The King James Bible & Us

#CEBTour

There is a wonderful article in the National Geographic about the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

The KJV, for short, had an immense contribution to the English language, to art, music and so much more.

An excerpt:

You don't have to be a Christian to hear the power of those words—simple
in vocabulary, cosmic in scale, stately in their rhythms, deeply
emotional in their impact. Most of us might think we have forgotten its
words, but the King James Bible has sewn itself into the fabric of the
language. If a child is ever the apple of her parents' eye or an idea
seems as old as the hills, if we are at death's door or at our wits'
end, if we have gone through a baptism of fire or are about to bite the
dust, if it seems at times that the blind are leading the blind or we
are casting pearls before swine, if you are either buttering someone up
or casting the first stone, the King James Bible, whether we know it or
not, is speaking through us. The haves and have-nots, heads on plates,
thieves in the night, scum of the earth, best until last, sackcloth and
ashes, streets paved in gold, and the skin of one's teeth: All of them
have been transmitted to us by the translators who did their magnificent
work 400 years ago.

You can read the article here.

I grew up with it, have memorized a few lines from it but do not use it in my day to day life.  I find it easier to read more modern translations.

I usually use the NRSV, although from time to time I use other translations as well.

Currently, I am reading more and more from the Common English Bible and enjoying it.

A great place to find a lot of translation is Biblegateway.com

I will write an article soon on the Apocrypha and why it should be in your bible!