King James Bible (1611)

Also known as the Authorized Version, a new English translation of the Bible commissioned by King James I in 1604. Some 47 scholars participated in the project, working at Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge. Rules were established to ensure some degree of stylistic unity. Close attention was paid to the original Hebrew and Greek sources, and all available scholarly materials were brought to bear on the task. The resulting translation remains the most widely known English text of the Bible. Like the works of Shakespeare (written around the same time), the King James Bible has deeply influenced the language, and quotations from it permeate literature and popular usage.

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