James

Lore & Background

The KJV contains 80 books: 39 of the Old Testament, 14 of the Apocrypha, and 27 of the New Testament. It was the third translation into English approved by the Church of England, following the Great Bible (1535) and the Bishops' Bible (1568). King James convened the Hampton Court Conference in January 1604, where a proposal for a new translation was presented. Translators were instructed to avoid marginal notes, as the Geneva Bible's notes had been criticized for promoting Puritanical and anti-monarchical sentiments. The New Testament used the Textus Receptus; the Old Testament was revised from the Bishops' Bible with reference to the Masoretic Text; and the Apocrypha was rendered from the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate.

Reader's Guide

The KJV is noted for its 'majesty of style' and has remained in continuous use for over four centuries, influencing English literature and Christian thought. Its phrasing has shaped hymnody, liturgy, and everyday idioms. The original 1611 text contains archaisms and false friends, but subsequent standardizations—notably the 1769 Oxford edition and the 1900 Pure Cambridge Edition—have made it more accessible. By the first half of the 18th century, the KJV became unchallenged as the only English translation used in Anglican and other English Protestant churches, except for the Psalms and some passages in the Book of Common Prayer. Today, the unqualified title 'King James Version' usually indicates the Oxford standard text of 1769.

Did You Know?

• The KJV does not include a commentary because King James believed such notes might contain anti-monarchist sentiment, as had the Geneva Bible.
• The title of the first edition was 'THE HOLY BIBLE, Conteyning the Old Teſtament, AND THE NEW: Newly Tranſlated out of the Originall tongues: & with former Tranſlations diligently compared and reuiſed, by his Majesties ſ
• The KJV was the most widely printed book in history after the development of stereotype printing in the early 19th century, with almost all printings presenting the 1769 standard text and omitting the Apocrypha.