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#onthisdayinhistory 2 May 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
The King James Version (KJV), also known as the King James Bible (KJB) & the Authorized Version, is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 & published in 1611, by sponsorship of King James VI and I. The 80 books of the KJV include 39 books of the Old Testament, 14 books of Apocrypha, & the 27 books of the New Testament.
The KJV does not include a commentary on the text as the King believed that might contain anti-monarchist sentiment as had its predecessor the Geneva Bible.
Noted for its "majesty of style," the KJV has remained in continuous use for over four centuries, exerting more influence on English literature & Christian thought than any other English Bible translation. Its phrasing has been credited with shaping not only hymnody & liturgy, but also the idioms of everyday speech used in the English-speaking world.
Images: 1. The title page to the 1611 first edition of the authorised version of the Bible by Cornelis Boel shows the Apostles Peter & Paul seated centrally above the central text, which is flanked by Moses & Aaron. In the four corners sit Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, the traditionally attributed authors of the four gospels, with their symbolic animals. The rest of the Apostles (with Judas facing away) stand around Peter & Paul. At the very top is the Tetragrammaton "יְהֹוָה" written with niqqud.
2. John Speed's Genealogies recorded in the Sacred Scriptures (1611), bound into first King James Bible in quarto size (1612).
3. The opening of the Epistle to the Hebrews of the 1611 edition of the Authorized Version shows the original typeface. The text of the Bible (only) is in black text. Marginal notes reference variant translations & cross references to other Bible passages. Each chapter is headed by a précis of contents. There are decorative initial letters for each chapter, & a decorated headpiece to each book, but no illustrations in the text.
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Oadby, England 🇬🇧 English




























