King James Version of Bible celebrates 400th anniversary
East of Eden. A still small voice. The root of the matter.
As the King James Version of the Bible celebrates its 400th anniversary this year, those are but a few idioms from it that have carried through time.
David Crystal’s 2010 book, “Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language” is a compilation of such idioms.
Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Bangor, Wales, found 257.
Yet, most of the idioms don’t originate in the King James translation at all. Rather they’re found in one of the translations that appeared in the preceding 130 years -- by Wycliffe (1388), Tyndale (1526-30), the Bishops’ Bible (1568), the Geneva Bible (1560) or the DouaiRheims (1582). Among the 18 expressions stylistically unique to the King James version:
east of Eden
know for a certainty
how are the mighty fallen
a still small voice
the root of the matter
to every thing there is a season
Crystal makes a distinction between an idiom and a quotation. “If a biblical expression has genuinely entered idiomatic English, we will expect to find it in the everyday speech or writing of people who are only nominally religious, or who practice a religion other than Christianity or Judaism, or who have no religious belief at all,” he wrote in a column distributed by the McClatchy-Tribune News Service. “It will be used outside a religious frame of reference, often with a change in meaning from its original biblical sense, and will be found frequently adapted to express a special (often playful) effect.”
The language of the KJV has carried on through the works of Abraham Lincoln and writers Herman Melville and William Faulkner, among many others.
If you find yourself in England this weekend, a 400th anniversary celebration begins Sunday in Lichfield Cathedral, Straffordshire, and runs through May 30. A selected mosaic exhibition of 15 pieces will be displayed in the South Transept of the Cathedral.
In 1603, James V1 of Scotland acceded to the throne of England (as James I of England). At the 1604 Hampton Court Conference, James I was persuaded that a new translation was needed and ordered work to begin, according to the King James Bible Trust. The Puritans, a strongly religious group in the 17th century England, believed that the Bible was inspired by God. Feeling persecuted by the established church, a group called the Pilgrim Fathers decided to leave England and start a new life overseas, according to the Trust.
The Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America in the Mayflower, taking the English Bible with them. They landed at Plymouth. British sailors took the Bible on voyages around the globe. Through the work of the East India Company it was taken to India and to the British colonies in Africa, Australia and New Zealand. This is one reason why English is now a world language.
Lancelot Andrewes, dean of Westminster Abbey (1601-1605) was director of the first Westminster Company responsible for translating part of the Old Testament. It’s believed that the translators met in the Jerusalem Chamber, a room used by subsequent translators. A celebratory service will be held at the Abbey in November, according to material from the Trust.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the King James Bible, not Shakespeare, set this language on its path to become a universal language on a scale unprecedented before or since,” said Melvyn Bragg, a writer and veteran broadcaster on the BBC.
Some clergy and denominations honor the KJV version so much, they don’t allow any other translations to be used in their congregations. In the mid-1990s, Grace Baptist Church (Independent) in Columbus made a Constitutional provision that it’s the only version allowed. The Rev. Jeff Amsbaugh cited four primary reasons:
Its 400-year history “dignifies the Gospel”;
Its high literary level;
The underlying texts are more reliable than other translations; and
It has a proven track record.
“This is our unquestioned version of choice,” said Amsbaugh, who said many Independent Baptist churches share his view.
“I’m sure, at times, people feel it’s not relevant enough,” but he contends the KJV’s authenticity verifies its relevance.
The Rev. Howard White of Pierce Chapel United Methodist Church in Midland said “it’d be unfair to say I use it; however, it’s the version I grew up with; and the texts I’ve memorized come from the KJV.” Raised a Baptist in Mississippi, White joined the United Methodist Church when he was 17 and has been at Pierce Chapel since 1991.
He can’t recall other versions, growing up. The first translation he remembers is The Good News, which The American Bible Society printed in 1976. He primarily uses the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), in the direct line of the KJV but with “fresh translations.”
“I tell people it’s a revision, not a new translation,” White said.
Another reason he prefers the NRSV is “it’s intentional about inclusive language for women.” He sometimes uses it in concert with the New International Version (NIV), endorsed in its printing by the Christian Reformed Church, National Association of Evangelicals and a group of international scholars. The New Testament came out in 1973 and the full Bible five years later.
“I like them together because they’re so different,” White said. “They’re two poles in tension.”
“The New King James is what I use, if I use the King James,” said the Rev. Chuck Hasty of First Presbyterian Church. “Occasionally people request the King James read at funerals because of the elegance of it. It takes them back to an important time in their lives.”
Though he himself has gotten away from the KJV, and most often uses the NIV and NRSV, he has church members who more regularly use the King James and the language “rolls off their tongue.
“You can’t beat the King’s English,” Hasty said.
Allison Kennedy, 706-576-6237
This story was originally published April 30, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "King James Version of Bible celebrates 400th anniversary."