The King James Version of the Bible was not the first English language version of the Bible, but the culmination of extensive translation activity (some illegal!) in the 1500's. This began with the work of William Tyndale and the printing of the first English New Testament in 1526. Following a tumultuous 75 years, King James I came to power in 1603, unifying a divided England. Three main English Bibles were in use: the Bishop’s Bible (Church of England), the Geneva Bible (Protestants), and the Rheims New Testament (Roman Catholic Church), causing much confusion and dissension. To settle disagreements over reforms in the Church of England and respond to pressure from the Puritans, King James in 1604 approved a new translation of the Bible, primarily because he knew that it would reinforce his image as a political and spiritual leader. The translators used previous English Bible translation work and the best Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts. The completed King James Version was published in 1611. Though slow to be adopted in the English-speaking world, from the mid-1600's to the late 20th century the King James Version was THE Bible of the English-speaking church. Even with more recent modern translations, the KJV remains the standard of measure for all new translations and still stands as an outstanding masterpiece of the English language. Item 1: King James Bible, First Edition Pages, 1611 These pages from first editions of the King James Bible are taken from editions or fragments which could not be sold as complete Bibles, because they were already missing pages when found. These fragment sections and pages are often used by restorers to put together complete Bibles that were not complete when discovered. The pages that are left over from the restoration process are often sold by the page. These pages are not the result of the destruction of complete Bibles. Genesis II Kings Matthew II Thessalonians
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