The King James Version

The King James Version was translated out of the original tongues, making use of all previous translations, including that of William Tyndale. In the preface of the 1611 edition, the translators state that their intent was not to make a new translation but to make a good one better. It is a revision of the Geneva Bible.

Presented to King James I when it was published in 1611, the King James Version has been the standard English version for nearly 400 years.

While the King James Version is not without its weaknesses, most significantly its reliance on faulty Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, its influence on English speaking Christians cannot be denied. The KJV provided a common Bible for English Protestantism well into the 20th century. The King James Version of the Bible is noted for its majesty of style, even among those who would argue against its accuracy of translation. The translators and scholars who developed the King James Version were fully familiar with the original languages of the Bible and were particularly gifted in their use of the English language. The King James Version is known for its use of well-chosen English words of their time, rendering a graceful, poetical, often musical, arrangement of language.

The impact of the King James Version on the language of Christianity is immense. While we have for the most part abandoned the "thee" and "thou" of our ancestors, we often use such language to address God. For my part, I know that the words of Scripture that I have committed to memory are the words of the King James Version.

Although recent modern translations have gained in popularity at the expense of the KJV, the King James Version continues to be the most popular and best-selling version of the Holy Bible.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. -- Genesis 1:1

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. -- Genesis 1:2

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -- John 3:16