Welcome to our presentation on the King James Bible.

How did it come about? This book we probably take for granted…

We hope you will find some interesting information in the following slides.

First of all, what is the Bible? It’s a collection of 66 books! These include:  History  Prophecy  Poetry  Letters  Biographies of Jesus

Where do these Scriptures originate?

The word of God was written down in different languages. The Old Testament was recorded in Hebrew and Aramaic. The New Testament came to us in Greek. These Scriptures were translated into Latin.

Monks copied the scriptures by hand.

Bibles took a long time to put together. There were very few.

Monks and clergy understood Latin. A few other people understood Latin but ordinary people didn’t. Church services were all in Latin.

How could ordinary people learn about God? How could they learn about Jesus? They couldn’t!

THEN CAME PRINTING! (THEN CAME PRINTING.) IN GERMANY IN 1456 GUTENBERG PRINTED THE FIRST BIBLE. (IN LATIN.)

An early printing press. There were problems…(lots of smudges!)

The first printed bibles cost as much as a three years’ wages for a clerk! Most were printed on paper, some on vellum (calf skin). Gutenberg saw the bible as a best-seller and a way of making a lot of money. He invested it into new and better ways of printing.

In 1466, bibles were being printed in German. But in England, bibles were still only available in Latin. John Wycliffe wanted to change the situation.

John Wycliffe argued that people had a right to read the bible in their own language. He said the clergy had their own selfish reason for not wanting ordinary people to access the word of God.

Wycliffe said the clergy were afraid of people discovering the great difference between their lifestyle and the lifestyle which Christ actually commended. Universal access would be a social leveller.

Against Wycliffe, it was argued that Christ had put the gospel into the hands of the clergy for them to administer according to the needs of the laity … not for pearls to be scattered before swine!

Wycliffe began the translation of the gospels into English. His work had the potential to cause great unrest. One supporter of Wycliffe cited divine authority. He encouraged his congregation to rise up and seize the wealth of the clergy! The state and church panicked.

Even possessing a bible in English resulted in serious punishment. Bibles in English would have to be printed abroad.

There was further opposition to translation into English. For a long time, French was considered to be a socially superior language. English was not considered to be the language of culture and learning. It was the language of the uneducated.

The period we call the Reformation was one of change; social, political and economic. Latin was spoken by educated people throughout the whole of Europe. New ideas could be shared and spread. But ordinary people were excluded. In Germany, Martin Luther gave two two reasons for the need for reform reform in the church.

Martin Luther said, in 1525 that:  The church had lost sight of the New Testament message that salvation is given by God as a gift and not earned as a reward.  The key to the reform and renewal of the church was to put the bible in the hands of lay people...translated into their own language.

Luther commissioned translation of the New Testament into German.

In England, the impetus for reform was political. Henry VIII had to agree to reform in order to safeguard his personal authority within England.

Several English translations were then printed and circulated in England.  1526: William Tyndale published the New Testament in English.  1530: he published the first five books of the Old Testament.  1530: the Coverdale Bible, the first complete English bible.  1539: the Great Bible.  1560: the Geneva Bible.  1568: the Bishops’ Bible.

In 1571 cathedrals were ordered to use the Bishops’ Bible. The Geneva bible which outsold all other interpretations was seen as a threat to the monarchy. It was seen to undermine any biblical basis for ‘the divine right of kings’. The Puritans supported its usage. When he became king in 1603, King James saw this as a challenge.

King James wanted to be sympathetic to the Puritans. He convened the Hampton Court Conference in One aim was to discuss the Book of Common Prayer and divine service within the church. No specific mention was made, initially, of biblical translation. Puritan John Reynolds proposed a new biblical translation by way of a compromise.

With James’s support, the Hampton Court Conference resolved, in 1604, that: A translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek; and this to be set out and printed, without any marginal notes, and only to be used in all churches of England in time of divine service. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were to carry out the work.

Question: How many times does the word ‘its’ appear in the King James Bible? The answer is on the next slide.

The word ‘its ’ appears only once in the King James Bible, at Leviticus 25: 5 In the early 17 th century, the word ‘his’ was used instead, meaning ‘ belonging to him’ or ‘belonging to it’. Eg; Matthew 5: 13: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his flavour, wherewith shall it be salted?

One group of translators commissioned by James in 1604 got round the problem of replacing ‘its’ with ‘ his’. An example of this is shown in Exodus 30: 2. (a description of measurements and structure of an altar). A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof. A revised version reads : A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its breadth.

Did you realise that many idioms we use in modern English come from the King James Bible? They are almost literal translations from the Hebrew. “to fall flat on his face” Numbers 22:31 “ the land of the living ” Job 28:13 “pride goes before a fall” Proverbs 16: 18 “ like a lamb to the slaughter” Isaiah 53: 7

More idioms originating in Hebrew scripture are: “put words in his mouth” 2 Samuel 14: 3 “to go from strength to strength” Psalm 84: 7 “the skin of my teeth” Job 19: 20 “sour grapes” Ezekiel 18: 2 “under the sun” Ecclesiastes 1: 4

Do we know for sure how readers of the King James bible actually pronounced words? (There may be implications!) There is strong evidence that verbs ending in ‘ eth’ or ‘th’ were actually pronounced as though they ended in ‘s’ Eg: leadeth leads noteth notes hath has

In his book * of 1643, Richard Hodges comments that English is not a phonetic language. ‘eth’ would be pronounced ‘s’ To illustrate this, he says ‘ knoweth ’ would actually have been pronounced ‘‘ knows ’. Consider how this passage from John chapter 2 would have sounded to a listener in 1611: He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light…. * ‘Special Help To Orthography’

So what has been the legacy of the King James bible? It has been an inspiration to poets, dramatists, artists and politicians.

John 3: 16 For God so loved his only begotten son….

At a time when the King James Bible was the only book available to them, it enabled many to learn to read. Spoken English at home, in Asia and Africa was shaped by its language and imagery.

Inspired by the King James Bible we have Paradise Lost, Pilgrim’s Progress, Handel’s Messiah. The King James Bible did not follow literary trends, it set them.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address owes much to the King James Bible.

Without the King James Bible there would be no Negro spirituals.

Martin Luther King was inspired by passages from the King James Bible. ‘I have a dream…’ Isaiah 40:4 - 5

More prudish Victorians objected to the explicit language of certain passages of the King James Bible….they were considered unsuitable for the young.

There is so much more to learn about the King James Bible. We hope today has inspired you to investigate!

Praise be to God.