Jeremiah 17.1<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe idea might strike some as a bit esoteric, but I think there\u2019s something important here. Alter speaks of the King James Bible as \u201cdetermin[ing] the foundational language and symbolic imagery of a whole culture\u201d in America. Beautiful, lyrical, impactful language has staying power. Next year marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Four hundred years, and the translation is still ringing in our ears. Despite fading \u201cfervid faith in Scripture as revelation,\u201d says Alter, \u201cthe language of the Bible remains an ineluctable framework for verbal culture in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
But is the iron pen showing signs of rust? Alter points out that the 300th anniversary was publicly celebrated by such luminaries as Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. He suspects that scholars will be the main group in observance for 2011. I think that would be a shame if it came true.<\/p>\n
All of this brings to mind a few questions: What do you think of the influence of the King James Bible on American culture? Has it had an impact on you personally? Do you think that contemporary translations trade long-term cultural impact for accessibility? And finally, even more speculative than the last, do you think any modern translations potentially have the staying power that the KJV has had?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Novelist John Updike once called the King James Bible \u201cour language\u2019s lone masterpiece produced by committee.\u201d He said that in a New Yorker review of Robert Alter\u2019s translation of the Pentateuch\u2014The Five Books of Moses. Well, Alter now has a new book about the King James Bible and its influence on the style of six […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1270,"featured_media":2025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[145,217,311,397,428,1054,585,611,727],"class_list":["post-1031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-2","tag-cormac-mccarthy","tag-ernest-hemingway","tag-herman-melville","tag-king-james-bible","tag-marilynne-robinson","tag-reading-the-bible","tag-robert-alter","tag-saul-bellow","tag-william-faulkner"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>