Happy Birthday, KJV!

Yes, roll out the party hats and get into the party spirit, someone is celebrating a milestone birthday this year. Yes, King James, come on out. You don't look a day over 367. For those who don't know, the beloved and reviled King James Version, or Authorized version, is turning 400 this year. Originally published in 1611, it was the first major English translation of the scriptures. And as such, it's had quite the hand in shaping the language it was written in. The language that we speak today owes a lot to the old faithful KJV, partially because it has been so ubiquitous. For a long time, and I mean centuries, the KJV was the Bible. There was no other translation, and even when one showed up, the KJV still commanded a lot of attention. Because it was the authorized version, so rich with thees and thous, and because it always had an air of divine authority attached to it, many people never quite got over it being the only official Bible. The KJV has a lot of rich poetry in it, and a lot of words that seem outdated and almost like they're in a foreign language, which they sort of are - it's English that has fallen out of usage. There are a lot of people who will feel as though anything else is sacrilege, though, and that the KJV is God's own Bible. It's good, but it's not that good. Though I enjoy it a great deal, sometimes you need to break out another version that's a little closer to the way you actually speak. After all, that's why the New Testament was written in Greek, because that was the language that the people were speaking.
Now, lest you think that I think that the KJV is all archaic and only fit for the pit, I would like to take you on a quick trip down memory lane. I have a few copies that I'd like to go through. Like the translation itself, they've all got their own personality.


Hey, it's my first Bible! The one that I keep in the box and don't use because it's too nice! When I say my first Bible, I'm not joking. I got this the day I was Christened (baptized, for you non-British folks). It's very pocket sized, but I'd be too terrified to take it out in a pocket, for fear it would get a little over-worked. So, in its box it remains, in pristine condition.




This second Bible (on top of the first one, for size comparison) is the one I bought myself when I got ordained. It came in the mail from England, and I was all a-twitter when I opened it. It's bound with genuine calfskin leather, and has a zipper closure. So, it's like the first one, but you can zip it shut to keep its gilded pages safe. Still relatively pocket sized, so long as you have plenty big pockets. It's only major failing is that it has a ribbon in it, which keeps on getting stuck in the zipper. I know, I know, first world Christian problems.














This next one is sort of regular paperback Bible size, the size of a normal book, and I include it mainly because it has the strangest bookmark I've ever seen. Ever.


What the? How did that pristine one dollar Canadian bill get in there? And it's pristine, too. Like totally untouched. Remember those? The Canadian one dollar bills? Before the loonie? Oh, wow. Kids, this goes to show that you should always read your Bibles all the way through. You never know who's been depositing unusable, outdated currency in Ezekiel.



















This next guy seems to be the smallest of the bunch, right on top. But the funny thing about him is that he's a transetto Bible, from the new line of books called flipbacks. What that means is that the book opens sideways, totally flat, so that each page reads vertically. One at a time. This way, the print is much bigger and more readable, even though the Bible is smaller. It's the smartest idea. It was a Christmas gift this year.

But this brings us to my paranoia about wrecking Bibles. You see, with the translation being 400 years old, the books are going to get worn out. It's unavoidable.

This is the KJV that I have that's in the worst shape. Pages missing, spine busted, well-worn and well loved, but no longer overly useful. More of a museum piece. And Joshua Kurtenbach asked me recently what the correct protocol is for disposing of a Bible that is beyond reasonable use (as this one is verging into). Well, his question got me thinking, and so I looked it up on Gene Veith's vocation blog, and he has this to say.

You don’t burn them. You never, ever burn them. An unwanted holy book, be it Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or any other scripture, can be disposed of humanely and appropriately, but not burned. A holy book is afforded the same respect as a human being in every religious tradition in the world — except, apparently, the one practiced by one pastor in Florida. You bury them.

www.geneveith.com/2011/04/05/protocol-for-disposing-of-old-bibles/

Okay. Well, it looks like I've got one venerable KJV that has done its duty. Thankfully, the word lives on beyond this one particular copy of the book. These are just the KJVs that I have on hand, and there are countless more copies throughout the world. If this one brave soldier falls, I can assume that he's done his duty, and another soldier will rise up to take his place in the struggle. Thanks for indulging me down memory lane with these copies. If any of you have Bibles that are really beyond possible usage, maybe we could dispose of them together, and give thanks to God for the inspiration they were able to provide over their lifetime.

PJ.