Authorized Version

The Authorized Version or King James Version is an English translation of the Bible commissioned by King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) and first published in 1611. For about three centuries it was the English Protestant Bible, and it is still popular. Its literary qualities have been widely praised, even by some unbelievers.

Names

The original 1611 title reads as follows:

"THE HOLY BIBLE, Conteyning the Old Testament, AND THE NEW: Newly Translated out of the Originall tongues: & with the former Translations diligently compared and reuised, by his Maiesties speciall Cõmandement."

As can be seen, there is no specific title for this particular translation. Over the centuries it was occasionally referred to by various names or descriptions, but its effective monopoly meant that such identifiers were not really needed and not often used. It was only with the issuing of the Revised Version starting in 1881 that it became common to give an identifying name on the title page. This was regularly Authorized Version in Britain, King James Version in America. Recently, the latter has been gaining ground in Britain, being adopted by Cambridge University Press, while the Oxford World's Classics edition compromises with Authorized King James Version.