Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Our Collaborative Blog on the King James Bible

(This is a collaborative post, written by Jordan and Melinda together.)



The King James Bible is 400 years old this year. To celebrate that, our Bible study watched a movie about the making of the KJV. It was a good movie. It was called KJV: The Making of the King James Bible

Here are some interesting facts about the King James Bible from the movie and other places.

* It is considered one of the greatest works of prose in the English language.

* The first one was entirely handwritten.

* It was based on a lot of different Bibles, such as William Tyndale's English translation and various Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic texts.

* One of the first printed editions missed out the word "not" in the seventh commandment, making it "Thou shalt commit adultery." Only 11 copies of that edition remain and they are priceless collector's items.

* It was authorized by King James I, who wanted a newer, more accurate translation to replace all the other English versions available at the time. Puritans however stuck with the Geneva translation. Actually, the KJV was mostly despised by everyone early on.

* Common phrases such as "salt of the earth," "a man after his own heart," "broken heart," "a drop in the bucket" and "a labor of love" were coined in the King James Bible.

* It's still a best seller after 400 years


I love the language of the KJV for devotional reading although I prefer a more modern translation for study. The KJV with it's "thees" and "thous" makes Bible reading feel special to me. --Melinda


I liked learning about the KJV. -- Jordan


Signed,

Jordan and Melinda

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