31 pages--$5.95 (booklet)
Before the English founded Jamestown in the Virginia Colony on
May 14, 1607, work had already begun on what has been called
“the noblest monument of English prose.” The Authorized
Version of the Bible, more commonly known as the King James
Version because it was translated under the authority of King
James I of England, was begun in 1604. The year 2011 marks the
quatercentenary, or four-hundredth anniversary, of its publication. But although we know the day and month of the founding
of Jamestown, all we know about the publication date of the
Authorized Version is the year appearing on its title page—1611.
Although the King James Bible was not the first Bible translation
into English from the original languages—that honor goes to
William Tyndale in 1526—it is widely regarded as the most
important and most influential English translation of the Bible.
But that is not all. The King James Bible is also universally
recognized as a significant literary work and a landmark in the
history of the English language. To many it is all these things and, more
importantly, the word of God in English.
Note: This essay is included in its entirety in the
new edition
of King James, His Bible, and Its Translators, but may still be ordered
separately.
