A
Short History
of the
King James Version of the Bible
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Most people have
never read an original KJV Bible let along seen one. Click on the image for a larger veiw .. it will open in a new window |
The KJV being printed today is different in a number of details from the KJV printed in 1611. The KJV was revised three times during the year it was first published. The first editions contained quite a few misprints and there were more than a few variations in wording and spelling in different places.
This is normal in the printing process, but does underscore the fact that the KJV is a work by men and as a translation it was not necessarily an "inspired" translation (in the same sense that the Bible is inspired) since it contained errors that needed to be corrected.
Some of the printing errors in the different editions of the KJV were:
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The 1611 editions have "Then cometh Judas" instead of "Then cometh Jesus" in Matthew 26:36.
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There was an edition published called "the Wicked Bible" edition of the KJV where "not" is omitted from the seventh commandment saying, "thou shalt commit adultery."
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William Kilburne in 1659 found 20,000 errors in the KJV.
Revisions were made in the years 1613, 1629, and 1638. The revisions made at Cambridge in 1762 and at Oxford in 1769 were significant in that they modernized the spelling. The version in use today is basically the Revision of 1769. However, even today there are differences between the KJV published by Oxford, Cambridge, and Nelson publishers. This would lead to the question, "Which one is the true version?"
A number of words have changed in meaning from the KJV of 1611. Some are just the opposite in meaning. For example, "let" means "hinder," "lust" means "desire" which is not always bad, "fair" means "beautiful" not just average, "quick" means "living" and "nephews" means "grandchildren." "Corn" means "grain" for corn was only found in North and South America by the Indians. In addition certain phrases used in the KJV just are not used today. When was the last time you heard someone say, "We do you to wit..."? (II Cor. 8:1)
Some readers may not know that the words in italics in the KJV were supplied by the translators and are not in the original Greek or Hebrew texts. (for instance, see I John 2:23) They were added by the translators, a fact often overlooked by those who quote Rev. 22:18 and apply it to Bible translations.
Finally, for those who feel the KJV is the only "true" translation, the original KJV of 1611 included the Apocrypha. This raises the question, are the Apocrypha inspired by God? If not, how can the KJV be the perfect translation since it included the Apocrypha?