King James Bible Celebrates 400th Anniversary

The King James Bible was first published 400 years ago, in 1611, after four years of translation by the best Greek and Hebrew scholars in Britain. The King James Bible went on to have a great influence on the English language (much like Shakespeare, who was writing his plays at about the same time). It was the official Bible of the English church and became a popular translation throughout the English-speaking world, especially in America.



I grew up hearing the King James Bible, with some mid-18th Century revisions, read in church. It was the Bible I read when I first began to study it for myself (I usually read the New King James Version now). I think its influence on my speech and thought can still be heard from me, just like the remnants of my Bootheel accent.

The King James Bible can be tough reading. The language has changed in the last 400 years. Because it was officially a revision of an earlier translation, it was a bit stodgy, formal and dated even for its time. Mostly, it was considered an incredible, accessible, beautiful and even poetic translation in its time. Even the modern ear can detect the carefulness and cleverness of the language, the sense of rhythm, mood, and storytelling. The scholars who produced this translation wanted it to be both faithful to the original language and great writing in English. It was to be read from in the churches across England, so they wanted to sound good.

In addition to enjoying the Bible, I’ve had the pleasure of reading some histories that cover the translation of the Bible into English, especially the King James Bible. Here is a selection.

Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired by Benson Bobrick

Benson Bobrick tells two related stories side by side. One is the history of the translation of the Bible into English, culminating with the King James Bible. The second is how the concept of religious liberty, greatly tied into Bible translation, fueled thought on personal and political liberty, leading to reforms in the English government and the formation of American political thought.

Certain people serve as pins on which Bobrick hangs his narrative: John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale, and King James I. Tyndale prepared an influential translation of the Bible with the support and protection of a group of English wool merchants with ties to European Lutherans. The protection was not complete and Tyndale was executed after being convicted of heresy in the Netherlands for espousing Protestant views. When England became officially Protestant under Henry VIII, Coverdale translated and published English Bibles with official approval. Coverdale’s work, and the legal sanctions for it, prepared the way for the Authorized Bible that would take form in the reign of James I.



In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture by Alister McGrath

Alister McGrath lays the groundwork for his history of the King James Bible in the Protestant Reformation and the invention of the printing press. He then presents the history related to the King James Bible itself. Like Bobrick, McGrath wraps up with the influence of this translation, though he focuses more on language and culture than politics.



God’s Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible by Adam Nicolson

Nicolson focuses more specifically on the King James Bible and the men who prepared it than the other authors previously discussed. His choice to write less about what came before and after the King James Bible gave him room to write more about the translators, their work, personalities, and place in the spectrum of the English Reformation.



Majestie: The King Behind the King James Bible by Teems, David

This biography of King James includes several chapters on the translation he authorized. Its also provides interesting background on the man and the political and cultural climate of the times. A 17th century boy-king was not a very pleasant thing to be, and James’ journey to adulthood and monarchal power was full of danger. Teems’ style is less formal than some of the other authors on this subject.

The Pentateuch

The first five books of the Bible are collectively referred to as the Pentateuch, from the Greek for “five books.” In the Hebrew Bible, they are referred to as the Torah, from the Hebrew for “law.”

The Pentateuch is partly a book of laws. In the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy can be found the civil and ecclesiastical law given for the Israelite theocracy would be established in the Promised Land. Moral law also appears in these books, most famously in the Ten Commandments.



Some would say that “law” is too narrow an interpretation of “torah.” A better word might be “teachings” or “doctrine.” The contents of these books were meant to be taught and contain repeated instructions to remember and to teach the works of God to successive generations. Stories from these books have been told and retold for centuries.

These books contain more than law. They are history as well. In particular, they are a history of God’s interaction with creation and especially mankind. Genesis begins with creation and ends with Joseph, a key figure in history of the Israelites and, in some ways, a type of Christ. Abraham and his descendents are the main thread of Genesis in which we see God working to rebuild a relationship with sinful humanity. The remaining books with the Israelites eventual enslavement in Egypt to border of the Promise Land. The prophet Moses is the main figure of these books as God’s spokesman.

It can be easy to get lost in the details of these books. They are not as riddled with genealogies and “begats” as some suggest. Even so, sometimes there is a surprising amount of detail. The style in some sections can seem stilted to modern readers. Familiarity with Jewish traditions can bring some life into the sometimes dry descriptions of ceremonies.

Don’t let yourself be too bogged down by the details. Remember that they are important. As a believer, they are important because they are part of the inspired Word of Gods. As a reader seeking to understand these books, they are important because they were important to the people who wrote, copied, and even memorized these books for generations.

In addition, they are part of a larger story. It’s a good story, too. It is the story of the establishment of a people, and from those people a nation. All of this is part of a larger story of redemption: God working through history to rescue, redeem, and restore people who were enslaved to sin and sentenced to death for their wrongdoings. It is an exciting story and the Pentateuch contains important early chapters that help us understand the rest what comes later.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Deuteronomy
Exodus
Genesis
The Holy Bible
King James Bible
Leviticus
Numbers

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Second Kings

In the Hebrew Bible, First and Second Kings are one book.  Collectively, they are a history of the Israelite monarchy.   During most of this period, it is dual monarchies because two southern tribes make up the kingdom of Judah, the remaining tribes being Israel.

Second Kings covers a period of about 250 years.  It begins in the reign of Ahaziah.  It ends with the fall of Judah to Babylon.

Fall is an appropriate word.  The book describes the decline of the Israelite monarchy.  It is strongly associated with moral decline and apostasy.  Israel was called out to be God’s people.  Instead, they worshiped the gods of the people who occupied the land before them or of their neighbors.  Sometimes this idol worship was introduced and encouraged by the kings.  Some of the practices associated with these foreign religions included temple prostitution, sodomy, and child sacrifice.

When God established ancient Israel as a nation, he made a covenant with them.  If they followed Him, He would cause them to prosper in the land He gave to them.  If they did not, and especially if they abandoned Him to worship other gods and do evil, he would cut them off from the land and let their enemies overcome them.  That is exactly what happened.

Israel, the northern kingdom, succumbed first.  It fell during the reign of Hoshea.  It became a vassal state to Assyria.  More than that, the Assyrians removed the Israelite population to other lands and resettled Israel with people from across its empire.  Chapter 17 is an indictment against Israel, listing its crimes the judgment of expulsion from the land.

God did not let Israel go easily.  Much of the first half of the book is devoted to the exploits of Elijah and Elisha.  These prophets called people back to God and stood up against the influence of false religions.  Later, Isaiah would warn against the coming captivity to Assyria.

Judah held out longer, in part probably because of fitful reforms by kings such as Hezekiah and Josiah.   None of the kings of Israel committed themselves to god, but some of the kings of Judah turned their hearts to God, restoring the worship of God and sometimes even breaking down the idols of false gods.  Even so, they fell like their brothers to the north.

Babylon was the empire that overtook Judah during the reign of Zedekiah.  Zedekiah himself was appointed by Babylon after it took his nephew Jehoiachin as a prisoner.  Babylon also moved much of the population.  The poor were left to tend the farms, but anyone with status, military skill, training in crafts, or education was moved to Babylon to serve there.  The Israelite monarchy was finally broken and replaced with a Babylonian governor.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Deuteronomy

First and Second Samuel

First Kings

Second Kings.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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The Writings

The Writings is a collection of poetic and wisdom books. These books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. In Christian Bibles, these Old Testament texts are typically placed between the historical books and the prophets. These books are organized a little differently in the Hebrew Bible, where they are grouped with other books that some considered to be of similar vintage (the Ketuvim).

Poetry is a link to all these books. Job and Song of Solomon are both long poems. Psalms is a collection of songs, but these lyrics can be read as poems and follow poetic forms used in the other books. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes also use poetic forms; the contrasting or comparing couplet in particular is used in much of Proverbs.

These books also deal with subjects that can be difficult. Job suffers incredible loss, and has long debates about sin and suffering with friends who are supposedly there to comfort him. Many psalms are songs of praise and thanksgiving to God, but in some the psalmist, especially when it is David, freely expresses grief, anger, disappointment and fear. The wisdom literature collected in Proverbs sometimes shrugs its shoulders hopelessly at folly, and Ecclesiastes takes a very dark view of life. Song of Solomon deals frankly with passion and physical love in marriage, possibly to the point of eroticism.

These books address tough issues, but they do not offer easy answers. Sometimes the best they can offer is trust God. Trust God is good advice. Even so, we often would like to hear something else. We’d rather have an answer, or find strength in ourselves or our communities, or be assured that we can reason it all out on our own. We’d rather do almost anything instead of trust God.

Because of this, these books can be tough going for both the faithful and nonbelievers. I encourage Christians to read these books. Come prepared with an understanding of the more straightforward parts of the Bible. You’re going to wrestle with challenges in your life, and you’re not always going to have easy answers, or answers you can even understand. Wrestling with these books, prayerfully and faithfully, can help you prepare to deal with the strange difficulties of real life, where prayer and faith seem to be all you have and even that doesn’t seem to be enough.

You may find these books troubling, especially if you are a new Christian and you’re still seeking answers and encouragement to help you live your new life. You may find yourself asking, “Why would God including this in His Word? Why would he bring up these issues and say things about the I cannot fathom?” I don’t know. Trust God.

Ezra

Ezra was a priest who lived in the 5^th Century B.C. Tradition recognizes him as the author of First and Second Chronicles, his titular book, and Nehemiah. In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra-Nehemiah is a single book.

The book of Ezra is a brief history of the return of the Jewish people from exile and captivity to the land that the Israelite nation had once been ruled. The focus is on the Jerusalem, especially the rebuilding of the temple.

The return began under the reign of the Persian king Cyrus. Ezra covers the period into the reign of Artaxerxes. The work of rebuilding the temple and the city took decades, and it was delayed by opposition, though a reiteration of Cyrus’ command by his successor Darius got the work moving again. Ezra copies the orders and correspondence of these kings.

There is a shift to the first person in the final chapters, when Ezra himself arrives in Jerusalem. He came to work at the temple and reestablish the religious practices of the Jewish people.

To me, the book is not about the restoration of the Israelite nation. It is about the return of a people to the God who called them. Ezra called people to abandon the idolatrous practices they picked up in their exile or from the people living around them and to return to the worship of God and respect for His law. Ezra’s interest is a religious revival.

Ezra is credited with writing

First Chronicles

Second Chronicles

Ezra. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Hebrews

Hebrews.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

To my mind, Hebrews is one of the key books of the Bible.  Like Paul’s letter to the Romans, it ties together and gives context to other scripture.

The audience and authorship of this book are not made clear as is typical of most New Testament epistles.  Based on the subject and the many references to Old Testament scripture, it is clearly direct to an audience of Jewish Christians.  Early church leaders and scholars often attributed it to Paul.  Paul’s commission as apostle to the Gentiles might suggest another author, but Paul’s passion for his native people and thorough education in the Hebrew Scriptures point toward him as a likely author.

I find three major themes in Hebrews.  These are: the centrality of Christ and his fulfillment of the Mosaic covenant, how faith was central to salvation even before the Mosaic Law, and encouragement in Christian living.

CENTRALITY OF CHRIST

The first section of Hebrews focuses on Jesus Christ.  It makes the case for the divinity of Christ and His complete humanity in the incarnation.  As a perfect man, Jesus Christ fulfilled every requirement of the Mosaic Law.  This made him the perfect sacrifice for the sins of man.  In addition, because he is divine and eternal, his atoning sacrifice is likewise eternal.

This is not the only role Jesus Christ fills eternally.  He is the first and highest of mankind and exercises the dominion over creation God gave to man, but that we forfeited when we sinned (as God, He is lord of all also).  As the son of God, Christ had priority over Moses, even though as a man He submitted Himself to the law in loving obedience to the Father.  Christ is a priest of a higher order than the Levitical priesthood, namely a priest like Melchidezek to whom Abraham paid tithes and through him all his descendants including the Hebrew priests.

The law and sacrifices of earlier times were signs pointed to the Christ to come.  All of these things are fulfilled and completed in Him forever.  Where many sacrifices were made to temporarily cover ever mounting sins, Christ’s sacrifice suffices forever to remove all of our sins.  Where the priests entered the presence of God once a year, Christ is constantly in the presence of God making intercession for His people.

CENTRALITY OF FAITH

If Christ does all for our salvation and when no longer need to make sacrifices and observe the Mosaic Law, how do we realize this reconciliation through Christ and live morally?  The answer is faith in Christ.  Hebrews makes the argument that the answer has always been faith in God.

Hebrews makes the argument, drawing on many examples from the Old Testament, that God has forgiven the sins of and imputed righteousness to those who had faith in Him.  This predates Abraham, though for an audience of his descendants it is important in Abraham.  It predates Moses, though for an audience born into a religion base on Mosaic Law it is important in Moses.  Even after the law was given, it is faith that God rewarded because no one could live up to God’s perfect law.

The faithful people of the Old Testament looked forward by faith to a day when God would cleanse their sins, make them righteous, and completely restore their relationship to him.  Even in the time of the law, the sacrifices and observances were signs of the things God was going to do.  God’s provision for the cleansing of sin and the raising us to righteousness were completed in Christ, so we place our faith in Him.  They had faith what was to come, even if they didn’t fully understand it, and we have faith in what Christ has accomplished.

CHRISTIAN LIVING

To wrap up, Hebrews includes encouragement for the faithful.  We’ll face troubles just as those in the Old Testament did, but by faith we can overcome and see the day when God will make us perfect and bring us into His eternal kingdom.  In the meantime, the temporary troubles of this world are opportunities to imitate Christ and become more like Him, more holy in practice.  God is working through these  troubles to help and purify us.

As a result of Christ’s work in us, we should love one another.  This should be practical love, taking care of each other’s needs.  Instead of trying to live up to a law our sinful nature wars against, we put our faith in Christ and walk in humility and love.

If you’re interested in this book, you may be interested in the Old Testament, especially Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, Second Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Daniel.  You may also be interested in other New Testament books, particularly the Pauline Letters and especially Romans.

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Exodus

Exodus. The Holy Bible. (NKJV). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Exodus continues the history of the Israelite nation that began in Genesis. The main emphasis is on the how God acted to lead them out of Egypt.

Back in Genesis, Israel (Jacob) and his large family moved to Egypt to escape a famine. They thrived there under the patronage of one of Israel’s sons, Joseph, who God had placed in a position of great power in the Egyptian government.

At the beginning of Exodus, Joseph was dead and so were the pharaohs who knew him. A pharaoh came to power who felt threatened by the many foreigners who were flourishing in the midst of his nation. He decided to enslave and oppress the Israelites, even to the point of having their male children exterminated.

Moses escaped this fate by the shrewd, faithful actions of his family and the providence of God. He grew up in the household of Pharaoh, with Pharaoh’s daughter as his guardian and his own Hebrew mother as his nursemaid.


Moses is a huge figure in the Bible, so one would expect to find a lot about his life. It’s not so. Exodus is a story about God, and even though Moses is a great prophet, his early life and his many years in exile are treated briefly with a focus on how God preserved and equipped His prophet for the work He had in mind

The remainder of the first half of the book deals with how God acts to win the Israelite’s release from Egypt with Moses as His spokesman. This was famously accomplished with ten plagues. It may seem excessive, but the intent was to drive home, especially in the minds of the Israelites, the power and providence of God. The Egyptian gods, god-king, and magician-priests were powerless against the God of their fathers, who was generous and loving toward them. (The Israelites forgot this lesson with amazing speed, just as we often do.)

The second half of Exodus deals with the establishment of those things that identified Israel as a nation: the law and the tabernacle. The law was given by God, through Moses, because God would be their king. The tabernacle was a place of religious ceremony, but also the thrown of God, who produced a physical manifestation of His presence there.

I suspect others, like me, can find the second half of this book to be rough going. The directions for making the tabernacle and its furnishings are so detailed that one could build a reasonable reproduction of it. Even in this part of the book, there is a demonstration of God’s power and provision.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Genesis
The Gospels

Psalms

Psalms is a collection of songs. Many of the songs are attributed to the poet and king David. Others are attributed to Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and even Moses. Many are anonymous.

The songs were meant to be sung, and sometimes they contain annotations suggesting a certain style, tune or instruments. I find that sometimes the structure or words of a psalm suggest that it was probably intended for a soloist, a chorus, or a call and response.

Many of the psalms, especially those attributed to David, deal with the faithfulness of God and the blessed life of those who trust Him. Other psalms suggest that David encouraged, and probably enjoyed, corporate singing of praise to God. David is particularly honest in his prayer-like psalms, and is not afraid to express his anger, disappointment and fear. Even in these moments, he is grateful for God’s mercy.

Several psalms have a messianic message, foreseeing and describing Christ before His coming. Jesus even suggests that these psalms refer to Him, along with other Old Testament scripture (see Luke 24:44).

Other songs were written for, or have become associated with, certain ceremonies. The Hallel psalms (113-118) are sung as part of the Passover celebration. The Songs of Ascent (120-134) are associated with pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

You will find there is a psalm that resonates with almost any emotion, mood or experience. Though the music of these songs is lost to most of us, they still invite us to explore our thoughts and experience, reflect, pray, and connect to a God who cares, who’s mercy is at hand. Even the structure of much of this Hebrew poetry, in which ideas are repeated, compare and contrasted, invites one into meditation.

Psalms. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Lamentations

The Book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah. He predicted the final fall of Judah during the reign of Zedekiah. Toward the end of Lamentations, he also predicts God’s restoration of the nation.

Most of the book, as you would expect from the title, expresses Jeremiah’s mourning for his fallen nation. He understands that God has abandoned Judah to a predatory empire because the nation had long abandoned him. As he mourned the nation, he wept for it. As he preached to the captives, he wept for their condition. He knew that his country would suffer under a long occupation, and he wept for that.

The different sections of the book have overlapping themes. Some of these themes are: the catastrophe coming to Judah is a result of the people’s sins, that God loved them but they rejected His love, the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, and the time to come when God would relent and restore the nation.

Even in the midst of all this gloom, Jeremiah holds onto a glimmer of hope. He trusts in God’s mercy. He knows that when the people turn their heart to God again, he will gladly gather them back together and restore them.

The book is organized as five poems. In the original language, four are acrostics with each verse starting with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order (similar mnemonic devices are used elsewhere in the Bible, especially in poems).

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Jeremiah

Second Chronicles

Second Kings