ABOUT US: The Story Behind the King James Version in English
Although my husband and I have been readers of the King James Version (KJV) Bible for over thirty years, in 2015 we were introduced to the English Standard Version (ESV). We were impressed: this Bible in modern English was so easy to understand! However, we became uncomfortable with many of the changes that ESV made. For example, a sense of special comradery is missing from certain passages such as “in the Father’s bosom” and “the children of the bride-chamber” which the ESV translates only as “by the Father’s side” and “wedding guests”. Even the recognition of Christ’s Lordship by the thief on the cross is lost: in the KJV, the thief says to Jesus, “Lord, Remember me when you come into your kingdom;”; in the ESV, he simply calls Jesus by his first name and says, “Jesus, Remember me when …”.
We decided to go back to King James, but this time to an easy-to-read KJV derivative; unfortunately it was only available in printed form, and we also needed an electronic version. However since King James is in the public domain (except in Great Britain and its territories) it was feasible, with the capability of modern technology, to make our own KJV derivative by simply updating the spelling of its archaic words.
Unnoticed previously, I discovered that much of the Bible mixes past and present tenses like a story-teller might do. For example, he could say, “He sprinted after the robber. Then he corners him and yells, ‘Stop, thief!’”. Here, the verb “sprinted” is in the past tense, but “corners” and “yells” are in the present tense. This helps draw the audience into the story, even though the situation happened in the storyteller’s past. This is called the historical present tense and happens quite often in scripture. For example, Mar_9:35: “And he sat down (past tense), and called (past tense) the twelve, and says (present tense) unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.”
Admittedly, it did seem unlikely that simply "correcting" the spelling would make much of a difference; it even seemed strange at first; but after a few days I liked this new bible, and now, I love it. What a relief it is to read "ceiling" instead of "cieling" and “brazen altar” (altar made of brass) instead of “brasen altar”, and “whose carcasses fell” instead of “whose carcases fell”! It's still King James with all the archaic words and grammar but it’s so much clearer without the clutter.
It occurred to me that perhaps others would appreciate an easier-to-read King James Bible too. Although my preference is the English of Commonwealth nations, particularly Canada, Americans generally prefer “American English" using "appareled" instead of "apparelled" and "sepulcher" instead of "sepulchre". So first was created the “King James Version in English” (KJV-ENG), and from there it was straightforward to produce the “King James Version in American English”, the KJV-USA. Perhaps, someday, Textus Receptus scholars will create an entirely new Bible in modern English, but until then, here is an authentic King James Bible that is easier to read!