A new interfaith exhibition that opens this week at the Vatican reveals how the roots of the 1611 King James Bible are almost entirely Catholic, despite the fact that the translation was often viewed as a highpoint of Protestant European culture.
“If it had not been for the Catholics of the 1500s, there would be no King James Bible,” exhibition organizer Cary Summers told EWTN News.
“Many of the original Bibles that formed the basis of the King James Bible came from Catholic priests. Very few changes were made. The ancient writings that the King James writers actually mimicked and copied were by Catholic priests,” he explained.
The “Verbum Domini” (Word of the Lord) exhibition runs from March 1 to April 15, coinciding with the seasons of Lent and Easter. The organizers describe it as a “highly contextual, interactive format” exhibit that aims to celebrate “the dramatic story of the Catholic contribution of the most-banned, most-debated, bestselling book of all time.”
They have also collected rare Jewish, Protestant and Orthodox artifacts to manifest a “shared love of God’s word” that exists among those religions. For that reason, the first room visitors enter is a scaled reproduction of the mid-third-century Synagogue of Dura Europos in Syria. Another exhibition highlight is the earliest known fragment of the Book of Genesis, which comes from the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Summers gave EWTN News a preview tour of the exhibition on Feb. 22. The exhibition takes visitors through eight galleries and concludes with a replica of the Jerusalem Chamber in London’s Westminster Abbey, the place where the King James Bible was completed 400 years ago. (The abbey was originally Catholic.)
“Most people don’t understand the history of the King James Bible. There is a rich history, a very positive history of Catholic contribution to the creation of it,” Summers said.
The King James Bible was commissioned by King James I in 1604, only a year after the Scottish monarch ascended to the throne of England. A copy of the book was gifted to Pope Benedict XVI earlier this month by the current U.K. prime minister, David Cameron.
“The King James Bible has bequeathed a body of language that permeates every aspect of our culture and heritage, from everyday phrases to our greatest works of literature, music and art,” Cameron said in a speech to mark the 400th anniversary of the work in December 2011.
A recent study suggested that there are more than 250 phrases and idioms in common English usage that have their origins in the language of the King James Bible. These include “how the mighty are fallen,” “the skin of my teeth,” “nothing new under the sun” and “the salt of the earth.”
The Vatican exhibition hopes to show that all Christians can share the King James Bible in common.
“Unfortunately we live in a world that locks in on all the negatives, and that’s how it’s spun,” Summers remarked.“But there’s ... a rest of the story which is very positive, too. And that’s what we are here to celebrate.”
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The first King James Bible originally had 73 books in it also,with footnotes referring to what is now called the apocrypha. They were later deleted out of later versions and the 7 books with it.
I agree with Mr Harrigan’s comment; very few non-Catholics today realize that the KJV was not that much different from the Douay. The later “deletion” was natural enough, because Henry’s political break with Rome led to a gradual falling away in theological areas as well. (E.g. Protestants AFAIK are not required to believe that Mary is the “Mother of God”.)
\\They were later deleted out of later versions and the 7 books with it.//
Not entirely true.
I’m looking at two COMPLETE KJVs right next to me as I write this. Both are less than 30 years old.
I won’t have a mutilated KJV in my house.
dixibehr writes, “I won’t have a mutilated KJV in my house.”
Admirable, from a respect-for-the-book standpoint. (Not to mention good housekeeping!)
However, the 1611 and similar editions had many errors of translation, some minor, some not so. Don’t neglect to have a modern version also, for study use.
The ORIGINAL KJV had all 73 books in it. An original copy resides in a museum in Chicago,the name escapes me,sorry. If you have a 30 yr old KJV it won’t have them. A good book out there is Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger by Gary Machuta explains alot of this.
Daniel and Doug are incorrect. A Bible for use in the Anglican Church must include the deuterocanonical books, as they occur in the lectionaries of the Book of Common Prayer. Commercials publishers, however, have omitted those books to appeal to the wider Protestant market.
Cary Summers’ comment that the editors of the KJV “mimicked and copied” earlier Catholic editions is a bit misleading. For one thing, the title page of the KJV explicitly acknowledges that it is a revision of “former translations.” For another thing, primary among the Catholic priests whose translation were used were John Wycliffe and William Tyndale…both of whom were declared heretics. The former had his body posthumously exhumed and destroyed, while the latter was was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body burned.
I write as a happy and proud Catholic, but I don’t think the truth is well served by selective revisionism.
Mr Harrigan, you are simply incorrect to say “If you have a 30 yr old KJV it won’t have [the deuterocanonical books].” I have one sitting next to the keyboard as I type this, which I myself bought brand new. Search “kjv apocrypha” at some Christian book websites and you’ll find more.
Curiously enough, early KJV bibles that had had the 7 books removed retained the page numbering of their older versions, so there were sectiions that were obviously missing since those pages were not included.
Let us not be confused between the published date and the printed date. I have a copy of the KJV as published in 1611; it was printed in 1989 (<30 years ago). The first two verses of “The Wifedome of Solomon” reads, “Loue righteousnesse, yee that be iudges of the earth : thinke of the Lord with a good (heart) and in simplicitie of heart seeke him. For hee will bee found of them that tempt him not : and sheweth himselfe vnto such as doe not distrust him.” It takes a little getting used to. :)
original kjv bible had 80 books revised in 1884 to 6o books Catholics
revised to 66 books God’s hand has been on his bible the whole time.
the plan of salvation is as I believe is that acceptance of Jesus
as lord who paid for our sins brings salvation. The more accepted
view is that grace enables you to work to salvation. This we had before
Christ if correct why Christ?
@William..I never heard that KJV had 80 books. The Orthodox if I remember correctly has 76 books in its bible. I believe they are 3rd and 4th kings and Enoch and one more I can’t remember. I’ll do some research. Thank you for info. Steve, I now know that the KJV has the apocrypha in it. I wonder if they have the original footnotes that link those books to their N.T. counterparts. Thanks and God Bless!
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