Holy Bible King James Version 1611-2011 400 Years of Scriptural Authority
Tiny Church Finds Original KJV March 28, 2011
King James I, 1603-1625 King James VI of Scotland Born Edinburgh, June 19,1566 Son of Mary, Queen of Scots Crowned King 15 months old Successor Queen Elizabeth I March 24, 1603 King of England Died March 27,1625, age 59
King James United Kingdom St Andrew s Cross 16th c. Scotland Union Flag 1801 1801 GB & Ireland St George s Cross 16th c. England St Patrick s Cross 17th c. Ireland Union Flag 1606-1707 Great Britain
Hampton Court Conference January 1604 - three meetings in three days Millenary Petition / Church / Puritans King James agreed to request for new Bible
Instructions to the Translators by King James I through Archbishop Richard Bancroft The ordinary Bible, read in the church, commonly called the Bishop s Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit. The names of the prophets and the holy writers, with the other names in the text, to be retained, as near as may be, according as they are vulgarly used. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept; as the word church, not to be translated congregation, &c. When any word hath divers significations, that to be kept which has been most commonly used by the most eminent fathers, being agreeable to the propriety of the place, and the analogy of the faith. The division of the chapters to be altered, either not at all, or as little as may be, if necessity so require. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words, which cannot, without some circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text.
Translation Committees First Westminster Company, Genesis-2 Kings Second Westminster Company, Epistles First Cambridge Company, 1 Chronicles-Song of Songs Second Cambridge Company, Apocrypha First Oxford Company, Isaiah-Malachi Second Oxford Company, Gospels, Acts, Revelation
Locations Cambridge University Oxford University Westminster Abbey
1604-1609 - Translation 1604 - Began translations late in the year 1608 - Completed all sections 1609 - General Committee of Review in Stationer s Hall
1611 - Printing Robert Barker, King s Printer Complete folio edition Looseleaf ~ 10 shillings Bound ~ 12 shillings Two editions; He/She Ruth 3:15
Printer s Errors 1611 - Judas Bible, Matthew 26:36 1612 - Printer s Bible, Psalm 119:161 1631 - Wicked Bible, Exodus 20:14 1653 - Unrighteous Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:9 1716 - Sin On Bible, John 8:11 1717 - Vinegar Bible, Luke 20 chapter heading 1763 - Fool s Bible, Psalm 14:1
Authorized Versions Authorized by Monarchy Great Bible, 1540 Bishop s Bible, 1568 King James Bible, 1611 For the Church of England
The Translators to the Readers Included in all first editions 15 pages of explanations, exhortations & defense Removed from print over time for space & cost Updated 1873 F H Scrivener s Cambridge Bible Should be added back in to every KJV today
Translator s Desire Translation it is that openeth the window, to let in the light; that breaketh the shell, that we may eat the kernel; that putteth aside the curtain, that we may look into the most Holy place; that removeth the cover of the well, that we may come by the water,... Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one,... but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against; that hath been our endeavor, that our mark.
First & Special Printings 1456 - Gutenberg Bible, first book ever printed 1663 - Algonquin Bible, first printed in America 1760 - Dr. Francis S. Parris, Cambridge University 1769 - Dr Benjamin Blayney, Herford College, Oxford 1777 - first KJV New Testament printed in America 1784 - first KJV full Bible printed in America 1826 - Apocrypha removed from standard printings 1840 - Thomas Jefferson Bible, Life & Morals of Jesus
1611 KJV Sample Pages
KJV Statistics Number of books: 66; OT 39, NT 27 Chapters: 1,189 Verses: 31,102 Words: 783,137 Letters: 3,116,480 Middle books: Micah and Nahum Middle chapter: Psalm 117 Middle verse: Psalm 103:2-3 Oxford Standard Edition, 1769
Popular Quotations on KJV It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible. - George Washington But for it we could not know right from wrong. - Abraham Lincoln "The scholars who produced this masterpiece are mostly unknown and unremembered. But they forged an enduring link, literary and religious, between the English-speaking people of the world. - Winston Churchill "One of the supreme achievements of the English Renaissance came at its close, in the King James Bible...It is rightly regarded as the most influential book in the history of English civilization. - Compton s Encyclopedia... a translation so magnificent that to this day the common human Britisher or citizen of the United States of North America accepts and worships it as a single book by a single author, the book being the Book of Books and the author being God." - George Bernard Shaw
Bible Distribution Bible Society UK, 1816-1975, 2.5 billion By 1992, estimated 6 billion Worldwide printing averages 100 million/year Number of languages spoken today 6,900+ * Number without any translation of Bible 2,100 * Number of people without Bible 340 million+ * * Wycliffe Bible Translators 2010
Bible Survey Bible Ownership - Most Americans own a Bible. In fact, 92% of households in America own at least one copy. Of those households that own a Bible, the average number of Bibles is three. This includes not only the homes of practicing Christians but hundreds of thousands of atheists as well. Bible Reading - Although most Americans own a Bible, use of the Bible varies significantly. In a poll taken by the Gallup Organization in October, 2000, 59% of Americans reported that they read the Bible at least occasionally. This is down from 73% in the 1980s. The percentage of Americans who read the Bible at least once a week is 37%. This is down slightly from 40% in 1990. According to the Barna Research Group, those who read the Bible regularly spend about 52 minutes a week in the scriptures. "The Bible," data is from 1997. Demographics - Which gender is more faithful at reading the Bible at least weekly? The prize goes to the women. Women (42%) are more likely than men (32%) to have read the Bible in the past week. Gallup & Barna Research Polling
Influence on Reading Printing press + English Bibles Public reading of Scriptures Schools began to teach reading Primers
Influence on Language fall flat on his face - Numbers 22:31 skin of my teeth - Job 19:20 the land of the living - Job 28:13 pour out your heart - Psalm 62:8 sour grapes - Ezekiel 18:2 the salt of the earth - Matthew 5:13 give up the ghost - John 19:30 the powers that be - Romans 13:1
Influence on Music George F. Handel - Messiah, Daniel 9, John 1; 4 John Milton - Amazing Grace, John 9:25 Augustus Toplady - Rock of Ages, Isaiah 26:4 Fanny Crosby, I Shall Know Him, 1 Cor. 13:12 Th. Chisholm, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Lam. 3:22-23 Turn, Turn, Turn - The Byrds, Ecclesiastes 3 I Still Haven t Found... Looking For - U2, 1 Cor. 13:1
Influence on Law Declaration of Independence - Creator, Genesis 1:1 Gettysburg Address - Fourscore, Genesis 16:16 Kennedy Inaugural - rejoicing in hope, Romans 12:2 CIA building - truth shall set you free, John 8:31-32 UN building - swords into plow shears, Isaiah 2:4
New King James Bible 1982 - New King James Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers 130 Translators, 7 years, multiple denominations Use KJV English text as foundation from which to build Use the Textus Receptus text-type family, same as KJV Use capitalization on all personal pronouns of God Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation Translators admonished each generation to keep current
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