kjv

   King James was unhappy with the versions of the Bible that were being circulated through his kingdom. He was especially unhappy with the popular Geneva Bible. According to Christian History, "This 1560 version was much loved by the people (and probably the version Shakespeare read), yet it had a perceived Calvinistic slant, something James didn't like" (p 2). The Puritans disliked the Bishops' Bible. So, to make everyone happy, the King James Version Bible was made as a version to be accepted by both churches and individuals, and both the Church of England and the Puritans (Publication 2).
     The appointed translators used the original Hebrew and Greek versions to make the KJV, although they closely followed the previous translations (Publication 2). It is almost impossible to see exactly which previous versions of the Bible they followed (because there were so many to choose from). Here are a few of different versions that we know the looked at:
     The Tyndale Bible - William Tyndale was probably the boldest and most influential translators during the reformation. He was strangled and burned at the stake for his efforts by Queen Mary in 1536. Three years later the English Bible was on sale everywhere (Abrams 1000).
     The Coverdale Bible - Miles Coverdale published the first complete English Bible in 1535. Henry VIII had broken ties with Rome so the attitude about English translations was changing (Abrams 1003).
     The Geneva Bible - Published in 1560 by a Protestant refugee who fled Europe during Mary's reign. It was the first Bible to be split into chapters, split into verses, and printed on Roman type (not black letter or Gothic type). It was handy sized and more accurate than the previous versions (Abrams 1003).
     The Bishops' Bible - Published in 1568 as an Elizabethan church attempt to counter the extreme Protestantism of the Geneva Bible. the bishop who sponsored it ordered it to be read in all churches, but the people still read the Geneva Bible at home (Abrams 1003).
     Many people do not realize that the original KJV Bible contained the apocrypha. It was inserted between the Old and New Testaments, but they obviously were gradually dropped out. The word "apocrypha" means "secret" or "obscure."   The Roman Catholic Bible still contains it and calls it "deuterocanical" meaning "secondary" canical.
     The translators worked for two years and nine months individually in their groups. Then a committee of twelve discussed the whole text. They incorporated a certain cadence, or sentence rhythm to make it memorable.