KJV · 1611
King James Version
The most influential English Bible ever produced; still beloved for its cadence.
- Publisher
- Church of England
- Text base
- Textus Receptus (NT), Masoretic (OT)
- Philosophy
- Formal Equivalence
- Reading level
- 12th grade+
Strengths
- Poetic, memorable cadence
- Rich literary heritage
- Public domain
Textual issues & criticisms
Archaic language
Thee/thou and outdated vocabulary hinder modern comprehension.
Dated textual base
Relies on the Textus Receptus, a small late Greek manuscript sample.
Translation errors
Contains known mistranslations (e.g. 'unicorn', 'Easter' in Acts 12:4).
Divine names in this translation
YHWH — the Tetragrammaton
Rendered as LORD (small caps); 'JEHOVAH' 4 times — Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 26:4.
Jehovah
Rendered as JEHOVAH (4x)
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh — I AM WHO I AM
Rendered as I AM THAT I AM
Elohim
Rendered as God (capital G); 'gods' when referring to others
Adonai
Rendered as Lord (mixed case); 'Lord GOD' for Adonai YHWH
El Shaddai
Rendered as God Almighty / the Almighty
El Elyon and the El names
Rendered as God Most High
YHWH Sabaoth — LORD of Hosts
Rendered as LORD of hosts; 'Lord of Sabaoth' in NT
Yah
Rendered as JAH (Psalm 68:4); LORD elsewhere
Iēsous / Jesus
Rendered as Iesus — Later printings modernized to Jesus.
Messiah / Christos
Rendered as Messiah (Daniel); Christ (NT)
Immanuel
Rendered as 'virgin' at Isaiah 7:14
Ruach HaKodesh — the Holy Spirit
Rendered as Holy Ghost
Alpha and Omega
Rendered as Alpha and Omega — KJV adds the phrase at Revelation 1:11 following the Textus Receptus; modern texts omit it.