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| | [[Image:800px-Crop Book of Isaiah 2006-06-06.jpg|thumb|200px|right]] | | [[Image:800px-Crop Book of Isaiah 2006-06-06.jpg|thumb|200px|right]] |
| − | The '''King James Version''' (or Authorized Version) of the [[Bible]] is a poetic masterpiece that has profoundly influenced the [[English|English-speaking]] world ever since its publication more than 400 years ago. It was the culmination of seven years of work (1604-1611) by about fifty English scholars and around twenty [[Church of England]] [[bishops]], as authorized by King [[James I of England]]. The result was It was not the first English translation ([[William Tyndale]] had previously [[translation|translated]] the Bible into English, and much of the Authorized Version was taken from Tyndale's version) nor was it the most accurate (some modern translations benefit from better, more [[conservative]] sources). Debate exists concerning the accuracy of the translation. But the King James Version of the Bible was the most majestic and it has inspired English literature from [[Herman Melville]] to [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] to the [[Martin Luther King, Jr.|Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.]] | + | The '''King James Version''' (also called the '''Authorized Version''', or, in older texts, '''the English Bible''', '''our English Bible''', and sometimes the '''She Bible''') of the [[Bible]] is a poetic masterpiece that has profoundly influenced the [[English|English-speaking]] world ever since its publication more than 400 years ago. It was the culmination of seven years of work (1604-1611) by about fifty English scholars and around twenty [[Church of England]] [[bishops]], as authorized by King [[James I of England]]. The result was It was not the first English translation ([[William Tyndale]] had previously [[translation|translated]] the Bible into English, and much of the Authorized Version was taken from Tyndale's version) nor was it the most accurate (some modern translations benefit from better, more [[conservative]] sources). Debate exists concerning the accuracy of the translation. But the King James Version of the Bible was the most majestic and it has inspired English literature from [[Herman Melville]] to [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] to the [[Martin Luther King, Jr.|Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.]] |
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| | For example, many cite Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech without acknowledging its source in the translation of ''[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 40:4'': | | For example, many cite Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech without acknowledging its source in the translation of ''[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 40:4'': |
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| | The King James Version uses a total vocabulary of only about 8,000 words.<ref>See [[Essay:Best New Conservative Words]].</ref> In contrast the [[English Standard Version]], published nearly four centuries later in 2001, draws upon a larger English vocabulary that developed in the interim and uses nearly 14,000 different words. | | The King James Version uses a total vocabulary of only about 8,000 words.<ref>See [[Essay:Best New Conservative Words]].</ref> In contrast the [[English Standard Version]], published nearly four centuries later in 2001, draws upon a larger English vocabulary that developed in the interim and uses nearly 14,000 different words. |
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| | + | Although the NIV is the bestselling Bible today, a study found that the AV is more likely to be read than the NIV by a 5:1 ratio.<ref>Thomas Holland, ''Crowned With Glory: The Bible from Ancient Text to Authorized Version'' (Lincoln, NE: Writers Club Press, 2000), 105.</ref> |
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| | == Issues == | | == Issues == |