Reasons for the KJV's Durability

The following excerpts are taken from Barton Swain's article, "God's English: The Making and Endurance of the King James Bible, 1611-2011," in the May/June issue of Touchstone:

First, they [the translators of the KJV] understood, far better than modern translators have, the importance of rhythm in language. This is partly because learned men of the seventeenth century were steeped in written languages - English and Latin, but also Greek, Hebrew, French, Italian, and Spanish - to a degree that even the best educated cannot match now. They understood the dynamics of poetry: Andrewes was himself a brilliant poet, but the others, too, would have been deeply familiar with ancient and modern meters.

Equally important is the fact that the King James translators knew that their renderings would be heard even more than they would be read. The great preponderance of parishioners in early seventeenth-century England were partly or wholly illiterate, and for that reason the translators were careful to make their sentences easy to read aloud. Time and again the KJV's language falls into a snappy iambic cadence that rolls off the tongue....

One of the principal reasons the King James Bible has achieved such astonishing durability is that its diction captures the gravity and splendor one feels God's words deserve....

Praying for Bible Translation in Sudan

Take a moment to stop what you're doing and pray for the work of Wycliffe Bible translators and their work in Sudan.

• Pray for a peaceful transition to independence in South Sudan.
• Pray for the safety and security of children and families.
• Pray for the progress of translation teams throughout Sudan.

For more information about Wycliffe, click here. For other ways you can pray for this ministry, click here.

The Holy Scriptures and the Common Tongue

"I totally disagree with those who are unwilling that the Holy Scriptures should be translated into everyday languages and read by unlearned people. Christ wishes his mysteries to be made known as widely as possible....I wish that they were translated into all the languages of all Christian people....I wish that the farm laborer might sing parts of them at his plow, that the weaver might hum them at his shuttle, and that the traveler might ease his weariness by reciting them."

--Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536)