The King James Version of the Bible easily holds the record as being the most widely used Bible for the longest period of time. Commissioned by King James I of England in 1604, it first saw publication in 1611 and became known as the ÒAuthorized VersionÓ Ð authorized by King James, as head of the Anglican Church, for use by his English-speaking subjects, specifically the laity.
Today, the KJV is hailed by many groups as a divinely inspired, inerrant translation of the Bible. How would the translators have felt about this? In a word: Horrified. We know this by their own words in their Preface to the 1611 edition of the KJV, in which they admit to their respect for and reliance upon other translations. Would the Holy Spirit have allowed them to write this had it guided them to produce the one true and divine translation?
The Preface, as well as a thesis by theologian Edgar J. Goodspeed on this topic, are included in this booklet. Keep the Preface with your KJV Bible, as the translators intended!