Let There Be Light

The 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible does not pass without notice in the English-speaking world. David Crystal's book on the subject has received widespread media attention. The particular ways in which the famous translation has influenced the course of English are fascinating and well-documented by Crystal and others; this month, we'll look at some of the other features that give the KJV its enduring appeal.

Even if you're not a churchgoer, there is much to appreciate in the KJV. Beautiful language is beautiful wherever we may find it, even more when it is appropriate in tone to its subject. This is surely one of the great virtues of the KJV: it preserved a formal and elevated style that was already out of fashion when it was written, because its subject was intended to be formal and elevating. Descriptions of fried chicken as finger-lickin' good are entirely appropriate, but it is suitable for spiritual instruction to be delivered in a more elevated register, and for this, the KJV is hard to beat.

Biblegateway.com is an especially helpful site for poking around in the Bible — not only in English but in nearly every language it has been translated to or from. You can see the same verses side-by-side in multiple translations: a great tool for seeing what you get only in the KJV. Here's one of our favorite passages — Psalm 39:6 — in the KJV, and a handful of other English translations for comparison:

KJV	New Century	"The Message"	"God's Word"	"Good News"
Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.	People are like shadows moving about.  All their work is for nothing; they collect things but don't know who will get them.	Oh! we're all puffs of air. Oh! we're all shadows in a campfire. Oh! we're just spit in the wind. We make our pile, and then we leave it.	Indeed every living being is no more than a puff of wind,  no more than a shadow. All we do is for nothing; we gather wealth, but don't know who will get it.	Each person who walks around is like a shadow.  They are busy for no reason. They accumulate riches without knowing who will get them.

It may be just a personal prejudice, but we find that the KJV version of this verse gives us a great deal more to reflect on, edifyingly, than the other translations do. If one of our Facebook friends posted this quote in their status, we would immediately "like" it. But it would be hard to click on "like" for the same passage as rendered in The Message translation. We would look for the "Euuuw!" button instead.

The Bible does not want for scenes of terror, dread, and anguish. Indeed, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth are leitmotifs of the KJV and many other translations. But for those who fear an angry God, it is sometimes a little easier to absorb the KJV's high-flown descriptions of what he might do to you, than it is the no-holds-barred translations that come later. Take, for example, Deuteronomy 28:26:

KJV	New Century	"The Message"	"God's Word"	"Good News"
And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.	Your dead bodies will be food for all the birds and wild animals, and there will be no one to scare them away.	Carrion birds and animals will boldly feast on your dead body with no one to chase them away.	When you die, birds and wild animals will come and eat your bodies, and there will be no one to scare them off.	Your dead bodies will be food for all the birds and wild animals. There will be no one to scare them away.

You may struggle to find the "Good News" in such tidings but we find them easier to contemplate from the distance that old-fashioned words like carcase, fowls, and beasts supply.

A frequent criticism of the KJV, in contrast to more recent translations, is the unbridled sexism displayed in the language its passages. Levelers of this criticism find easy targets in holy texts generally, as the canons of the world's most successful religions are mainly a guy thing: written by guys, about the wonderful exploits of guys. In our post-feminist world, in which the alpha male does not always find favor, this has grown to be viewed as something as a character defect in religion, and so modern translations often do what they can to soften the male-dominant view. Here, for example, is Mark 8:36, in the same group of translations we have been sampling:

KJV	New Century	"The Message"	"God's Word"	"Good News"
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?	It is worthless to have the whole world if they lose their souls.	What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?	What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives?	Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not!

As we can see here, the more modern renderings do away with the sexist taint of the KJV entirely, recasting the passage either to focus on "people" or on "you" — in one case, "the real you." But it is worth remembering that the KJV's translators were intent on doing just that — translating — rather than translating, interpreting, and modifying for current tastes.

Long before our modern age of brand awareness, product placements, and marketing channels, the KJV established another stream of its staying power by being the go-to text for a significant body of influential writers: librettists. Becoming available in 1611, the KJV was perfectly placed for the golden age of oratorio, which began around 1600. While the Bible translation industry has continued unabated since that time, the oratorio flourished for only a couple of centuries — but it flourished so gloriously that those who sing or listen to oratorios today are likely to enjoy a work from this period. The KJV provided the basis for nearly all original English-language oratorios, and its style set the tone for translated librettos, which follow it very closely. Here, for example, are side-by-side passages from one of the rollicking choruses from Mendelssohn's Elijah (original libretto in German) and the biblical passage that inspires it:

KJV 1 Kings 19:11-13

Mendelssohn's Elijah

And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

God the Lord passed by! And a mighty wind rent the mountains around, brake in pieces the rocks, brake them before the Lord: but yet the Lord was not in the tempest. Behold! God the Lord passed by! And the sea was upheaved, and the earth was shaken: but yet the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there came a fire: but yet the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came a still small voice; and in that still voice onward came the Lord.

In the case of original English librettos, as in Handel's Messiah, larger passages from the KJV survive intact. You can almost start tapping your foot to the fugue playing in your head when you read the KJV's Isaiah 9:6:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Readers of the KJV in future centuries will probably find its English as remote as Chaucer's English is to us; but we expect that they'll still be reading it. Andrew Motion, former Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, said this of the King James Version: "To read it is to feel simultaneously at home, a citizen of the world, and a traveller through eternity."

The destination site for all things KJV, including some interesting accounts of music that it has inspired is here:

http://www.kingjamesbibletrust.org/

When the KJV meets SGML, there are some fantastic searching opportunities:

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kjv/

And finally, here is an entertaining minute on the language of the KJV, as part of the Open University's "The History of English in Ten Minutes" series.