Caption: "King James Authorized Version, 'The noblest monument in the English Language' - Lowes, Printed by Robert Barker, London, 1611. In sheer literary excellence, it is hardly conceivable that the Bible of 1611 known as the King James Authorized Version will ever be surpassed. The scholars and linguists who worked for seven years on this version spared no pains to make it as perfect as they could. It was planned for the average man and woman. They did not disdain, as stated in the preface, 'to bring back to the anvil that which we have hammered.' The style is an evolution, 'a revision of revisions' of the Bible made during the sixteenth century in England. It rests largely on the simple and energetic diction of Tyndale's translation of the New Testament, first printed in Germany in the year 1525. The predominance of Saxon words is very remarkable. In the preface, drawn up by Dr. Miles Smith, later bishop of Gloucester, the authors disclaimed all originality and wrote, 'We never thought from the beginning … to make of a bad one a good one … but to make a good one better or out of many good ones one principal good one.’ Many great English authors give unstinted praise to this Bible. Macaulay says, “If everything else in our language should perish this book would alone suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.’ Tennyson says, ‘The Bible ought to be read, were it only for the sake of the gran English in which it is written, an education in itself.’ However, it was slow to win its ultimate position of unquestionable supremacy. King James deserves little credit for this work which bears his name. Barker, the printer, advanced considerable money to the editors during the period of writing. The nickname, the “He” Bible, was given to the first printing because of the wording in Ruth III: 15, ‘and he went into the city.’ The second issue printed ‘She.’”
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
