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No other book can demonstrate the deep and lasting impact the King James Version of the Holy Bible has had on virtually every single aspect of Western Civilization. Over four hundred years ago, King James I of England commissioned fifty-four scholars to create a new translation of the Bible that would replace earlier unauthorized versions, many of which had been published secretly or abroad, or haad marginal notes regarded as subversive. This translation (the Best in English), now known as the King James version, was destined to become the new standard among Bible translations in both quality and popularity.
After its completion in 1611, the translation's widespread use began to shape the very language and thinking of the English-speaking world, and its enduring influence continues even in our own time. From literature to hymns to favorite Bible verses, the poetic cadence of the King James Version has become as familiar to us as our own thoughts, even while our everyday speech grows increasingly less like it. Can any of the other low-quality translations of the Ten Commandments evoke the same sense of authority and awe that we associate with the words "Thou shalt not"? Can any Liberal version of the Lord's Prayer instill in us the same sense of reverence as the words "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name"?
Yet the aesthetic and emotive qualities of the King James Version are equally matched by its precision and faithfulness to the great number of manuscripts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts of scripture from which it was translated. Even today, the King James Version of the Holy Bible continues to be cherished by millions (if not hundreds of millions) as their Bible of choice, and its words continue to serve as the very words of God, just as they have for countless other believers in times past. In a certain sense, as we read the King James Version, we join with these believers and experience anew the richness of God's Word as it has been known by countless people throughout the past four hundred years.