In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture

The King James Bible: The noblest work of religious prose in English. The most beautiful translation of the Bible ever made in any language. One of the landmarks of early modern English.

An inaccurate translation of a corrupt Greek and Hebrew original.

This is the sad dilemma facing anyone choosing an English Bible today. The scholars who translated the Hebrew Bible simply did not have enough knowledge of Hebrew to do well, and those who translated the New Testament worked from the Textus Receptus of Erasmus, prepared almost a century before, and written under a printer's deadline. Erasmus was a great man, but he admitted that his text was "precipitated rather than edited"; it was based on a handful of bad manuscripts. The bottom line is, show more The King James Bible, for all its beauty, does not represent the original Bible at all well.

Scholars and lay people can (and assuredly do!) differ on how much this matters. Theologically, it isn't tremendously important; most of the differences between the Authorized Version and the modern translations have no doctrinal significance. But to tell this tale without emphasizing what we now know is to omit a very important facet of the modern debate over the King James Bible. Admittedly this is a history of a translation, not a commentary. And it is a good history within its bounds. But its bounds are too narrow. show less

I just finished reading Alister McGrath's book "In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture". Even though I've read over a dozen books on the topic of English Bible translations, I was suitably impressed with the information in the book. I'd expected the book to be a review of information I was already aware of, but McGrath added pieces to the puzzle I was unaware of. McGrath went into some political and religious areas to explain what happened to the KJV after pupublicationand part of the book was the influence the King James Version had on the American colonies.

I was a bit disappointed the book didn't discuss into the successors of the KJV, such as the RV, ASV, RSV, NKJV, show more etc.

All-in-all, this is a 5-star book. This would be a good choice for a layperson who wants to learn about the history of English Bible translations. show less

I'm not a Biblical scholar or an authority on the history of the English language although both subjects are of interest to me. This is not a book for those looking to discredit Bible translation as a way to discredit Christian faith. Obviously, the author has a great deal of respect for those that took on this task. However, he doesn't shrink from telling all the "dirty laundry" associated with the translation and the acceptance of the KJV. If we think politics and religion get all mixed up today, we only have to read this to find that there is nothing new in the world.

All in all, I found this book interesting, easy to read (except for a few places), and enlightening.

I was curious how the King James Bible came to be, and Mr. McGrath well more than answered my question. Martin Luther started it all in the 1520s, ninety years later something like 30 Oxford and Cambridge scholars came together at King James's behest and, using Luther's bible as a guide, compiled the King James version of the Bible. Interesting fact: the book's English usage was considered archaic even back in the 1610s. Also, the word "atonement" was coined by the King James' consortium for a Hewbrew word that had no then-present equivalent. I could go on, but I won't. Go forth and read.

This is a wonderful book to give anyone with the KJV only attitude. I love the KJV, but I undrstand it is just a translation. The history of that translation process is laid open by McGrath. He respectfully tells the story and keeps it interesting.

McGrath presents a riveting account of the history of the King James Bible and its significant impact on the English language. Beginning with Gutenberg and the origins of printing, and the religious-political developments of the 16th century, the author establishes the context for the emergence of the Authorized Version and how it came to supplant the Geneva Bible in popularity and influence.

This 300-page book has an extensive bibliography and a substantial index. I believe any serious student of biblical studies, church history, or English literature would benefit from it.

An excellent book written by Alistair McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford.
It looks not only at the development of the King james Bible and the history of the times but it is a fascinating study of the development of the English language.

to quote: 'those translators produced a literary milestone' ; 'The true heirs of the King James translators are those who continue their task today, not those who declare it to have been definitively concluded in 1611'.