10 Things You May Not Know About King James By David Teems

The King James Bible is a part of our deepest cultural memory. The offspring of a poetic age, after four hundred years it remains a testament to all that is great about the English language. But what about the king behind the King James Bible? One biographer wrote that James Stuart was “one of the most complicated neurotics ever to sit on either the English or Scottish throne.” Henry IV of France said famously that James I of England was “the wisest fool in Christendom.” While there is much more to observe about James, the following ten items will give you some idea of the colorful, animated, outrageous, damaged, brilliant, and at last charming figure behind the King James Bible.

David Teems is the author of Discovering Your Spiritual Center: The Power of Psalm 119 [Leafwood, 2011]. David's other books include Majestie: The King Behind the King James Bible [Nelson, 2011], Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God An English Voice [Nelson, 2012], And Thereby Hangs A Tale: What I Know About The Devoted Life I Learned From My Dogs [Harvest House, 2010]. www.davidteems.com

The Motivation

Majesty itself was the motivating force behind the making of the King James Bible.

The notion of majesty, or highness, had been in decline in Elizabeth’s last days. James, who believed strongly in the divine right of kings, saw a new English Bible as a way to reignite majesty once again. He felt that the language of this new bible should reflect the majesty of his reign, that the language itself should be “sette forthe gorgeouslie.” With the assistance of Richard Bancroft, the Bishop of London and later Archbishop of Canterbury, James chose the fifty plus translators and drafted the rules of translation. King James was the personality, the power, and the cash behind the effort. There would be no King James Bible without James.