King James Bible Timeline

Upon Elizabeth I's death, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne as James I. His reign would soon commission the most influential English translation of the Bible ever undertaken.

Image source: James VI and I

Two companies each at Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge divided the biblical text among them. Each company drafted translations independently before submitting work for review by other companies.

Image source: King James Version

King James I met with Puritan and Church of England leaders at Hampton Court to discuss religious disputes. Puritan scholar John Reynolds proposed a new translation, which James endorsed after rejecting other Puritan demands.

Image source: Hampton Court Conference

King James formally appointed 54 scholars to produce a new English Bible free of partisan notes. The translators were organized into six companies working at Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge.

A final committee of six or twelve scholars reviewed the combined drafts, meeting regularly in London to resolve disagreements over wording and ensure consistency across the entire Bible.

Early printings suffered from typographical inconsistencies, including the famous 'Judas Bible' misprint and the 'He' and 'She' Bibles differing in Ruth 3:15. Printers corrected errors gradually across successive editions.

Robert Barker, the king's printer, published the completed 'Authorized Version' in London. The massive folio edition included the Apocrypha, marginal notes on variant readings, and a dedication to King James.

Beginning in the seventeenth century, publishers increasingly sold the King James Bible without the Apocrypha. By 1826, the British and Foreign Bible Society formally excluded it, cementing the practice.

Cambridge University Press issued a carefully revised edition correcting many accumulated errors. A further Cambridge revision in 1638 refined the text further toward modern standardized form.

Oxford University Press under Bishop John Fell produced another corrected edition, contributing to the gradual stabilization of the King James text through the seventeenth century.

Benjamin Blayney of Oxford produced a thoroughly revised edition with standardized spelling, punctuation, and italics. This 1769 text is essentially the King James Bible used today.

Scholars discovered older Greek manuscripts such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, revealing that the Textus Receptus underlying the KJV differed from the earliest available texts, prompting calls for revision.

Image source: Codex Sinaiticus

British and American scholars produced the Revised Version, the first major attempt to update the King James Bible using newly available manuscripts. Its New Testament appeared in 1881 and the Old Testament in 1885.

Image source: Revised Version

American revisers published the American Standard Version, an adaptation of the English Revised Version reflecting American preferences. It began a long line of twentieth-century translations descended from the KJV tradition.

Image source: American Standard Version

Thomas Nelson published the New King James Version, updating archaic language while preserving the KJV's literary style and traditional textual basis, appealing to readers loyal to the classic translation.

Image source: New King James Version