Difference between revisions of "King James Bible"
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"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." | "I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." | ||
| − | The King James Version of the Old Testament was based on the Hebrew Masoretic text, codified in the Middle Ages. The New Testament was based on Greek texts predating the Latin Vulgate. The King James Version is freely and fully available for searching online.<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/108/</ref> | + | The King James Version of the Old Testament was based on the Hebrew Masoretic text, codified in the Middle Ages. The New Testament was primarily based on Greek texts predating the Latin Vulgate. F. H. A. Scrivener, however, notes many passages which correspond to the Latin Vulgate rather than the Greek.<ref>F. H. A. Scrivener, ''The New Testament in Greek according to the Text Followed in the Authorized Version''. Cambridge: University Press, 1881; The appendix on pp. 655-6 gives a list of the passages corresponding exactly with the Latin Vulgate against the Greek.</ref> The King James Version is freely and fully available for searching online.<ref>http://www.bartleby.com/108/</ref> |
The King James Version used italics to indicate words that had no exact equivalent in the original text, but had been supplied by the translators for various reasons, usually to make the text read properly in English. A modern reader is used to seeing italics used for emphasis; their use in the King James Version creates a strange impression, and sometimes even an unintended comic effect: | The King James Version used italics to indicate words that had no exact equivalent in the original text, but had been supplied by the translators for various reasons, usually to make the text read properly in English. A modern reader is used to seeing italics used for emphasis; their use in the King James Version creates a strange impression, and sometimes even an unintended comic effect: | ||
Revision as of 18:06, March 13, 2007
The King James Version (or Authorised Version) of the Bible was the culmination of 11 years of work by about 80 English scholars, authorized by King James I of England. The result was a poetic masterpiece that profoundly influenced the English-speaking world ever since. It was not the first English translation (William Tyndale had previously translated the Bible into English, and much of the Authorised Version was taken from Tyndale's version) or the most accurate (modern translations benefit from better sources). Some mistakes in the translation of the King James Bible exist in very important passages. 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 William Shakespeare (claimed by some to have been one of the translators) to the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
For example, many cite Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech without acknowledging its source in the translation of Isaiah 66:6:
"I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."
The King James Version of the Old Testament was based on the Hebrew Masoretic text, codified in the Middle Ages. The New Testament was primarily based on Greek texts predating the Latin Vulgate. F. H. A. Scrivener, however, notes many passages which correspond to the Latin Vulgate rather than the Greek.[1] The King James Version is freely and fully available for searching online.[2]
The King James Version used italics to indicate words that had no exact equivalent in the original text, but had been supplied by the translators for various reasons, usually to make the text read properly in English. A modern reader is used to seeing italics used for emphasis; their use in the King James Version creates a strange impression, and sometimes even an unintended comic effect:
- And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. (1 Kings 1:27)
Many modern editions of the King James Version omit the italicization.
References:
- ↑ F. H. A. Scrivener, The New Testament in Greek according to the Text Followed in the Authorized Version. Cambridge: University Press, 1881; The appendix on pp. 655-6 gives a list of the passages corresponding exactly with the Latin Vulgate against the Greek.
- ↑ http://www.bartleby.com/108/