2011: King James Version anniversary

December 28, 2010 By

Several publications recently published lists of their top stories of 2010, but The Economist tries to predict next year’s trends with its “The World in 2011″ edition. You can already see this trend coming from upcoming books: marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible. Here’s The Economist‘s prediction: “Prepare for a celebration of biblical proportions.”

[It's the story of the King James Version of the Bible, which celebrates its 400th anniversary on May 2nd 2011, that is likely to provide the greatest spread of cultural events. Produced during the lifetime of William Shakespeare and John Donne, it has long been viewed as the most elegantly written and poetic of the many English translations, and has given the language some of its best-known phrases: "lamb to the slaughter", "skin of our teeth", "chariots of fire". The King James, also known as the Authorised Version, remains one of the most frequently used Bibles in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. Barack Obama took the oath of office on the same King James Bible that had been used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861.

Because the 2011 predictions didn’t include many religion stories, it was nice to see The Economist at least acknowledge the upcoming anniversary, though I wish it would have provided a little more history of why the Bible was so significant besides its influence on language and presidential use.

I grew up in a church that used the King James Version almost exclusively, so I became used to the thees, thous and begats. Others aren’t so fond of the translation and prefer updated versions, so the anniversary will likely set off never ending translation debates.

We’re already seeing a few stories with a hook to the anniversary, including one from the U.K.’s Daily Mail on how 51 percent of people under the age of 35 do not know what the King James Version is, according to one survey. NPR looked at how the translation ‘begat’ English idioms.

One story I enjoyed over the weekend comes from Marc Ramirez of The Dallas Morning News on an artist who has a fatal heart condition and is working on an illustrated copy of the King James Version.

The seventh-generation Texan is patiently crafting a handwritten, illustrated King James Bible, one page at a time. The “illuminated manuscript”–a type of work associated with the Middle Ages before technology made it largely obsolete–is a laborious process, blending calligraphy and illustration: The New Testament’s four Gospels took him an average of 18 months each to complete.

It’s a Sisyphean task, one compounded by the fact that Pepper, who lives in northeast Dallas, has a typically fatal heart condition that has dogged him since childhood.

So far, in addition to the Gospels, he’s finished the Old Testament books of Proverbs, Ruth and Ecclesiastes. He hopes to complete the book of Psalms by Easter.

Further down in the story, you’ll see quotes from his United Methodist pastor. On the art/books front, artist Makoto Fujimuru has an illustrated edition of the four gospels coming out and on display in New York City for the next two weeks.

So watch for the King James Version anniversary stories in 2011. Please.

Reporters could always look at the money it makes publishers, the ever-present literary influence, and its historical impact on culture, language, education and religion. Of course, there will be anniversary celebrations, but it will be interesting to see any unique angles they find.

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Filed Under: Books, Journalism, Religion, World, Worship
  • Karl Humphreys

    I have all the translations, but will always prefer the King James. The NIV has taken the Deity of Christ out, Compare John 3:16, Mark 1:2, and several passages are gone completely. I trust the King James and will stick with that and use the others as reference.

  • Ken

    This is probably nitpicky, but I’m not happy with the phrase “a typically fatal heart condition” being applied to someone who is still living, with the implication that he’s on borrowed time, and has had it since childhood.

    If someone has a fatal condition, he’s dead. “Life-threatening” or “potentially lethal” would be better descriptors in this case.

  • http://www.mikehickerson.com Mike Hickerson

    Another source for journalists: academic conferences on the KJV. (I know, I know – super-exciting academic conferences! But where else can you get a couple hundred experts in one room ready to talk?) Ohio State has one coming up in May, and I expect there will be many more.

  • Julia

    Christmas Trivia: Speaking of 400th anniversaries – to memorialize the 400th anniversary of the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press (which produced his major work, the Vulgate Bible, in about 1454)

    Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) composed a cantata in 1840… English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s music to fit the lyrics of “Hark the herald angels sing”.

    Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutenberg_Bible
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hark!_The_Herald_Angels_Sing

  • Jerry

    The story about 1/2 of people under 35 not knowing what the King James Bible is comes from the UK. Is there any survey that covers this question from the US perspective? I’d assume that we’re not in as bad shape, but I could be very wrong.

  • Jimmy Mac

    Heavens! A Royal Wedding — and now this!

    Monarchists will be in their glorrrreeeee – say Amen!

  • Passing By

    Not a devotee of the Authorized Version, but if I can make this conference at Baylor, I will.

  • Hector

    I agree with Karl Humphreys- I normally read the KJV and stick with the NRSV as a reference (though that’s the version typically read in church).

    Among other things, the NRSV leaves out Christ sweating blood in Gethsemane, the angel of healing descending into the pool at Bethesda, the Comma Johanneum, and casts doubt on the Pericope Adulterae and the Mark’s resurrection scene.

    And, of course, the King James is written in a stately, elevated, beautiful style, which is fitting and right, not in the sort of English one might use at a Ke$ha concert or a hockey game. Scripture is like an icon that points us to Christ, and like other icons it should be beautiful.

  • http://www.credocommunications.net/kjv David Sanford

    Thanks! A big surprise tied into the 400th anniversary of the 1611 King James Version Bible:

    Two scholars have compiled the first worldwide census of extant copies of the original first printing of the 1611 King James Version (sometimes referred to as the “He” Bible). For decades, authorities from the British Museum, et al., have estimated that “around 50 copies” of that first printing still exist. The real number is quite different.

    For more information, you’re invited to contact Donald L. Brake, Sr., PhD, at dbrake1611@q.com or his associate David Sanford at drsanford@earthlink.net

  • http://pepperbible.com/ James Pepper

    Ken that’s me actually and I was a bit uncomfortable with the description. I am not dead yet!

    As for my bible I am publishing it now because the technology exists to publish it as an ebook. I published the Gospel According to Saint Luke one week after the NookColor hit the market, that was in October. The software to make full color ebooks really didn’t become available to self publishers until last year! The problem is one of resolution, that is what has changed!

    If I tried to print it, the book would be too costly as it is full color. Luke is 183 pages long, contains 25 full page illuminations and 440 illustrated verse initials. We just put it on Amazon for the Kindle which can be read in full color on PCs and Macs too!