3 The new translation authorized by King James was done by six committees of 54 scholars. The text was not “newly translated” as claimed. Translators were told to follow the Bishops’ Bible as much as possible, and to be guided by the previous translations of Tyndale and Coverdale when they agreed better with the original texts and manuscripts, supported by available Biblical manuscripts. Since the translators were instructed to use the Bishops’ Bible (1568) as a guide, which was a revision of the Great Bible (1539), which was a revision of the Matthew’s Bible (1537), which was a revision of Coverdale’s first Bible (1535) that included all of Tyndale’s translation work, the King James version includes much of the wording of the Tyndale and Coverdale translations. Thus, the preface to the first edition says that the translators did not make a totally new translation, but made “out of many good ones, one principal good one.” Scholars agree that, though the translation work was done by a committee, this large group with diverse resources produced a better version of the English Bible than had previously been available. It had been carefully done, faithful as possible to the available texts and manuscripts, and has stood the test of time and study. Item 1: King James Bible, 1613 This copy of the King James Bible is a first black letter quarto version published by Robert Barker in London in 1613, one year after the first Roman letter quarto version was printed in 1612. This edition is called a “He” Bible because of the “he” instead of “she” reading in Ruth 3:15. Bound in this volume are a Common Book of Prayer and a 1614 Sternhold and Hopkins Psalter. Item 2: King James Bible, 1617 This copy of the King James Bible is a large folio lectern Bible printed in 1617 by Robert Barker in London, the third unrevised edition of the 1611 first printing. Thus, this copy is essentially what a first edition looks like. This printing is called a “She” Bible because of the “she” instead of the” he” reading in Ruth 3:15.
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