The King James Version

The year 1611 saw the publication of the most popular English Bible ever, the Authorized Version, better known as the King James Version (named for the king of England, James I).

James did not like the Geneva Bible, the most popular Bible among the people, and he saw that England’s “official” Bible, the Bishops’ Bible, was never going to be popular.

He appointed fifty-four scholars to revise the Bishops’ Bible, paying attention to the Greek and Hebrew originals.

The team was free to use words and phrases from other translations, including William Tyndale’s.

The work went on from 1607 (the year the English settled Jamestown, Virginia) until 1611. It carried a dedication “to the most high and mighty Prince James by the Grace of God.”

It did not become immediately popular, and the Pilgrims who sailed to American in 1620 were readers of the Geneva Bible, not the new King James Version.

But in time the “KJV” became the Bible in English, the one that generations of Americans and English knew and loved.

Its phrases have entered the language permanently, just as phrases from Shakespeare, who lived during the same time.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

The Rope of Prayer

David Jeremiah

Daniel was a man who communicated with heaven. He prayed fervently, consistently, and for the will of God. He knew nothing of praying only before meals, at bedtime, and when he really needed God’s help.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

The Initiative Against Depression

Oswald Chambers

A human being is capable of depression, otherwise there would be no capacity for exaltation. There are things that are calculated to depress, things that are of the nature of death; and in taking an estimate of yourself, always take into account the capacity for depression.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

The Inspiration of Spiritual Initiative

Oswald Chambers

When the inspiration of God does come, it comes with such miraculous power that we are able to arise from the dead and do the impossible thing. God does not give us overcoming life; He gives us life as we overcome.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

The Determination To Serve

Oswald Chambers

The mainspring of Paul 's service is not love for men, but love for Jesus Christ. Paul's realization of how Jesus Christ had dealt with him is the secret of his determination to serve others.

DAILY DEVOTIONAL

What God’s Love Can’t Do

Billy Graham

God cannot forgive the unrepentant sinner. The human race is called on throughout the Bible to repent of sin and return to God. This love of God can be entirely rejected. God will not force Himself upon any man against his will.