BiblicalInsights.net

English and American authors as well as literary critics prefer the King James Version.  Charles C. Butterworth in his book, The Literary Lineage of the King James Bible, 1340-1611 comments, “For literary quality…the King James Bible is supreme among the English translations.  This has been stated so often, and men of all ranks have been so eager to affirm it, that it would be tedious to attempt a review of so great a mass of testimony.”  John Livingston Lowes wrote a short treatise titled, “The Noblest Monument of English prose.”  He was writing about the King James Version.  Extensive testimony regarding the literary excellence of the King James Version is given by Leland Ryken in his work celebrating the 400th anniversary of the KJV, The Legacy of the King James Bible.
The King James Version exhibits some unique stylistic traits.
First, the noun plus “of” plus noun formula.  This is a common biblical formula in the KJV.  We would say “land animal” but in Gen. 1:24, the KJV has “beast of the earth.”  We would say iron rod, but Psa. 2:9 states “rod of iron.”  We would say strong men, but Isa. 5:22 says “men of strength.”  We would say sky, but Gen. 1:20 states “firmament of heaven.”
There is a variation on this formula.  The noun plus “of” plus noun order with the same noun appearing in both halves of the equation.  The effect is to suggest the quality of being superlative.  Some examples follow:  “King of kings”, “Lord of lords”, “Holy of holies”, and “Vanity of vanities.”  The noun plus “of” plus noun formula is common in the King James Version because it follows the word order of the original languages.  Additionally, the KJV gains rhythmic smoothness with this construction:  angel of the Lord, words of truth, etc.
Second, the KJV uses interjection.  The words, “Lo,” and “Behold” grap your attention and focus you as the reader on the significance of what is being stated.  In Rev. 3:20, the writer states, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”  The function of the form is to signal a spectacular event.  In Matthew 28:20 Jesus says, “Lo, I am with you always.”  The effect is awe inspiring.  This is also a common literary feature of the KJV.
Third, the KJV uses intensification.  In Matthew 5:18, Jesus says, “For verily I say unto you.”  The use of the word verily (truly) intensifies the statement.  When the word is doubled, the repitition of the term creates an even more solemn statement.   In John 5:19, the KJV reads, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do:  for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
Fourth, the KJV uses multiple “ands.”   Judges 3:21-22 is a good example.  “And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft aslo went in after the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.”  Both the Hebrew and Greek languages loved this construction.  The Hebrew uses “waw.”  The Greek uses “kai.”  Both words are translated “and” in English.  The effect of this form is to create a tremendous sense of continuity.  Everything flows in sequence.  The construction also produces the sense of cause and effect.
A final example of literary form in the KJV is gradation.  In Romans 5:1-5, Paul uses this literary device to build intensity.  Gradation is a stair-stepped arrangement of words where the last key word in one phrase is repeated as the first word in the next phrase.  “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:3-5).
There are many more literary techniques that appear in the KJV.  Each of these devices occur not because the KJV translators were literary scholars, they were not.  But, because they were excellent Hebrew and Greek scholars and they gave us an essentially literal translation that reflects the mind of God as it is preserved in the copies of the autographs of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

This year is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version of the Bible.  Here are some interesting facts about the KJV.
-There have been approximately 7.5 billion Bibles printed since the invention of printing and the majority of these Bibles are the King James Version.  Some scholars have estiamated that the total number of printed copies of the KJV is in the billions.
-Thomas Nelson Publishers is the leading publisher of the King James Version.  In the last twelve months, Nelson Publishing has sold more than one million copies of the KJV.
-The Bible is the best selling book in history.  The King James Version is the best selling translation of all time.
-The first Bible version printed in America was the King James Version.  It was printed by Robert Aitken of Philadelphia in 1777 and only the New Testament was published.  About four years later, he released his full Bible.
-Crucial to the growth in sales of the Bible in the 1800’s was the founding of Bible societies.  Their goal:  to put a Bible in the hands of every American.  In 1816, 34 of these socieites joined to form the American Bible Society.  The ABS had printed the KJV in almost 60 forms by 1850.  In each year of the 1860’s, the ABS printed over a million Bibles.  David Daniell notes that by 1850, 73 years after the first Bible was printed on American soil, “nearly fifteen hundred separate editions of the KJV had been published in America.” (Chris Armstrong, “Old Book in a New World” Christian History, Issue 100, p. 31).
-The top translator and overseer of the KJV translation was Lancelot Andrewes perhaps the most brilliant man of his age.  Andrewes served as the leader of the first Westminster Company of Translators which translated Genesis–II Kings.  He was also the general editor of the whole project.  He was born in 1555.  He studied at the University of Cambridge.  He was ordained at 25 and spoke 15 modern languages and 6 ancient languages.  He possessed a memory boardering on the photographic. He was a man of intense piety, spending five hours every morning in prayer. (Chris Armstrong, “Master of Languages: Lancelot Andrewes, Christian History, Issue 100, pp. 14-15).
-Altogether, 47 different scholars worked on the translation of the KJV.  These men were outstanding scholars of the day.
-The King James Version is the translation of the Bible that has had the greatest impact on the English language.  In his book, Begat, David Crystal lists 257 specific examples of phrases from the KJV that have found their way into the common vernacular of English speaking people.  Crystal remarks, “No other single source has provided the language with so many idiomatic expressions.  Shakespeare is the nearest, but the number of idioms we can confidently attribute to him (such as to the manner born) is under a hundred” (p. 258).  Consider a sampling of the idioms used:  “The land of the living” (Job 28:13); “At their wit’s end” (Ps. 107:27); “Heap coals of fire on his head” (Prov. 25:22; Rom. 12:20); “There is no new thing under the sun” (Eccles. 1:9); “The salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13); “A prophet is not without honor save in his own country” (Matt. 13:57); “The signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3); “In the twinkling of an eye” (I Cor. 15:52); “Labour of love” (I Thess. 1:3); and “Filthy lucre” (I Tim. 3:3).
After four hundred years, the King James Version is still the best selling book in the world!  Amazing!

     John J. Blunt wrote a book titled, Undesigned Coincidences in the Writings of Both the Old and New Testament, in which he defends the veracity of the Scriptures by giving examples of consistency without design.  He uses internal evidences to show that the writers of the books of the Bible truthfully represent the natural historical events and the miraculous and prophetic events of the Scriptures.  I am hoping to revive this work as a part of the apologetic for the veracity of the Word of God.  My copy was written in 1891.  However, the book has been reprinted and is available through several websites that sell books.  I have written a review of this book and posted it under Book Reviews on my blog.  Please take a moment and read this review.  I hope you find the examples as intriguing as I did!

     Bible reading connects us to God’s thoughts, wisdom and instruction in righteousness.  Here are some facts about Bible reading gleaned from an article that appeared in Christianity Today, Spring, 2009, pp. r-7, r-9.  According to a National Study of Christian Attitudes and Behavior conducted by Christianity Today International and Zondervan in 2006:
     –95 percent of all people who label themselves as Christians have a Bible in their home.
     –Those defined as “active Christians” have, on average, six Bibles in their homes.
     –67 percent of “active Christians” use the King James Version.
     –39 percent use the New International Version.
     –29 percent use the New King James Version.
     –29 Percent use the Living Bible (correspondents could check more than one option).
     –25 percent of “active Christians” have purchased a new Bible in the last 12 months.
     –57 percent of the respondents to this study claim to read the Bible.
     –63 percent of professing Christians claim to read the Bible.
     –98 percent of “active Christians” said they read the Bible.
     –18 percent of the total respondents who read their Bibles do so every day.
     –Another 19 percent read the Bible two or three times a week.
     –39 percent who claim to read the Bible do so once a month.
     –35 percent of “active Christians” who read their Bibles do so every day.
     How about you?  Our congregation conducts a Bible reading program every other year.  In 2010, we will have another Bible reading program.  Why not join us and read the Bible through in the New Year?  Here are some facts to motivate you.
     –The Bible is the only book that is inspired by God (II Tim. 3:16,17).
     –The Bible is the only book that contains the wisdom of God (I Cor. 2:12-16; Rom. 11:32-36).
     –The Bible is the only book that contains the truth about God and from God (John 17:17).
     –The Bible is the only book that can make you wise unto salvation (II Tim. 3:15).
     –The Bible is the only book that is eternal (I Pet. 1:21-25).
     95 percent of people professing to be Christians have a Bible but only 35 percent read it every day!  Become a daily Bible reader and discover what you have been missing.

Lincoln Bible

     The following facts about the Lincoln Bible are taken from the Library of Congress (www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-236.html) in a news release.  Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office on March 4, 1861 to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.  The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, then 84 years old. The Bible used to administer the oath was originally purchased by William Thomas Carroll, Clerk of the Supreme Court. The Lincoln’s family Bible had been packed with other belongings that were coming from Springfield, Illinois.  The Bible is bound in burgundy velvet with a gold-washed white metal rim around the three outside edges of both covers.  All its edges are heavily gilt. In the center of the top cover is a shield of gold wash over white metal with the words “Holy Bible” chased into it.  The book is 15 cm long, 10 cm wide, and 4.5 cm deep when closed.  The 1,280-page Bible was published in 1853 by the Oxford University Press.  This Bible is a historic relic because of its use by Abraham Lincoln in his first inauguration.  However, we must remember that it is much more than a relic.  It is God’s Word!  The Bible has lost respect among many today.  They no longer view it as the inspired Word of God.  Instead, many believe it is merely a work of men.  The apostle Paul declares, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16-17).  The words in the Bible are the words of God not men.  These same words will judge us in the last day.  Jesus said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).  Lincoln took the oath of office while holding his hand on the Bible.  Why?  Did he really believe it and desire to obey it?  Did he really understand how wonderful it was and is?  Was he dedicated to following God’s purposes in his life and willing to lead the country in God’s ways?
     On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama took the oath of office of the president of the United States using this same Bible.  I can only wonder what the new president’s attitude is toward it.  Is it just a relic to him?  Or, is it the inspired, infallible Word of the living God?  The  success of his presidency will be determined by how well he measures up to the truths of this book–the Bible.