2011-02

T
his year sees the 400 th
anniversary of the Bible. Well,
obviously that’s not really
correct, the Bible as we know it
has been around for certainly 1600
years and the books in the Bible have
been around for a good deal longer
than that. But for many people in the
English-speaking world the definitive
version of the Bible –the King James, or
Authorised Version (AV) – will be
celebrating 400 years this year.
The King James Version was not the
first Bible written in English. William
Tyndale had translated his New
Testament 90 years before (and had
been executed for his pains). Henry
VIII had authorised the placing of an
English Bible (called The Great Bible) in
every church towards the end of his
reign. During Mary Tudor’s reign
Protestant exiles in Switzerland
produced the Geneva Bible which was
the first English Bible to have chapter
and verse. It also had various
footnotes hostile to the monarchy which
meant that it remained banned in
England. Under Elizabeth I another
English Bible (the Bishops’ Bible) was
introduced but it was never as popular
as the Geneva version.
Because of the various “unofficial”
English translations that were in
circulation, King James I ordered that
an “Authorised Version” of the Bible be
written.
He gathered together the leading
Greek and Hebrew scholars of the time
and together they produced one of the
most important works in the English
language. Those stranded on Radio
4’s famous desert island are always
given a copy of the AV along with the
complete works of Shakespeare.
The AV is heavily based on William
Tyndale’s New Testament, and Tyndale
is arguably the hidden genius behind
the translation. So many phrases from
the AV have become part of the warp
and weft of the English language: “my
brother’s keeper”, “they shall beat their
swords into ploughshares”, “a law unto
themselves”, “the wages of sin” and
“the root of all evil” are just a selection
of common phrases. Such is the
resonance of the language that many
subsequent translations still follow the
AV in its phrasing.
These days comparatively few
churches in Britain use the AV. From
the end of the Nineteenth Century there
have been a plethora of new
translations often known by confusing
initials (the RV, the RSV, the NEB, the
RNEB, the NIV and the TNIV are just a
few!). They are all however direct
descendants from the 1611 King James
Bible and the influence of the AV can
be seen in all of them.
Not that the AV was flawless. There
was a very limited print run of the AV
which missed out a rather crucial word
– “not”. The faulty text therefore read
“thou shalt commit adultery”. It became
known as the “naughty Bible”.
St Chad’s, in common with many
churches in Britain, will be celebrating
the 400 th anniversary of this remarkable
book with sermon series focussing on
specific books in the Bible – starting
with Genesis in January.
The congregation are also being
challenged to read the whole of the
Bible over the course of a year.
The AV’s translation of Ecclesiastes
12 says “of making many books there is
no end; and much study is a weariness
of the flesh.” That may be true of many
books, but of the inexhaustible riches of
the Bible I’m sure that it is not!
Toby Hole
St Chads Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
email: office@stchads.org
Church Offices: 15 Camping Lane, Sheffield S8 0GB Page 18 website: www.stchads.org
Tel: (0114) 274 5086