How Did We Get Our Bible?
July 16, 2021
Kermit Zarley
People often ask this question. They also ask, Which is the best Bible? That’s because there used to be pretty much only one Bible in the English-speaking world–the King James Version (KJV) that was produced in 1611. But since the late 19th century until now, there have been dozens of so-called “modern” English Bible translations, also called “versions.” I’ll speak to this in a followup post tomorrow.
When people ask me these questions, I usually explain that all modern versions of the Bible in English are superior in both accuracy and clarity than the KJV. Many people are taken aback by this, but it is true. The KJV is now more than 400 years old. That means its English is quite antiquated compared to our English we use today. All languages change through the centuries, and English has been no different. Although the KJV was a good translation based on what was available then, many of its English words are not what we use today, and some even have a different meaning from ours.