The KJV: History, Myths, and Meaning

The KJV: History, Myths, and Meaning

The King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, first published in 1611, remains one of the most famous and enduring translations in the history of Christianity. Its phrases shaped the English language, its cadence inspired poets and preachers alike, and its cultural impact has been felt for over four centuries. For many English-speaking Christians, the KJV was their Bible for generations. Yet as loved as it is, the KJV is also surrounded by myths and misconceptions. Some elevate it as the only true Word of God in English, while others dismiss it entirely as obsolete. A fair assessment must honor the KJV’s beauty and influence while also acknowledging its limitations, errors, and the theological claims made about it.

Historical Background

The KJV came into being in 1611, commissioned by King James I of England. It was not the first English Bible, as is often imagined, but a revision of earlier works such as Tyndale’s New Testament, Coverdale’s Bible, the Geneva Bible, and the Bishops’ Bible. A committee of forty-seven scholars from the Church of England worked to produce a translation that would unify English-speaking Protestants and replace the Geneva Bible, which had strong Puritan notes, and the Bishops’ Bible, which was uneven in quality.

The Old Testament was translated primarily from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, while the New Testament relied on the Textus Receptus, a Greek text compiled by Erasmus in the sixteenth century based on a handful of relatively late Byzantine manuscripts. The KJV also included the Apocrypha, which was printed between the Old and New Testaments, just as it had been in previous Bibles. In fact, the Apocrypha remained in most KJV printings until the nineteenth century.

The edition that most readers hold today is not the 1611 original, but the 1769 Oxford revision produced by Benjamin Blayney, which standardized spelling, punctuation, and other updates. The English of 1611 was already beginning to feel dated by the eighteenth century, and so what we now call “the KJV” is not truly the original King James Bible, but a later revision.

Translation Method and Style

The King James Bible was not a “literal” translation in the strictest sense. The translators themselves admitted in their preface that their work was a revision of previous English translations, not an entirely new rendering from scratch. Their style was formal equivalence when possible, but they also allowed for fluidity and idiomatic expression. For instance, in 2 John 12 the Greek literally says, “I hope to come to you and speak mouth to mouth” (στόμα πρὸς στόμα). The KJV renders this as “face to face,” a paraphrase that communicates the intent but not the exact words. Modern readers may assume the KJV never paraphrased, but examples like this show otherwise.

The English of the KJV is not the language of the street in 1611, but a deliberate, elevated style of English, sometimes called “biblical English.” This gave the translation its sense of majesty, but also placed it outside of common usage even in its own day.

Reading Level and Style

The King James Bible was written in Early Modern English, not Old English as is sometimes claimed. It reflects the language of the early 1600s, though it was deliberately elevated and formal even in its own day. The translators did not use common speech but sought a stately, reverent style that would sound majestic when read aloud in churches.

For modern readers, this creates both beauty and difficulty. The language has an undeniable literary rhythm, with parallelism and cadence that make it ideal for public reading and memorization. Many of its phrases became embedded in English culture, such as “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4) or “labour of love” (Hebrews 6:10).

However, the reading level is high, often estimated at 12th grade or above, due to both archaic vocabulary and obsolete grammar. Words such as “conversation” (once meaning “conduct”), “quit you like men” (meaning “act like men”), or “let” (meaning “restrain”) are misleading in contemporary English. This not only makes the KJV difficult for new readers, but it also risks serious misunderstanding when modern meanings are imposed on archaic expressions.

In sum, the KJV’s style is its greatest strength and greatest weakness: it is timeless in beauty but distant in comprehension. It reads with majesty, but it does not read as modern English.

Strengths

The strengths of the King James Version are undeniable. Its literary beauty shaped English for centuries, with phrases like “the powers that be” (Rom 13:1) and “labour of love” (Heb 6:10) entering the common tongue. It provided a common text for English-speaking Protestants, shaping sermons, hymns, and devotional life. Its rhythm makes it especially memorable for recitation, and its influence on poetry and preaching remains unmatched.

The inclusion of the Apocrypha in the 1611 edition is also historically significant, showing that for centuries English-speaking Christians read a Bible much closer in form to the Bible of the early church. Unfortunately, most modern KJV printings omit these books, a loss that has reshaped how Protestants think about the biblical canon.

Myths of the KJV

The KJV is surrounded by myths that must be dispelled for a fair understanding. The first is that the King James Bible was the first English translation. In reality, John Wycliffe had produced an English Bible translation in the fourteenth century, William Tyndale translated the New Testament in 1526, and the Geneva Bible had been in widespread use for decades before 1611.

Another myth is that the KJV is the most literal translation, when in fact it often smooths over idioms, paraphrases, and interprets passages. As we saw in 2 John 12, “mouth to mouth” became “face to face.” In Acts 12:4, the KJV uses the word “Easter” when the Greek text clearly reads Pascha — “Passover.” This was not literal, but an interpretive choice.

A further myth is that the KJV is based on superior manuscripts. The truth is that the Textus Receptus was compiled from a small set of late Byzantine manuscripts, some with obvious scribal errors. Modern translations have access to far more ancient and diverse manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, which are centuries earlier than those available to the KJV translators. Scholars generally consider the manuscript base of the KJV inferior in accuracy and reliability compared to the broader textual evidence available today.

Finally, the claim that the KJV is God’s perfectly preserved Word in English collapses under scrutiny. If it were flawless, it would not contain the numerous mistranslations and additions still present in its text. Moreover, the translators themselves did not claim inspiration or perfection, but saw their work as one link in a chain of revisions stretching back to earlier translations.

Errors and Weaknesses

The weaknesses of the KJV are most evident in its errors and textual additions. Perhaps the most famous example is in Judges 18:30, where the Hebrew text reads “Moses,” but the KJV has “Manasseh,” likely an intentional alteration to protect Moses’ reputation.

In Romans, the KJV repeatedly translates the Greek phrase μὴ γένοιτο (mē genoito) as “God forbid.” This occurs in Romans 3:4, 3:6, 3:31, 6:2, 6:15, 7:7, 7:13, 9:14, 11:1, and 11:11. The phrase literally means “May it never be!” or “By no means!” but the KJV translators supplied the word “God” without justification. This insertion shaped generations of English readers to think Paul had invoked God’s name in a way he did not.

In 1 John 5:7, the KJV includes the so-called Johannine Comma: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” This line is absent from the earliest Greek manuscripts and is now known to be a later addition. Likewise, Acts 8:37, which provides a baptismal confession, is not present in early manuscripts but appears in the KJV.

Other small but notable errors remain in the KJV. Matthew 23:24 says, “strain at a gnat,” when the correct translation is “strain out a gnat.” Hebrews 10:23 speaks of “the profession of our faith,” when the Greek says “the confession of our hope.” These may seem minor, but they accumulate into a picture of a translation that, while beautiful, is not flawless.

The archaic English itself is also a weakness. Words have changed meaning over four centuries. In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 the KJV says, “only he who now letteth will let,” where “let” in 1611 meant “restrain,” not “permit.” Readers today encounter an English text that is not their English, which can create misunderstanding.

The Apocrypha in the KJV

It is important to remember that the original 1611 KJV included the Apocrypha. Books like Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, and 1–2 Maccabees were printed between the Testaments. This reflects continuity with earlier Christian Bibles, which always included these writings. The later removal of the Apocrypha by Protestant publishers, largely in the nineteenth century, represents a historical redaction, not the authentic form of the KJV.

Conclusion

The King James Bible deserves respect as a monument of English literature and a landmark in the history of the church. It gave English-speaking Christians a unifying text, and its prose still inspires awe. Yet its myths must be challenged, and its errors recognized. It is not the first English Bible, nor the most literal, nor based on the best manuscripts. It contains mistranslations, insertions, and theological choices that were shaped by its time. If the KJV were truly God’s one preserved Word in English, it would not contain so many errors or require so many later revisions.

The KJV remains valuable for historical study, literary appreciation, and devotion, but it should not be elevated above all other translations. The Word of God is preserved not in one translation, but in the multiplicity of manuscripts and faithful translations across the centuries. The KJV was an important chapter in that story — but it is not the final word.

Appendix: Documented Errors and Problems in the KJV

Genesis 36:24 — KJV: “This was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness.”

• Hebrew: yēmim = “hot springs,” not “mules.” Likely a copyist error carried into the translation.

Exodus 28:40 — KJV: “And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them.”

• Hebrew: migba‘ot = “turbans,” not “bonnets” (archaic mistranslation).

Judges 18:30 — KJV: “Jonathan, the son of Manasseh”

• Hebrew text: “Moses,” but with a scribal suspension to protect Moses’ name. KJV follows a corruption instead of the original reading.

1 Samuel 13:1 — KJV: “Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel…”

• Hebrew text is corrupt here, missing numbers; KJV reproduces nonsense.

Job 30:29 — KJV: “I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.”

• Hebrew: “jackals” and “ostriches,” not mythical “dragons” and common “owls.”

Psalm 8:5 — KJV: “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels.”

• Hebrew: Elohim = “God,” not “angels.” This shifts the meaning away from divine status.

Psalm 119:147 — KJV: “I prevented the dawning of the morning.”

• “Prevent” in 1611 meant “go before.” Modern sense makes it nonsense.

Isaiah 45:7 — KJV: “I make peace, and create evil.”

• Hebrew: ra‘ = “calamity, disaster,” not “evil” in the moral sense. Misleading.

Jeremiah 34:16 — KJV: “But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant… whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure…”

• Hebrew: “at their soul” = “at their desire/will.” KJV’s “pleasure” confuses sense.

Ezekiel 24:7 — KJV: “She poured it upon the ground, to cover it with dust.”

• Hebrew phrase obscured; KJV misses idiomatic meaning of “she poured it on the bare rock,” confusing the imagery.

Daniel 3:25 — KJV: “the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

• Aramaic: bar elahin = “a son of the gods” (plural). KJV imposes Christian theology here.

Matthew 6:13 — KJV: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

• This doxology is absent from earliest manuscripts. Added from liturgical tradition.

Matthew 23:24 — KJV: “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.”

• A printing error in 1611; should be “strain out a gnat.” Error persists in KJV.

Luke 17:36 — Entire verse appears in KJV: “Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

• Absent from earliest manuscripts; harmonized from Matthew.

John 5:4 — KJV: “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water…”

• Absent from earliest Greek manuscripts; marginal gloss that crept in.

Acts 8:37 — KJV: “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest… I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

• Entire verse missing from earliest manuscripts. Later liturgical addition.

Acts 12:4 — KJV: “… intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.”

• Greek: Pascha = “Passover.” “Easter” is an anachronism.

Romans 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11 — KJV: “God forbid.”

• Greek: mē genoito = “By no means” or “May it never be.” The word “God” is not present.

1 Corinthians 13:1 — KJV: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity…”

• Greek: agapē = “love.” “Charity” is archaic and misleads modern readers.

2 Thessalonians 2:7 — KJV: “… only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”

• “Let” once meant “restrain.” Modern sense makes it read the opposite of the Greek.

1 Timothy 6:10 — KJV: “For the love of money is the root of all evil.”

• Greek: pantōn tōn kakōn = “a root of all kinds of evil.” Overstated and misleading.

Hebrews 10:23 — KJV: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.”

• Greek: elpis = “hope,” not “faith.”

1 John 5:7–8 — KJV includes: “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”

• Known as the Johannine Comma. Absent from earliest Greek manuscripts.

Revelation 22:14 — KJV: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life.”

• Greek: “Blessed are those who wash their robes.” A major textual variant.

Revelation 22:19 — KJV: “God shall take away his part out of the book of life.”

• Greek: “tree of life,” not “book of life.”