s Bible,” but its poetic cadences and vivid imagery have had an enduring influence on Western culture. Not only was it the first ‘people’s Bible,’ but its poetic cadences and vivid imagery have had an enduring influence on Western culture.”
“Beyond the countless artists and leaders inspired by the King James Bible, its influence can be seen in many of the expressions English speakers use every day. Phrases like “my brother’s keeper,” “the kiss of death,” “the blind leading the blind,” “fall from grace,” “eye for an eye” and “a drop in the bucket”—to name only a few—all owe their existence, or at least their popularization in English, to the KJV.”
Charles McGrath of NYT further adds, “Far from bland, the King James Bible is one of the great masterpieces of English prose.”
KJV is not very popular these days. Many claim KJV is not very accurate because of the manuscripts it is based on. There are some very valid counter arguments too, supporting the KJV. Whatever the the critique, I personally love KJV over and above the modern translations. The language, the expression, and the weight it adds to the words and the meaning is simply too good to ignore, for me.
Praise God for all the people who worked on the KJV, and the king, whose efforts made such huge difference in the lives of Christians not only in the UK, but the whole world, for 400 plus years.
