THE AUTHORISED HISTORYThe King James Version is the venerable granddaddy of Bible translations stretching all the way back to 1611. As part of the 400 th. Anniversary celebrations this drama/documentary, KJV ~ The Making of the King James Bible traces the origin of an historical project. This is a swashbuckling saga of an ailing Queen who names her successor with her dying breath, a solitary teenager steeped in Biblical and Calvinist thought ushered to the throne and a church divided by doctrinal and political intrigue. Against this turbulent background the idea for a new and scholarly translation of the Bible was hatched in the mind of the young King. Brilliantly narrated by John Rhys-Davies and under the masterful direction of Norman Stone (‘Shadowlands’), ‘KJV’ never flags as it unfolds this gripping story. Elisabeth’s successor, Scottish King, James VI had a keen sense of Divine providence over his life and the task of organising a new translation of the Scriptures became his life’s passion and subsequently his enduring legacy. In its scope and depth there had never been anything quite like it. Archaic though the language of the KJV may seem to modern readers, in its time it was cutting edge and innovative. This presentation helps us to appreciate what a milestone that enterprise represented.
Gerard O'Shea
This review appears in the current edition of VOX magazine
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