The King James Bible

‘In 1603 James Stuart of Scotland ascended the throne of Great Britain. Characterized by a contemporary monarch, Henry IV of France, as ‘‘the wisest fool in Christendom,”’ he was a strange combination of scholar and coxcomb, wise man and egotist. Along with all his absurdities, however, there went not a little shrewdness and a good share of solid learning. To this grotesque ruler the eyes of the nation were turned. The bitter warfare between Protestantism and Catholicism that had torn England for centuries was by no means over. The days of “Bloody Mary” were too recent to be regarded dispassionately. Although popery was in subjection, dangerous plots were rife in certain quarters. Nonconformists, both in Scotland and in England, complicated the

64 situation. The result, a general feeling of tension in regard to religion, made the attitude of the new king toward the Church a matter of first importance. On the one hand were the Puritans, who, knowing James’s early contact with Presbyterianism, hoped that he would look upon them with favor. On the other hand was the Established Church, in a strong position, for, with Stuart obstinacy, James clung to the principle of the divine right of kings, and the Established Church was indissolubly linked with the government.

The issue was not long in doubt. James clearly indicated that he intended to support the Church of England. The Puritans immediately capitalized certain of their grievances. Contending that the Prayer Book was marred by inaccurate renderings and that the order of worship was too elaborate, they began to sow dissension. To settle such matters as this, James assented to the request for a Church Conference.

It was held at Hampton Court. The king, twenty clergymen, including bishops, deans, Puritans, one Scotch Presbyterian preacher, members of the Privy Council, and ecclesiastical lawyers, were present, There was much debate and much controversy, but little of lasting importance was done until Dr. John Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, suggested that a new translation of the Bible be made. This suggestion he based upon the charge, already prevalent, that the existing versions were corrupt. Perhaps the Puritan protest against the Prayer Book first brought this idea to his mind. At any rate, the majority of the conference seemed to be but little impressed. But the king seized upon the proposal. In his usual dogmatic manner he outlined a plan for making it actual. Shortly afterwards the conference broke up, the prelates supporting the king and the Puritans stoutly holding out against his ridiculous claim of infalli-

66 bility. Apparently little of great moment had been accomplished.

James, however, did not forget the proposed translation. He soon selected the most noted scholars in his realm and informed them of the nature of their task. In 1607 they set to work. The whole company, forty-seven in number, was divided into six groups which met at Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge — two groups in each place, one for the Old Testament and one for the New Testament. Every scholar in each section took the same portion of the text. This he translated. His translation was then compared with that of his colleagues, and upon the basis of the comparison a rendering was agreed upon and sent for approval to a final committee of revisers. These, the ultimate authority, adopted the translation in the form that accorded with their best judgment. In his Table Talk, John Selden, the great contemporary jurist and savant, comments thus on the work of King James’s committee: ‘That part of the Bible was given to him who was most excellent in such a tongue, and then they met together, and one read the translation, the rest holding in their hand some Bible, either of the learned tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, etc. If any found fault they spoke; if not, he read on.”.

In 1611 the work of the scholars was finished; their translation, commonly known as the Authorized Version or the King James Bible, appeared in a large folio. Although it came to the people backed by the Church and the Crown,’ it was some time before it could supplant the Geneva Bible. But its ultimate success was inevitable. In accuracy and in beauty of diction it surpassed all rivals. This was to be expected, for not only

* Notwithstanding the current use of this term, the Jacobean revision was never publicly authorized by parliament or convocation, privy council or king. The acceptance which it has enjoyed has been won chiefly on its merits. “The Cambridge History of English Literature,” Vol. IV, p. 26.

68 did the revisers base their renderings upon the Bishops’ Bible, itself a version of high merit, but they also made use of ancient and modern translations in many languages and consulted all the old manuscripts that were available.

Thus the labor of centuries was finished. Whatever can be said in favor of the many subsequent renderings, and there is much to commend some of them, the fact remains that in the King James Bible the Word of God has found its final English form. Admirable as the Revised Versions are, careful and accurate though the scholarship which made them is, they are hardly to be compared with the grandeur of the Authorized Version. As references for disputed passages they are indispensable. But the Bible that Christians read day after day, that they make a part of themselves through their memory, this is the King James Bible. In comparison with the great boon of its marvellous language, certain inaccuracies and obscurities

69 which it admittedly contains are of little moment. For it is the crown of our literature. No student of English would think of denying it preéminence. Despite differences of creed or of interpretation, literary critics unite in giving primacy to this book, a book that is more than a mere translation in that it recreates for the English-speaking world the very spirit of inspiration in which the originals were written.

And how could it be otherwise? This is the book in the making of which the blood of brave men was shed. They counted the labor of translating worth exile and even death in the flames. This is the book that was burned in public, yet snatched away and cherished in secret. This is the book that was read by a nation, that was taken by fearless men to an unknown land where, on the foundation of the morality inculcated by its teaching, a great republic was built. Through its influence great masters of our literature have been nurtured. Coleridge

70 owed much to it. Ruskin, describing how his mother read it aloud to him, said, “She established my soul in life, and gave me the most precious, the one essential part of my education.’ Stevenson, with true faith and fine spiritual discernment, studied it constantly. The very language which is spoken today on the streets and in the homes of America, England, Australia, Canada — wherever English is known — is rooted and grounded in this book. “Clear as crystal,” “root of all evil,” “still, small voice,” “we are the people’ — these and hundreds of other Bible phrases are on every tongue. F. W. Faber, writing truly con amore of this version, has said, ‘It lives on the ear like music that can never be forgotten, like the sound of church bells. The felicities often seem to be almost things rather than mere words. It is a part of the national mind and the anchor of national seriousness.”