Comments on: Thou Dost Prefer the KJV

By: Lawrence Cunningham

Lawrence Cunningham — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:28:12 +0000

What to read in translation is a vexing problem. In my classes at Notre Dame I use the NAB because that is the version students will hear at the liturgy even though, by and large, he NAB is, to put it charitably, clunky. I like the NRSV for my own personal use but i have also tried to read the bible in another language as a Lenten practice. To read in another language demands that one slow down and attend to the text. Hence, I sometimes read the Psalter in the Vulgate but I also like the French Bible de jerusalem. Last year I tried the Gospels in Greek and managed to stagger through Mark and a bit of John. My Greek is not great!

By: Michael PS

Michael PS — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 08:21:57 +0000

Tzard makes a very good point about stability.

It is a consideration that weighed much with St Jerome in his translation of the Vulgate, only departing from the earlier Italic translations, when they were manifestly wrong.

Similarly, the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer retained the Psalter from the Bishops’ Bible, partly because it was familiar and, partly, because it was singable

By: David Elton

David Elton — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:11:15 +0000

I work at a large bookstore. Of those customers who are looking for a bible, the KJV is by far the one they want. I think its because they are not familiar with other versions. If they are Protestants or evangelicals, I recommend the NIV. If they are Catholic, I recommend the RSV, because I’m Catholic and that’s the one I have used since I went to college in the 60s – Catholic college. Sometimes I will recommend the St. Joseph Bible to Catholics – if we have it on the shelf.

By: pentamom

pentamom — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:07:48 +0000

FWIW, my comment was not intended as a disparagement of the KJV or its readers. However, the reality is that it’s not my preferred translation, and its presence in my house reflects something other than my use of it. I stand by my comment about the religiously uninformed believing it’s what the religious want — that’s not meant to imply that *only* the religiously uninformed would think it desirable, however.

But I do agree that some other translations are both more accurate and more accessible, which are important priorities in choosing a translation of the Holy Scriptures for regular use. That opinion does not, however, translate to snobbery toward those of different opinions.

By: ericfromnewyork

ericfromnewyork — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:08:20 +0000

I was raised on the RSV, trained at a mainline seminary, and not too subtlely taught to despise the KJV and the Textus Receptus.
I have changed my mind. It is the Bible I prefer both for personal reading and for Bible studies. Every year I like and trust it more and more.
There is a lot of snobbery in the comments above. I forgive you. I used to talk that way myself because that was the training I got in theology at school. I had no idea that there are reasonable arguments for accepting most (not absolutely all, but most) of the KJV as excellent text and excellent translation. No one ever offered the other side of the debate. There was no debate. Just snide predjudice and assumptions about the ignorance of KJV readers.

By: mike

mike — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:51:33 +0000

All the Bible scholarship of recent years can only be a good thing. Personally I like the NKJV.

By: Boze

Boze — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:17:50 +0000

Also, the King James tends to be preferred by college English majors – along with the ESV, both of which are, in their own way, majestic.

By: Tzard

Tzard — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:43:44 +0000

One thing the KJV has that the rest don’t – is stability. With a proliferation of translations – dozens or more – some copyrighted – there’s something to be said for a stable translation. Something you can memorize and quote.

It becomes a common language among the many.

By: Troy

Troy — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:42:49 +0000

I just posted something about this yesterday (KJV Onlyism):
http://thereformedmind.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/where-are-they-coming-from-kjv-onlyism/

By: pentamom

pentamom — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:39:34 +0000

What Jack Perry said. All it means is that many of us have, at some point in our lives, bought or been given a KJV, and haven’t gotten rid of it. It doesn’t in any way mean we “prefer” it.

My guess is that the KJV is the favored translation of the religiously uninformed who wish to give a Bible to a religious friend for some occasion. That’s in fact probably the only reason that we have one (it was a wedding gift) — unless you count the heirloom from my husband’s great-grandfather that I couldn’t even find without a serious search.