400 Years of the King James Bible
When I mention ‘walk’ to my dog, he’s all ears, his whole body set to go. When we hear ‘the gifts of God for the people of God,’ our whole selves are invited to respond. We get up from the pew with friends and strangers - brothers and sisters all. We walk forward to receive communion. We choose a sacred path to the place where bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ, nourish us at a deep level. We walk back having met with God, experiencing a holy encounter, strengthened to go where God leads us.There was great excitement one summer morning in 1611 when the King’s publisher walked with exuberance along the stone hallway to deliver the very first edition of the Bible, in large format, suitable for public use, and without illustrations to the King of England and Scotland. The translation committee of 50 scholars drew on many sources, especially Tyndale's New Testament (as much as 80% of Tyndale's translation is reused in the King James version). They commented: "Truly, we never thought, from the beginning...that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one; but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one."
The KJV was 'appointed to be read in churches' and remains the most widely-published text in the English language. Three hundred years before, an earlier king had beheaded translators of the bible into English!
King James Quiz
How many words are there in the bible? (answer at the end of this article)
A. 333,333
B. 256,001
C. 788,258
2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of The King James Bible.
You can explore England in 1611 from the comfort of your home by visiting the web site King James Bible Trust; from the Globe Theatre to food, medicine, money, politics and the reasons for the King’s authorized version of the Bible.
www.kingjamesbibletrust.org
The KJV is widely regarded as central to the development of the English language around the world. It was a book that had the good fortune to be published at a time when British trade was expanding around the globe and so made its way onto many ships bound for different worlds. It was soon traveling with British traders, explorers and colonists as they established contact and opportunity with the wider world in the seventeenth century and its impact reached beyond that. It’s fascinating to think that the King James Bible was written and published at a time when the English language was flourishing, with writers such as the poet John Donne and the dramatist William Shakespeare at work.
The KJV bible has contributed to cultural life around the world, serving as a starting point for a wide range of art, literature, music and social action.
I recently saw the oldest version of an English bible that exists in Canada; it dates to 1070 a.d. If there was a fire in the Fisher Rare Books Library (part of the University of Toronto Robarts Library), the curator says he would make a dash for the 1070 a.d. bible and run like the wind!
We cherish old things, with personal meaning. Many of us have an old King James Version of the Bible or an old Book of Common Prayer. As a confirmation gift from my church, I received a Prayer Book, signed by the Bishop.
At St. John’s every other Sunday at 9:30 a.m. we use the Book of Common Prayer whose language is largely influenced by the KJV. The BCP contains over 75% of scripture from the KJV. Google King James Version for more interesting videos and stories.
May you and I enjoy drawing close to God, walking to the Lord’s table wherever we worship this Summer and however we choose to read the bible and pray. Please pray for my family as I will be praying for yours.
I am yours faithfully,
The Reverend Christopher ( Kit ) Greaves
Incumbent St. John’s Bowmanville
Regional Dean of Durham-Northumberland
A. 788,258 is the total number of words in the King James Version of the bible.
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Summer Devotions from the Book
of Common Prayer
Here is the Summer
Challenge:Step One: Find a Book of Common Prayer in your home or at Church. (You have permission to borrow a BCP – the little maroon-coloured prayer book on the shelves at St. John’s. Please reuturn it in September!)
Step Two: Find Page 728 in the BCP Forms of Prayers to be used in Families. Set aside a time and place each day or evening to follow the short service / devotion time for Morning and / or Evening, on your own with others. (A friend I know goes for a walk or cycles with his prayer book, finds a quiet spot and sits with his BCP to do his morning prayers. Whatever your spot, try to be consistent, but don’t feel guilty. This is about walking closer in the presence of God who loves you deeply)
Step Three: Find the Collect for the day (meaning the prayer for the whole week) beginning with the Collect for Trinity Sunday (this year, it falls on Father’s Day, Sunday June 19th, 2011) on Pg 217 of the BCP. (The season we celebrate in Church on Sunday is called the Sundays after Pentecost. This year, Pentecost falls on June 12.)
The BCP uses the older ordering of weeks numbering from Trinity Sunday, June 19. One system of marking the weeks from Pentecost till Advent Sunday is not necessarily any better than the other.
If you already have a habit of reading the bible and praying, you might like to take a break and enjoy the Summer Challenge of using the Book of Common Prayer.
Week of June 19: Trinity Sunday - Pg 217
Week of June 26: Second Sunday of Trinity - Pg 219
Week of July 3: Third Sunday of Trinity - Pg 221
Week of July 10: Fourth Sunday of Trinity - Pg 223
Week of July 17: Fifth Sunday of Trinity - Pg 224
Week of July 24: Sixth Sunday of Trinity - Pg 226
Week of July 31: Seventh Sun. of Trinity - Pg 228
Week of Aug. 7: Eighth Sun. of Trinity - Pg 229
Week of Aug. 14: Ninth Sun. of Trinity - Pg 231
Week of Aug. 21: Tenth Sun. of Trinity - Pg 233
Week of Aug. 28: Eleventh Sun of Trinity - Pg 234
Week of Sept. 4: Twelfth Sun of Trinity - Pg 236
Let me know through the summer or in the fall how your Summer Challenge has gone. God bless!
Click here for a pdf page of the summer devotions
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