King James Bible 400-Year Translation

By: Rob Adams - Staff Writer
Published: Apr 25, 2021

King James Bible 400. A poll of U.S. adults favored the 400-year King James Version of the Bible for Christians. A majority, 62 percent, of those surveyed by LifeWay Research said they own a copy, and 82 percent of those who reported reading it said they had at least one.

Two-thirds, 67 percent, of all Bible-owners had the King James in their collection. The King James Version, published in 1611 in London, was put together by a committee of scholars called together by King James I with the goal of producing a standard translation for English Protestants.

The group leaned heavily on an earlier translation by William Tyndale, who was executed for heresy in 1536. The translation had as big an impact on the English language as William Shakespeare, who was writing his later plays while the scholars were working. Almost one-third, 31 percent, of those polled said they found the King James language beautiful and 23 percent said it is easy to remember.

On the other hand, 27 percent said the language is difficult to understand and 16 percent called it outdated. The poll found a biblical generation gap, with younger people both less likely to read the Bible and to own the King James Version. LifeWay polled 1,004 adults by telephone March 2-6. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

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