King James Bible
The King James version (KJV) of the Bible was composed in 1604-1611 AD.
King James I of England was also King James VI of Scotland.
He succeeded his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was forced to yield the throne to him.
As a Protestant Bible, the KJV treats the seven extra books of the Septuagint as deuterocanonical or apocryphal — books that were not inspired by God and intended by God to be included in the Bible.
A few favorite verses
The King James Version has shaped the English language. It has an undeniable power and beauty, despite its deficiencies as an accurate and complete translation of the Bible.
- "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
- "Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
- "Man does not live by bread alone."
- "Thou shalt not kill."
- "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
- "Judge not, lest ye be judged."
- "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Ps 30:5).
Thou, thee, thy
These are second person, singular pronouns.
"Thou" is nominative singular, like "tu" in French: "Thou shalt conceive and bear a son."
"Thee" is accusative singular: "The LORD is with thee."
"Thy" is possessive singular: "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done."
We get all three in the angelic salutation: "The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."
Have ye any meat?
I don't remember how the question of how to translate this verse arose. It may be part of a minor polemic against the distinction Catholics make between "meat" and "fish" on fast days.
- "Have you anything to eat?" (Jn 21:5). Greek: me ti prosphagion exete?
- Prosphagion appears only once in the Scriptures — in this passage. Strong's dictionary says that it is something taken with bread and suggests that the right translation is "fish".
- King James version: "Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No."
- "It is interesting to note (as does the marginal note of the New American Standard Version) that the Greek word (prosphagion) translated ‘fish’ actually refers to that which is eaten with bread, as a kind of relish. Our Lord may therefore not only be asking about their catch in general. He might be implying that they not only have failed to make a catch (and thus their living), but that neither have they been able, apart from divine guidance, to provide themselves with enough for their meal. In the marvelous catch that was to follow, Jesus provided a catch, an income, and their immediate need for a meal" (Bob Deffinbaugh, Th.M.).
- ichthys — Greek word for fish. Ichthyology. IXTHUS.
- kreas — Greek word for meat. Gave rise to our word "creosote" because creosote is an antiseptic ("preserves the meat", kreas + soter, savior). Also the root of "pancreas" (literally, "all meat"); "sweetbreads" are "all meat" (the thymus or pancreas of a calf).
- The KJV similarly translates "trophas" ("something to eat", from trefw, "to feed"; root of our our word "trophy") as "meat" in John 4:8 — "His disciples had gone into town to buy something to eat."