Buying a rare copy of an original Bible like the 1611 King James Bible (also called KJV or King James Version) may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t own a piece of history. You could get a facsimile of the original King James Bible for sale and proudly show it as a valuable addition to your personal library. It could even be a great gift to friends and family, especially the ones who are interested in reading some of the rarest and most unique Bibles.
For more than 400 years, people have loved the KJV or the Authorized Version of the Bible. It stands out for its majestic phrasing and splendid cadences. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that perhaps no other book has so intensely impacted our language as well as our theology.
Thus, it’s not a surprise that there’s a high demand for facsimiles of the original 1611 King James Bible. If you are also planning to get one, here are a few things you should know.
The Story Behind the 1611 King James Bible
During her reign, Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603) reinstated Protestantism as England’s official religion (following Queen Mary’s attempt to restore Roman Catholicism in the nation). Elizabeth also imposed a high level of uniformity upon the Church of England.
In 1604, almost immediately after James’s coronation as England’s king, a churchmen’s conference requested the English Bible’s revision. This was due to the existing translations being regarded as corrupt and unanswerable to the truth of the original, according to these churchmen.
King James quickly understood the proposal's broader value and why a new authorized translation was required. He acted fast and, by June 30, 1604, approved 54 revisers. However, present-day records confirm that only 47 scholars really participated.
These scholars were categorized into six groups, two each working separately at Oxford, Westminster, and Cambridge on parts of the Bible allocated to them. The work was overseen by Canterbury’s archbishop, Richard Bancroft (1544–1610), who also established doctrinal principles for the translators. In 1611, the new Bible was published.
Not since the Septuagint — the earliest extant Greek-language version of the Old Testament (translated from the original Hebrew) — had a Bible translation of such a massive scale been undertaken under regal sponsorship as a cooperative project.
A detailed set of rules was planned to restrain individual proclivities and guarantee the translation’s unbiased and scholarly character. Unlike earlier practice, the new version was set to use vulgar forms of proper names (such as “Jonah” or “Jonas” for “Yonah” in Hebrew) to align with its goal of making the Scriptures familiar and popular.
As guidance for their work, the translators used extant English-language translations, including William Tyndale’s partial translation and Jewish commentaries. Thanks to the extensive range of scholarly tools made available to them, the translators were able to decide how to render uniqueness and independent judgment. This was one of the primary reasons behind the new version being far more true to the Bible’s original languages and more academic than any of its predecessors.
The King James Bible showed a prominent influence of the original Hebrew. It appeared as if the translators and revisers consciously tried to replicate the Hebrew Scriptures’ style and rhythm in their work. As a result, the English New Testament’s literary style turned out to be better than its Greek original.
Features of the Original 1611 KJV
The original 1611 A.D. text of the KJV was written in Early Modern English and displayed the language’s closer ties to its Latin roots. This Bible’s spelling was in Jacobean style. Though it wasn’t fully standardized, readers could read it phonetically.
The original typeface of the 1611 KJV with Apocrypha was in Gothic style. Today, both its older language and the typestyle may be considered complex to read by modern English readers, which is why some facsimiles of the King James Bible for sale use a modern typestyle. But there’s no denying that King James Version is still respected and recognized for its cadence, beauty, and poetic feel.
When buying a facsimile of the 1611 King James Bible for sale, you should ensure to choose a reliable and reputed dealer of rare and antique Bibles. Else, you may end up buying a replica of the 1769 Oxford King James revision, with revised spellings and some words being changed. If you aren’t careful, you could even be cajoled to buy a facsimile of the 1611 KJV where the original’s extra prefatory features have been removed.
