How The King James Bible Came To Be Made

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B

Baruch

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#1
#1
At this link below:

http://www.av1611.org/kjv/kjvhist.html

... is the quote from the article in what the King James Bible went through to be made.

Although fifty-four men were nominated, only forty-seven were known to have taken part in the work of translation. The translators were organized into six groups, and met respectively at Westminster, Cambridge, and Oxford. Ten at Westminster were assigned Genesis through 2 Kings; seven had Romans through Jude. At Cambridge, eight worked on 1 Chronicles through Ecclesiastes, while seven others handled the Apocrypha. Oxford employed seven to translate Isaiah through Malachi; eight occupied themselves with the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation.

Fifteen general rules were advanced for the guidance of the translators:
Click to expand...
There is more information to the brief history of its making at the link.
 
MahogonySnail

MahogonySnail

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#2
Jan 8, 2009
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At least that website acknowledges that it was put together by men and didn't miraculously drop out of the sky hand-penned by God. I don't trust a KJV-only cult website like av1611.org usually.

If I remember my history right, KJV was written by the Church of England which is predominantly non-Calvinist and episcopal.
The motive for making the KJV was so the Bishops didn't have to use the Geneva bible.

I always have a chuckle when Calvinists by name and by denomination say how great the KJV is and it's the only version. I have a vague recollection of history that the Puritans hated the KJV so much they burnt it, and took a copy of the Geneva bible with them to America.

The King James Version was born out of a need to still the voices of godly ministers who relied heavily on the Geneva Bible and the exceptionally well written notes in the margins which taught that Christians should not obey corrupt Kings who ordered them to obey even in wicked instances. The Bishop's Bible, the Great Bible, the Tyndale Bible and the Coverdale Bible could be found in various churches, yet for a generation they had not been revised nor had they been reprinted. The Geneva bible has been the favorite of Puritans for 50 years, and found its final revision in 1599. King James, though, being the wicked man he was, did not want the notes of the Geneva Bible circulated as far and wide as they had. He desired another translation to be made without notes.
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http://www.apuritansmind.com/PuritanWorship/KJVBible.htm



Though the King James Bible was never “authorized” by King James, it was called the authorized King James Version nevertheless. "Many stood up against the King James Version. Dr. Hugh Boughton, a distinguished scholar recognized by John Lightfoot, said "The late Bible...was sent to me to censure: which bred in me a sadness that will grieve me while I breathe, it is ill done. Tell His Majesty that I had rather be rent in pieces with wild horses, than any such translation by my consent should be urged upon poor churches...The new edition crosseth me. I require it to be burnt." Even John Lightfoot, in 1629, objected to the Apocrypha being placed in the canon. The King James Version went through fifteen printings in the first three years. It seems many disagreed with its translation and the committees were forced to revise it over and over again. The first major revision being some months after the 1609 version and the authorized version (1611) came two years after.
It was not until 1662 that the King James Version was beginning to be used in Churches. The popularity of the King James Version today has grown exceedingly compared to its very unpopular beginning years. People are constantly quoting that erroneous statement "the King James Bible was good enough for Jesus and Paul, it is good enough for me!" It is easy to see the dedication to such a beautiful translation in the King's English, though any church historian knows that Paul or Jesus never carried it around with them. Why is it that so many cling to such a "sacred" translation? To see one obvious reason is to observe the fact that it is popular. Another reason would be the poetical structure and the flowing words which come out with grace as one reads. People say that the first Bible one reads is the one he or she falls in love with. As the King James Bible became a “fad” in England as a result of the King’s desire to rid his court with the Geneva notes, people began to find its appeal more and more.
 
MahogonySnail

MahogonySnail

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#3
Jan 8, 2009
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#3
Sorry, not disagreeing with the original post, but a history of how the KJV came to be would not be complete without mention of its motives, origins, and initial lack of popularity, the way it was forced upon the population as the only bible version. At the time a government sanctioned bible. And the possible links between the KJV and freemasonry. There are possible links between King James, KJV-only-ism cults , free masonry and Southern Baptists, not to mention the Church of England.

A bit about King James's link to freemasonry:

http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/james_vi/james_vi.html

On the west wall of the lodge hall used by Lodge Scoon and Perth No. 3 in Perth, Scotland can be found a mural depicting James VI kneeling at their altar at his initiation. The oldest existing record of the Lodge, called "The Mutual Agreement" of 24 December, 1658, records that James was "entered Freemason and Fellowcraft of the Lodge of Scoon" on 15 April, 1601.


Hence the KJV has sometimes been referred to as the "freemason's bible".

But having said all that, it is a very good translation.
 
MahogonySnail

MahogonySnail

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#4
Jan 8, 2009
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But for a moment let's put ourselves in the shoes of a Christian at the time.
Imagine if today President Obama decided to make a new English bible version and authorise it the official bible translation. That's effectively what King James did. Wouldn't all the KJV-loving Americans be up in arms about that now? But that's pretty much our beloved KJV came to be.
hehehe go figure :).
 
C

Cup-of-Ruin

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#5
#5
Yes the early Reformers used the Geneva Bible, the Geneva Bible and the commentary notes that were included in the editions were so good, that it was doing what the Word does when it's correctly translated - it causes trouble and certainly trouble for those in power that are self-interested. The Geneva Bible was so popular and successful that it had to be stopped, and what stopped it was the KJV, which was not popular and for many years after the Geneva was still the Bible of choice and for good reason. The KJV was a state production blockbuster that was in reality more of a reaction to the success of the Geneva Bible and the very informative notes that came with it. It took some time before sheer production power and promotion began to push out the Geneva Bible.
 
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