The Story of Our King James Bible

The Translation (Part 2)

King James approved a new translation in part, so that he could “undo” the bias against the monarchy and “popery” built into the Geneva Bible

Nevertheless, the translators found ways to express their views• Cross references were

allowed (marginal, theological notes were not)

• Translators took this opportunity to express the Protestant view that much of the OT is prophetic in nature

• Many of the cross references were borrowed from the Vulgate

• This was a problem, as the Psalms are numbered differently there– Psalm 9-10 are one Psalm,

# 9– Psalm 114-115 are Psalm

113• This was not fixed in the

KJV until the 1629 and 1638 editions

Variations in Hebrew and Greek texts could be noted• One meaning would be

expressed in the text• Alternative meanings

could be noted in the margins

• This provided an opportunity for varying views to be expressed

Book titles reflected the translators view of authorship• “The first book of Moses,

called Genesis,”• The Epistle of Paul the

Apostle to the Hebrews• They called the writers of

the Gospels “saints,” but didn’t use that word to describe the authors of the epistles

They added chapter summaries, and “running heads” for books• So whereas Jews saw

God’s love for Israel in Song of Solomon

• Our translators saw Christ’s love for the Church in it

They used conservative language, even for their day• It was not the English that

was spoken in 1611• As much as they could,

the left they left in place the language of earlier translations

• For instance, the distinction between “ye” (plural) and “you” (singular) was fading by then

• “Thou” and “thee” had lost any numerical distinction, but retained social distinction

• “You” was polite, deferential; the inferior to the superior

• “Thou” was the form used by superiors to inferiors

• But God Himself is usually “Thou,” which probably reflects the conservatism of the translators: a century prior, “thou” was singular

• They never used the neuter possessive pronoun “its.”

• But always “his”(masculine and neuter)

• Because “its” wasn’t widely accepted until the 1620s

• The translators consistently favored older forms of words and speech– (Our Father, which art in Heaven)

• Even in their day, its language was formal and archaic

Rules of grammar were different then• We don’t use double

comparatives—they did– So Paul was “the most

straitest sect of our religion…” Acts 26.5

• Direct speech (quotes) were marked by commas and capital letters– Mark 1.15 “And saying, The

time is fulfilled”– The end of direct speech is not

marked