Posts Tagged ‘KJV bible’
The History of the King James Version
The Authorized King James Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible conceived in 1604 and brought to fruition in 1611 by the Church of England. Printed by the King’s Printer, Robert Barker, the first edition included schedules unique to the Church of England; for example, a lectionary for morning and evening prayer. The first “authorized version” was the Great Bible commissioned by the Church of England in the reign of King Henry VIII. In January 1604, King James I of England convened the Hampton Court Conference where a new English version was conceived in response to the perceived problems of the earlier translations as detected by the Puritans, a faction within the Church of England.
The king gave the translators instructions designed to guarantee that the new version would conform to the ecclesiology and reflect the Episcopal structure of the Church of England and its beliefs about an ordained clergy. The translation was by 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. In common with most other translations of the period, the New Testament was translated from the Textus Receptus series of the Greek texts. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text, while the Apocrypha were translated from the Greek Septuagint (LXX), except for 2 Esdras, which was translated from the Latin Vulgate.
While the Authorized Version was meant to replace the Bishops’ Bible as the official version for readings in the Church of England, it was apparently (unlike the Great Bible) never specifically “authorized”, although it is commonly known as the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom. However, the King’s Printer issued no further editions of the Bishops’ Bible; so necessarily the Authorized Version supplanted it as the standard lectern Bible in parish church use in England. In the Book of Common Prayer (1662), the text of the Authorized Version replaced the text of the Great Bible - the Epistle and Gospel readings - and as such was “authorized” by Act of Parliament. In the United States, the Authorized Versions are known as King James Bibles. The earliest appearance in print of the phrase “authorized version”, to mean this particular version of the bible, was published in 1824. The phrase ‘King James version’ first appeared in print in 1884
Deriving The Most Out Of Your Bible
The Bible has been studied, interpreted, and reinterpreted for as long as it’s been around. Everybody who reads the document seems to derive something slightly different from it. With so many different translations and interpretations available, it’s little wonder that many people are left struggling with some (or all) of the more dense and difficult passages. Therefore, if you’re interested in devoting some serious time to studying the Bible, consider using the aid of Bible study tools.
These tools vary greatly, but each tool is designed to help you think about and interpret different Bible passages. In some cases, there is also an emphasis on applying those passages to your everyday life. While the tools themselves differ, there is almost always this emphasis on careful reading and application. Often, this helps the reader not only understand what he or she is reading, but it also helps that person apply it in a meaningful way. Now you can even find Bibles with built-in references, like the KJV Thompson Reference Bible.
Getting the Full Bible Effect
The Bible is the most widely circulated book in the world, and is also one of the most extensive. It is difficult to appreciate and comprehend all that the Bible has to offer without the assistance of references and mapping. Luckily, today there are many versions that come with a full section of aids and references to help you understand the holy book.
A KJV reference Bible will include various studies that you can do while reading, as well as outlines of the major books. It also has a full index to help you cross-reference information while you are studying. Its detailed topographical maps highlight how the geography of the Mediterranean region played a huge part in role in the events of the Bible.
Spreading the Word of God Near and Far
Last spring my church, The Sanctuary of Universal Life, organized a missionary project to help build clay huts for the families of who had lost loved ones to the deadly and vicious disease malaria. Our journey began in a small village outside the African Congo. Traveling only by bus or foot once we had reached our new continent of exploration, we journeyed through rainforests and deserts in an effort to reach out to as many shelter-less people as we could. After three weeks of hard labor and nearly sleepless nights we had built more than 85 huts from the ground up.
Once the strenuous work had been completed, we stayed an additional week to spread the word of God. During our twice-daily prayer sessions, all the villagers gathered around Pastor Boba Fett in awe of his pressed white robes and authoritatively squeaky voice. For hours on end they sat atop a tattered, burlap blanket and listened. Before parting ways with our newly beloved Christian pen pals and heading back to the land of the mighty, we granted their wish of a concrete wisdom of the Lord. And thus, we gave them bibles.