King James Bible

About The King James Bible

The King James Bible (KJV - King James Version) is the basis for the Christian Scriptures in English. The KJV was translated from Masoretic Hebrew (the Old Testament portion), Textus Receptus (the New Testament portion), the Greek Septuagint (the Apochrypha) and the Latin Vulgate (2 Esdras, considered by many to be part of the book of Ezra) at the request/command of King James I of England in January 1604 at the Hampton Court Conference, and was first published in 1611 by the Church of England.

While there were 47 scholars working on the translation, all were members of the Church of England. The scholars were given instructions from the king that the new version would conform to the beliefs and practices of the Church of England. This has led to some criticisms of this version of the bible.

Previous to the KJV, the Bishops' Bible was the text used for official readings in the Church of England, but as of the printing of the KJV, the King's Printer printed no further issues of the Bishops' Bible, and thus the KJV became the standard biblical text used in the Church of England, and was even passed into law by the parliament of England.

By the early 1800's, the King James Bible became the de facto standard bible in Protestant churches in the English world.