Number 118:  July 19, 2007

There was much social, political, and economic intrigue that happened before the King James translation of the Bible was given the green light to proceed. Up until this time, 1604, the Geneva Bible was the most read of the English Bibles; although it had been outlawed in England. It was not liked by the Anglican clergy or by the Roman Catholics because it was full of marginal notes from John Calvin specifically calling for the separation of Church and state.

Under Calvin, Geneva had become a symbol of the Protestant reformation. It was a fledgling Protestant republic gaining almost iconic significance to Protestants throughout Europe in the late 1540’s and early 1550’s. As the religious persecution of Protestants gained momentum, many wealthy and highly skilled professionals sought refuge there.

The Puritan movement sprung out of the marginal notes written into the Bible by Calvin.

The reformation urged all Christians to read and value the Bible, and to act upon what they found within its pages. Many stressed the importance of direct access to the Bible for the individual Christian’s spiritual growth, personal integrity, and doctrinal correctness; without these the Church could not hope to prosper.

However, many of the clergy wanted to keep the Bible in Latin, so they could hold sway over its interpretation. Miles Smith, one of two who would have final say on the new Bible translation, argued on behalf of the ordinary Christian who could not understand biblical languages. He stated that they would be denied access to the treasures found in the Bible if a proper translation from the Hebrew and the Greek was not made available in a language the laity could understand.

Since translation work into English was ongoing, many translators realized that the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, was not as good as the original languages of the Bible. This further alienated the Roman Catholic Church.

Thus, the Protestant Puritans liked the Geneva Bible with Calvin’s notes preaching against monarchies. The Roman Catholics wanted to control the people by utilizing the Vulgate, which kept the Bible in Latin and the interpretation in the hands of their clergy. The Protestant Anglican’s, those loyal to King James as head of Church and state, wanted nothing to do with Calvin’s input; least of all to find his thoughts written in Scripture so all could easily read and consider his views.

These points necessitated a compromise, a new translation of the Bible that would be without marginal notes, or commentaries against kings as some said. It would be built from the best of the earlier English translations, especially the Bishop’s Bible. This new translation would be read in all the Churches no matter what religious persuasion they were. This project was completed and published in 1611 and called the Authorized or King James translation of the Bible.