The Strand Study Bible

T he King James Version (KJV), with few exceptions, 1 is a remarkable translation for three reasons: 1. It is probably the only translation in which no parties involved had an axe to grind The translation of the KJV back in the 1600’s was a national undertaking in which no one had any interest at heart, save that of producing the best possible English version of the Scriptures. New York Times writer Charles McGrath, in an article called Still Strong after 400 Years , notes: The King James Bible, first published 400 years ago, may be the single best thing ever accomplished by 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 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. 2 J. Paterson Smyth in How We Got our Bible agrees. He notes: Fifty-four learned men were selected impartially from High Churchmen and Puritans, as well as from those who, like Saville and Boys, represented scholarship totally unconnected with any party. 3 NOTE – The first edition of the Greek text to be published was that of Desiderius Erasmus. It was printed in Basle in 1516 and was used by Martin Luther for his German translation. Erasmus also published editions in 1522, 1527, and 1535. Fifteen years later in 1550 Robert Stephens published his edition, known as the “royal edition,” which followed the text of the 1527 and 1535 editions of Erasmus. Fifteen years after that in 1565 Theodore Beza published his edition in Geneva, which followed the text of Stephens. The editions of Erasmus, Stephens, and Beza (particularly that of 1598) were the chief sources used for the translation of the King James Version in 1611. 2. It is the most beautiful, beloved, and most popular English translation to date, and is literally “melodic” when read Henry M. Morris in A Creationist’s Defense Of The King James Bible notes: The translators were not only Biblical scholars but accomplished writers, and one of the deliberate goals–in fact, a part of their assignment–was to produce a Bible that would “sing” with beauty and power, and would also retain literal faithfulness to the Greek and Hebrew texts, which had themselves been written with majestic musical beauty. 4 Robert McCrum, William Cray and Robert MacNeil in The Story of English call the King James Bible “probably the single most influential book ever published in the English language. Noting the literary accomplishments of the Elizabethan period in England, they noted: NOTE – While it is true that the newer versions of the Bible use “up-to-date” modern English, it is also true that the newer versions will omit up to forty-five verses in the New Testament, either in the footnotes or from the text itself, that are otherwise found in the King James Version. 5 That is why as many as 160 million Christians still use the KJV as their primary Bible translation. 3. It was translated from the Received Text ( Textus Receptus ) Although the KJV was not translated from the supposedly “earliest” Greek texts, it was translated from the Majority Text ( Textus Receptus ; the preserved text of God 6 ). NOTE – I used the Cambridge Edition 7 of the Textus Receptus for this work ( Josh 19:2 and Jere 34:16 ). 1 Acts 7:45 , Lk 3:36 , I Jn 5:7-8 and Mk 16:9-20 2 McGrath, Charles. Still Strong after 400 Years (5/8/2011 – The Dallas Morning News) 3 Smyth, J. Paterson. How We Got our Bible , NY, NY, Harper & Brothers Pub, 1899. Print. 4 The King James EASY-READING Red Lettered Study Bible . Humboldt, TN., G.E.M. Pub, 2009. Print. 5 Heb 10:39 6 Psa 12: 6- 7 , Mt 5:18 and Lk 11:51 7 Norton, David. A Textual History of the King James Bible , UK, Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print. The achievements of these astonishing years [i.e., 1558-1625, the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I] are inescapably glorious…During their reigns, about seventy years, the English language achieved a richness and vitality of expression that even contemporaries marveled at. 4

9

Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker