The King James Bible of 1611
- Denisa Gabriela
- Jun 5, 2020
- 6 min read
"What is the truth?" "There are so many Bible versions, which one is correct?" "The Bible was written by men." "All versions are the same."
These are some of the issues people have when it comes to the Bible, guys. False claims about God's word spread everywhere like a plague and it is important to know some basic historical insights about how God preserved the scriptures, otherwise you might get infected by those irrelevant, foolish arguments.
Here are some FACTS about the King James Bible and its fruition process.
Throughout time there have been many controversies regarding the pure words of God preserved through Biblical teaching and doctrines. Fortunately, the light shed on “God’s soldiers” spread so that it enforces and asserts the holiness of their inspiration under the influence of the Holy Ghost and the confirmation that the power of God is among us and it has never ceased to work.
Taking into consideration so many new versions of the Bible, people debate whether the word of God is correct or not. Interpreting it to someone's advantage so that it suits their beliefs and views of the world is a selfish, wrong, modern approach. However, God’s Holy Book stands for eternity and its laws must be accepted as the Scriptures present the teachings and commandments of God. Jeremiah 1:9, “Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.”
The authorized King James Bible 1611 is the only Bible that nowadays contains the word of God. From a historical perspective, the Jesuits were the people who opposed the Reformation and supported the papacy and its counterfeit movements, the heretical Romish teachings in contrast to Bible believers who were followers of Jesus Christ and the Gospel
“I never knew a treason without a Romish Priest, but in this, there are very many Jesuits who are known and passed through the whole action […]. So the principal offenders are the seducing Jesuits: men that use the most sacred and blessed name of Jesus as a mantle to cover their impiety, blasphemy, treason, rebellion, all manner of wickedness.”
The King James Bible was initially set forth in the 17th century by a Puritan leader who proposed a new Bible translation, followed by King James’ approval, and thus the work began on the King James Bible in order to bring forth the word of God as given in the Holy Scriptures. The Bible is a collection of 66 books penned by over 40 authors from different places and different times, throughout thousands of years until it was completely furnished under the authority of a king – King James of England.
The chain of the pure English Bibles starts with the first one written by Tyndale and ends with the seventh one, which is the King James Version. The 7 pure English Bibles are: “I. Tyndale; II. Matthews; III. Coverdale; IV. Great Bible; V. Geneva; VI. Bishops; VII. King James Version (KJV 1611).” That is why it is believed that number 7 from the pure Bible chain can be associated with the infallibility of it announced in the Scripture, Psalm 12:6, "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Basically, Tyndale was inspired by the work of Erasmus in translating a part of the Old Testament, which was later undertook by Myles Coverdale – who was his friend – after Tyndale was martyred. Afterwards, John Rogers takes all of Tyndale’s and Coverdale’s work and finally we get to the Geneva Bible. The Geneva Bible and the King James Bible are very alike, due to the fact that they are translated directly from Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek.
The King James Bible was not initially successful due to its archaic language and some printing errors. “After the Civil War and the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660”, it started gaining popularity. Its history is very popular, starting with Martin Luther’s reformation of Protestantism and his thesis against Catholicism in 1517.
Martin Luther was a reformer of the Church, among the illustrious personalities who considered the word of God precious, risking their lives to bring forth the true Gospel of the Bible. Because of his reputation, he was sent in Rome where he critically observed the clergy, their superficial practices, and their “[…] impious ways of celebrating Mass […] ”
He exposed and explained the epistle to Romans and preached on Psalms in such a different and unique manner like never before. Luther actually brought the minds of men to the Son of God, and his words were no lip-labour, but produced by his very heart and soul. After so much time of popularity, Luther finally published a book against bishops and popes, as well as a translation of the New Testament in German. The resulting German Lutherbible from 1522/23 lead to other translation in European languages after he, in 1520, supported the Bible translation and the Reformation of the Church. In 1534 the Bible translated by him into German was printed.
In 1526, William Tyndale published his New Testament English translation. Tyndale was a faithful Christ servant and an organ of God. He was well practiced in God’s word – when deans and archdeacons were committing errors in terms of the Bible and when their opinions varied, Tyndale would correct them simply and directly with the Book, sharing the “manifest places of the Scriptures to confute their errors and confirm his sayings." William Tyndale opposed the pope and his doctrines and burst out at the phrase, “We were better to be without God's laws than the pope's”, considering these kind of practices a blasphemy, firmly stating against popery: “I defy the pope, and all his laws.” He knew that the Scriptures were hidden from people’s eyes and that the idolatry and false teachings by pharisaical clergy were certainly forbidden by God’s word, “wrestling the Scripture unto their own purpose, contrary unto the meaning of the text.” Master Tyndale finished translating the first 5 books of Moses of the Old Testament which were received by people that were in darkness as a „door of light”. Also, his translation of the New Testament was spread abroad. As a result of his actions of defending God, he was tied and burnt at the stake with great words addressed to the Lord.
In 1558, Elizabeth I succeeds Mary Tudor, she rejects Roman-Catholicism and reestablishes Protestantism in England.
In 1560 is published the Geneva Bible. Several key English Protestant leaders went to Geneva, Switzerland, so that they won’t be persecuted in England,
“Among them were Miles Coverdale, John Foxe, Thomas Sampson, and William Whittingham. With the support of John Calvin and the Scottish Reformer John Knox, these English Reformers decided to publish an English Bible that was not dependent upon the approval of English royalty.”
Taking into account the earlier English translations, more precisely those done by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale, the Geneva Bible was finally “the first English translation in which all of the Old Testament was translated directly from the Hebrew manuscripts.” William Whittingham – John’s Calvin brother-in-law – did mainly the translation work.
This is how the King James Version comes into fruition: because the comments and notes in the Geneva Bible were of Puritan and Calvinistic character, it made the translation to be not that well-received in some of “the pro-government Church of England leaders as well as King James I.”
King James I of England (firstly, James VI – King of Scotland) started ruling in 1603 after Elizabeth’s reign. Because of the character of the Geneva Bible, he commanded in 1604 a new translation of the Bible at the Hampton Court Conference, that later would become the Authorized King James Bible. In 1610 the manuscript for King James Version is finalized at the Stationers Hall in London, and in 1611 the King James Bible is published by Robert Barker. Throughout the years, the printing of the Geneva Bible ceases. “In 1782, in America is printed the first English-Bible”, translation which is preferred in the U.S. in the following years.
So, guys, this a very brief history of what happened. The Lord wants us to draw closer to Him in these tough times. No excuses for rejecting God's word, no excuses for not reading the Bible. God has given us a perfect Book to follow Him and see the truth as not given by subjective means, but by the Great King of all times.
Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children."
See you soon. Many blessings your way till next time,
Denisa.
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Amen!