Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!
Here is something I would like to share from an unknown author about the King James Bible.
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This is one of most amazing subjects I’ve ever been blessed to research. If you’ve ever wondered about the formation of the English Bible, I’ve just scratched the surface of the amazing journey.
The King James Bible has always had a special place in untold millions of hearts, mine being one of them. I have read and studied on just a few aspects of this grand work that literally changed the world. The work began in the year of 1604 and took seven years to complete.
54 learned men were given the task to translate the Bible into English. There were to be six teams with nine scholars on each team. In the study “The History of the Reformation of the Church of England, only 47 names are identified. Seven of the men died early on in the process.
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Many were involved in the translation:
Primarily
Cambridge University - established in 1209
Westminster Abbey - established in 1269
Oxford University - established in 1096
Secondarily
Edinburgh University - established in 1583
Dublin University - established in 1592
Leiden University - established in 1575
The 47 translators were divided into six teams.
1. The First Westminster Company
Their assignment: Genesis to II Kings
Head: Lancelot Andrews, Dean of Westminster Abbey
2. The First Cambridge Company
Their assignment: I Chronicles to the Song of Songs
Head: Edward Lively, Regius Professor of Hebrew, Cambridge University
3. The First Oxford Company
Their assignment: Isaiah to Malachi
Head: John Harding, president of Magdalen College, Oxford
4. The Second Oxford Company
Their assignment: Matthew, Mark, Luke John, Acts, Revelation
Head: Thomas Ravid, Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
5. The Second Westminster Company
Their assignment: The New Testament letters (Romans through Jude)
Head: William Barlow, Dean of Chester
6. The Second Cambridge Company
Their assignment: The Apocryphal books
Head: John Duport, master of Jesus College, Cambridge
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After each team completed their task, two delegates from each team was chosen to review and revise the entire work.
Nineteenth century writers and literary critics proclaimed the King James Version (KJV) Bible, as the noblest monument of English prose. But it was so much more than that.
Sir Arthur Quiller-Coach, who published the Oxford book of English declared that the KJV was “the very greatest” literary achievement in the English language.
The KJV Bible was not a follower. It established literary trends. It shaped the English language as the best conveyor of religious truths.
This great work came to be seen as the foundation of “every” aspect of English culture.
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In 1620, Francis Bacon observed that three inventions shaped the world. Printing, gunpowder, and the magnet. The magnet enabled sea travel when the stars were covered by the clouds. Prior to the invention of the compass, no sailer dared leave sight of the shore.
A goldsmith from Germany named Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press in 1440 -Let the printing revolution begin.
Around 1449/50 Gutenberg began cutting the type for the first printed Bible. Composition began in 1452 and the printing was completed in 1456. Six or seven years was needed to print the first bible. It is thought that the first printing produced 180 copies of which 48 still exist today. They are worth about $35 million each if you are fortunate enough to have one.
Gutenberg printed 135 of them on paper and 45 on vellum. Vellum is parchment made from the skin of a calf.
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Research in 2021 conducted by the British and Foreign Bible Society estimates the total number of bibles in existence lies between 5 and 7 billion copies.
As of 2022 Wycliffe Global Alliance says the Bible has been translated into 724 languages, with another 1,617 languages that have the New Testament. With 7,000 languages in the world, the need is great. It’s estimated that 3,589 languages have access to at least one book.
Some may only have access to one book. Rev Steve Waldron correctly states, what if that book of the Bible is the only one they have? If you only have the book of Matthew in your possession, having a verse in Mark doesn’t help you.
William Tyndale - he was executed for producing an English Bible at the age of 42. The Tyndale bible lives on in the King James Version. He coined, (among others), “my brother’s keeper, the salt of the earth, the powers that be, and a law unto themselves.” The work he completed is simply astounding. William Tyndale constructed the word Jehovah from the Tetragrammaton, he also invented the word Passover from the Hebrew word Pesah. He also coined the words “scapegoat,” and “atonement.” He created new English words to accommodate biblical ideas. He was a master at neologism.
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3 philosophies of Bible translation
formal equivalence - word for word
functional equivalence - thought for thought
optimal equivalence - balancing tension between accuracy & ease of reading
William Tyndale (1494-1536) never considered functional or optimal equivalence. To use functional & optimal equivalence is to interpret before translating.
Readability of:
Message Bible 4th-5th grade level
NIV & ESV 7th-8th grade level
KJV 12th grade level
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Using the Internet anyone can benefit from the 1,000s of hours of research comparing line by line of the different bible translations. Many liberties have been taken by using functional and optimal equivalence in translating.
“I never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honor, pleasure, or riches, might be given me.” William Tyndale, Martyr of God/Translated Bible to English. The scholars of the KJV 1611 used 80+% of this one man’s work.
Many bible translators can’t say those words William Tyndale uttered, as many translated with a slant towards their own religious bias.
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Johannes Gutenberg thought that his printing press invention would make him rich. While his achievement secured his place in history, he died in poverty. Others grew rich from his invention as demand for books greatly increased.
The ability to read had once been reserved for the clergy, but the printing press put books in the hands of anyone that could afford them. The Bible was of course the largest book at that time, but it would have cost about three years worth of wages to acquire one.
Many homes deemed the Bible to be an essential part of the home for devotions. Books were a hot commodity, and none more so than the Bible.
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In the 14th century not very many people could read. The main reason? Not very many books. All were hand written. The printing press put books in everyone's hands. Then people discovered that they couldn't see the small print. This led to the widespread use of eyeglasses. Eyeglasses led to the invention of the telescope. Printing paved the way for astronomy. Great things lead to greater things.
The struggle for an English bible had many roadblocks. The clergy didn’t want the people to be able to read the Bible for themselves, so they ridiculed the English language. English was seen as the language of only the poor and considered incapable of discussing anything of importance.
In 1466 a German Bible was published at Strasbourg. Martin Luther’s New Testament translation was published in 1522.
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Translating the Bible into English was forbidden and even illegal under a decree known as the Constitutions of Oxford. The clergy said it was far too dangerous to be in the hands of the laity.
The English language began to find its footing in the 15th century. They wanted a national language and the French language began to be replaced by English. There were still many pushing Latin and French, but the English language would soon prevail.
At this time, the Bible was almost exclusively only available in Latin. When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door, it was written in Latin.
The reign of Henry V is seen as a turning point for the acceptance of the English language. The 100 years war cast the French language as the language of the enemy. This greatly helped the English language to find a foot hold. There was a line in Henry VI part II: He can speak French; and therefore he is a traitor.
English would first become the language of the religious underground. To write in English in many circles would label you as a heretic.
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In the academic world, they were still committed to Latin. From the 15-17th century only about 1 out of a 100 books was printed in English.
The Renaissance and the Protestant reformation had a significant impact on the English language. The wider access to books being printed in English helped significantly. The Bible and Shakespeare were at the top of the list.
The following is a list of the English Bibles and the year they were printed:
1. The Wycliffe Bible (1382
2. The Tyndale Bible (1526)
3. The Coverdale Bible (1535)
4. The Matthew Bible (1537)
5. The Great Bible (1539)
6. The Geneva Bible (1560)
7. The Bishops' Bible (1568)
8. The Douay-Rheims Bible (1582)
9. The King James Version (1611)
10. The English Standard Version (2001)
11. The New International Version (1978)
12. The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
13. The Revised Standard Version (1952)
14. The New American Standard Bible (1960)
15. The Holman Christian Standard Bible (2004)
16. The New Living Translation (1996)
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Martin Luther would play a large part in inspiring William Tyndale to publish an bible in English.
Martin Luther 1483-1546 planned to become a lawyer. In 1505 at the age of 22 he was ready to study law. However, while in a thunderstorm, lightning knocked him off his horse. He cried, St Anne help me! I will become a monk! And to the dismay of his family he did just that. Throughout history being saved from death changed many lives.
No doubt Luther saw himself as a man who was deeply sinful. He observed the rules of his order with the utmost scrupulosity. "I was a good monk, and kept the rule of my order so strictly that I can say that, if ever a monk got to heaven by his monastic discipline, that was me."
It was not until 1515 that Martin Luther would discover that it was God’s righteousness not his own that would save him.
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Who was King James?
During her imprisonment at Lochleven Castle in Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots is forced to abdicate in favor of her one-year-old son, later crowned King James VI of Scotland.
In 1542, while just six days old, Mary ascended to the Scottish throne upon the death of her father, King James V. Her mother sent her to be raised in the French court, and in 1558 she married the French dauphin, who became King Francis II of France in 1559 but died the following year. After Francis’ death, Mary returned to Scotland to assume her designated role as the country’s monarch.
In 1565, she married her English cousin Lord Darnley in order to reinforce her claim of succession to the English throne after Elizabeth’s death. In 1567, Darnley was mysteriously killed in an explosion at Kirk o’ Field, and Mary’s lover, the Earl of Bothwell, was the key suspect. Although Bothwell was acquitted of the charge, his marriage to Mary in the same year enraged the nobility, and Bothwell and Mary were imprisoned. Mary was held on the tiny island of Loch Leven, where she was forced to abdicate in favor of her son by Darnley, James.
In 1568, she escaped from captivity and raised a substantial army but was defeated and fled to England. Queen Elizabeth initially welcomed Mary but was soon forced to put her friend under house arrest after Mary became the focus of various English Catholic and Spanish plots to overthrow Elizabeth. Nineteen years later, in 1586, a major plot to murder Elizabeth was reported, and Mary was brought to trial. She was convicted for complicity and sentenced to death.
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On February 8, 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded for treason. Her son, King James VI of Scotland, calmly accepted his mother’s execution, and upon Queen Elizabeth’s death in 1603 he became king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. This information was from the history channel.
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James was in bed, but not yet asleep, when he learned that he had become King of England. He had been King of Scotland since he was one year old, when his mother Mary, Queen of Scots had been deposed thirty-five years before. He had spent his life in the wings and now, at last, his great scene was about to begin.
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Excerpt from: "God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible" by Adam Nicolson
Regarding the King James Bible:
Abraham Lincoln: “It is the best book God has given to man.”
Charles Dickens: “The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.”
George Washington: “It is impossible, rightly to govern the world without God and the Bible.”
John Wesley: “Oh give me that Book! At any price give me the book of God. Let me be a man of one Book.”
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The first Bible translation from Hebrew was into Greek, known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint was translated in the 3rd century BC in Alexandria, Egypt by a group of Jewish scholars. The Septuagint became an important text in the early Christian church and was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews and Christians.
The Bible was translated from Hebrew to Latin by Saint Jerome in the 4th century AD. This translation, known as the Vulgate, became the standard version of the Bible in the Western Church for over a thousand years. Saint Jerome's translation was highly influential and had a significant impact on the development of Christianity in Europe. He dedicated over 40 years of his life to this great work.
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Here is a list of some of the translations from the original Hebrew
Here are some translations of the Bible from Hebrew into other languages:
1. The Septuagint (Greek)
2. The Vulgate (Latin)
3. The Peshitta (Syriac)
4. The Targums (Aramaic)
5. The Samaritan Pentateuch (Samaritan Aramaic)
6. The Old Latin (Latin)
7. The Gothic Bible (Gothic)
8. The Coptic Bible (Coptic)
9. The Armenian Bible (Classical Armenian)
10. The Georgian Bible (Georgian)
11. The Ethiopic Bible (Ge'ez)
12. The Slavonic Bible (Old Church Slavonic)
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The year was 1382 when an Oxford scholar named John Wycliffe organized the first version of an English Bible. The following are quotes by John Wycliffe
1. "The Bible is for the government of the people, by the people, and for the people."
2. "The truth of Holy Scripture is the highest authority for every believer, and the true standard for all teaching and life."
3. "The whole truth of the Gospel must be proclaimed, without compromise or fear of man."
4. "The Church must be reformed according to the Word of God, and not according to the traditions of men."
5. "Every Christian has the right and the duty to read and study the Bible for themselves, and to interpret it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
6. "The true Church is not a building or an organization, but a spiritual body of believers who have been saved by faith in Jesus Christ."
7. "The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, and it is our duty to follow it wherever it leads us."
8. "The only way to be saved and to have eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose again from the dead."
9. "The Bible is the most valuable possession that anyone can have, for it contains the words of eternal life."
10. "The love of God is the greatest force in the universe, and it is the foundation of all true faith and righteousness."
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Genesis – Moses (1445-1405 BC)
Exodus – Moses (1445-1405 BC)
Leviticus – Moses (1445-1405 BC)
Numbers – Moses (1445-1405 BC)
Deuteronomy – Moses (1445-1405 BC)
Joshua – Joshua (1350-1250 BC)
Judges – Various Authors (1200-1050 BC)
Ruth – Unknown (1150-1000 BC)
1 Samuel – Samuel, Gad, and Nathan (1050-1000 BC)
2 Samuel – Gad, Nathan, and Ira (1000-950 BC)
1 Kings – Unknown (950-900 BC)
2 Kings – Unknown (900-700 BC)
1 Chronicles – Ezra (450-400 BC)
2 Chronicles – Ezra (450-400 BC)
Ezra – Ezra (450-400 BC)
Nehemiah – Nehemiah (445-432 BC)
Esther – Unknown (480-470 BC)
Job – Unknown (1500-1000 BC)
Psalms – Various Authors (1400-400 BC)
Proverbs – Solomon (950-700 BC)
Ecclesiastes – Solomon (950-700 BC)
Song of Solomon – Solomon (950-700 BC)
Isaiah – Isaiah (700-680 BC)
Jeremiah – Jeremiah (625-580 BC)
Lamentations – Jeremiah (625-580 BC)
Ezekiel – Ezekiel (570-560 BC)
Daniel – Daniel (530-520 BC)
Hosea – Hosea (750-710 BC)
Joel – Joel (835-796 BC)
Amos – Amos (760-750 BC)
Obadiah – Obadiah (845-840 BC)
Jonah – Jonah (790-760 BC)
Micah – Micah (750-686 BC)
Nahum – Nahum (660-612 BC)
Habakkuk – Habakkuk (605-585 BC)
Zephaniah – Zephaniah (640-610 BC)
Haggai – Haggai (520-490 BC)
Zechariah – Zechariah (520-470 BC)
Malachi – Malachi (430-400 BC)
Matthew – Matthew (50-60 AD)
Mark – Mark (50-60 AD)
Luke – Luke (50-60 AD)
John – John (90-100 AD)
Acts – Luke (60-62 AD)
Romans – Paul (58 AD)
1 Corinthians – Paul (55 AD)
2 Corinthians – Paul (55-56 AD)
Galatians – Paul (48-49 AD)
Ephesians – Paul (60-62 AD)
Philippians – Paul (60-62 AD)
Colossians – Paul (60-62 AD)
1 Thessalonians – Paul (51-52 AD)
2 Thessalonians – Paul (51-52 AD)
1 Timothy – Paul (62-64 AD)
2 Timothy – Paul (67 AD)
Titus – Paul (62-64 AD)
Philemon – Paul (62-64 AD)
Hebrews – Unknown (60-90 AD)
James – James (45-50 AD)
1 Peter – Peter (60-64 AD)
2 Peter – Peter (64-65 AD)
1 John – John (90-100)
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All of the Old Testament books were written in Hebrew with the exception of a few portions written in Aramaic. The entirety of the New Testament books were written in Greek. All surviving manuscripts of the NT are in Greek though some suspect earlier copies contained some written in Aramaic.
John Wycliffe was born in Yorkshire, England in 1328. He translated the first full Bible into English in 1382. He passed away in 1384.
Wycliffe took on a monumental task translating the Bible into English. It took him and his assistants 13 years.
What did Wycliffe use to translate the Bible into English?
He used the Latin Vulgate written by St Jerome.
St Jerome was born in 347AD and he died in 420ad. He completed the Latin Vulgate in 405AD. He invested over 40 years in translating the Bible into Latin.
Jerome was a highly educated scholar and linguist who was fluent in several languages, including Hebrew and Greek. He spent many years studying in Rome and other centers of learning throughout Europe and the Middle East. During this time, he would have had access to a wide variety of manuscripts and sources, including copies of the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible. He also had access to other scholars and experts who could help him with any difficult passages or translations. In short, Jerome's extensive education, language skills, and scholarly connections allowed him to obtain and study the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible.
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Here are some quotes by St Jerome
1. "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ."
2. "The face of prayer is the gateway to Heaven."
3. "The Bible is a book of life; it teaches us to live and die."
4. "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven."
5. "The reading of Scripture is an exercise of the soul; it should be done with reverence and attention."
6. "The Scriptures are like a river that never runs dry."
7. "Prayer is the key that opens the door to Heaven."
8. "He who loves the Scriptures loves God."
9. "The word of God is like a two-edged sword that pierces the soul."
10. "If you seek wisdom, seek it in the Word of God."
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Formal/Complete equivalence or Word-for-Word translations:
1. King James Version (KJV)
2. New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3. English Standard Version (ESV)
4. Revised Standard Version (RSV)
5. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
6. Amplified Bible (AMP)
7. New King James Version (NKJV)
8. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9. Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
10. Darby Translation (DBY)
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Dynamic/Functional equivalence or thought for thought translations:
1. New Living Translation (NLT)
2. The Message (MSG)
3. Good News Bible (GNB)
4. Common English Bible (CEB)
5. New International Version (NIV)
6. Contemporary English Version (CEV)
7. New Century Version (NCV)
8. New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
9. The Voice (VOICE)
10. Today's New International Version (TNIV)
William Tyndale said “I never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, whether it be honor, pleasure, or riches, might be given me.” William Tyndale, Martyr of God/Translated Bible to English. The scholars of the KJV 1611 used 80+% of this one man’s work.
Many bible translators can’t say those words William Tyndale uttered, as many translated with a slant towards their own religious bias.
William James Roop
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