Reflections on Finishing Up the King James Version (For the First Time).

Last September, I wrote about beginning my venture into the King James Bible for the first time in my 37 years of life (now 38). As I mentioned in that article, I was embarrassed to admit that having been a Christian for nearly 25 years, I had never poured much time into the Authorized Version before. And this for a pastor!

Embarrassing indeed.

Mind you, I'm no slacker. I've read the Bible nearly every day since my conversion. Just never the KJV. From ages 12 to 28, my translation of choice was the NIV84. I almost never use it now. Political correctness and the gender neutral controversy has damaged it for me, and the NIV11 is just not same book to me anymore.

From the ages of 28 to 38 I have used the ESV almost exclusively. My friend Pete Garbacki and I joke about being ESVO (English Standard Version Only).

But this past year, I threw myself into the KJV hardcore. I was motivated by both a desire to engage myself with the same Bible of Spurgeon, Edwards, Hodge and others as well as to increase my knowledge of one of the most timeless treasures of the Christian faith. (At least in the Western World).

Beginning in September and finishing sometime this month (I have a few short books in the latter half of the NT still to complete), I read the KJV with reckless abandon. At times (especially on my vacation) I read for hours. Morning, noon, and night, I had an Authorized text with me.

Some vital stats about my journey: I will have completed the KJV Bible in about 24 weeks, assuming I stay on course for the next 7 days or so. This averages about 7 chapters a day. That's a pretty good clip for most folks, and probably faster than I would recommend for others. I used three different physical copies of the Bible (see below). This completes the third translation in which I have read Scripture in its entirety. 

Moreover, here are a few of my gleanings from this venture:

1. Regret. If I could live my life over, I would not have waited this long to throw myself into the King James. This should have been done long ago. For those who have never tried this, do it now. The AV is a treasure that has been passed down to us from many stalwart Christians and we owe ourselves the favor of reading the English-speaking world's only truly dominant translation.

2. Beauty. I was often struck by the sheer majesty of the text. Many complain about the ubiquitous "Thee's and Thou's." Get over it. It's not that hard. Reading the text with these ancient pronouns does seem to have a positive affect on the reader's awareness of the divine, especially as he reads the Psalms and prayers of Scripture. Calling God by a pronoun that is no longer in common use (such as Thou) does seem to me to have the affect of setting Him apart, in the same way as capitalizing "Him" or "His" does when I refer to God in writing.

3. Challenge. I started off reading the KJV like a ball shot out of a canon. Much of my 7 chapters per day average came in the beginning as a I read eagerly and voraciously. I did begin to struggle mightily in some of the places that you might expect: kings, name lists, sacrifices, and temple descriptions. I feel that I glossed over too quickly on quite a bit, in the minor prophets especially, that I should try again to recover sometime.

By the time I got to the latter stages of the OT, I literally couldn't wait to get to the New Testament.   I was frustrated that the King James Version made many passages obscure to me, and made them seem as if I had not read them before. Not in a "fresh" way, but in a disappointed-in-myself way. I should have slowed down and focused more on comprehension.

At the same time, I was so excited to meet Jesus again in the words of the KJV! So yeah, getting through the whole OT was a challenge.

4. Joy.  By the time that I finally got to the New Testament, I was again reinvigorated for the project. In fact, when I got to the NT, it slowly became less and less obvious that I was reading a translation that was "foreign" to my experience. It did not seem foreign to me at all anymore. I often completely forgot that I was even reading the KJV, as it all felt very comfortable, familiar, and enjoyable to me. The Gospel narratives were particularly familiar and the story line of redemption history carried me right to the cross.

As I finish out the KJV in the coming days with the prison epistles and writings of Peter and John, I can't help but thank God that He commended such a translation into the hands of the English speaking world. The KJV is timeless, beautiful, and accurate. If you would like to take this journey too, I urge you to begin on your own time and do so on your own pace.

Tangibles - A Good Bible. 

I think a good Bible is a necessity, and I have written on this topic before.

For this project, I actually acquired three new KJV's for usage. (I didn't even own a good copy before. *Blushing*). I kept these three Bibles in various places (office, home, travel) so that I always had one about me within arm's length. I can recommend a couple of good ones that are well made and durable.

1. Local Church Bible Publishers makes some of the best leather, sewn AV's you can find. They are a KJVO company, so don't expect to get an ESV there! I ordered the Cowhide #355 and loved it. It was only $35. This is an incredible KJV for the price.
2. Cambridge too makes many good editions. The should! They are the oldest continuous Bible publisher in the world. I used their Split Calf Concord reference model which was given to me free for the "price" of simply doing a review of their books. Being a blogger and product reviewer doesn't hurt!
3. Finally, I kept a Trinitarian Bible Society Windsor in my office and read it at least twice a day during my office hours. That too was around $35 and paid for itself in devotional sweetness.

-Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida.

Bible Stories: An 1814 Edition of the Scott's Reference King James Bible

1814 Scott's Reference Bible (KJV)

In a previous post on the aesthetic beauty of Scripture, I reviewed one of the most excellent, high-end Bibles on the market today, an R.L. Allan. Here, I want to share about an edition of the Word of God that has come into my possession that is of an entirely different sort, the 1814 Scott's Reference King James Bible.

It is an appropriate time to write this piece, as this heirloom in my personal collection is now in its bicentennial year. At 200 years old, it is the grandfather of the many and various Bibles that I possess on my shelf.

This grand book came to my possession as marvelous gift. A couple of years ago, an elder at my church, Karl Baldner, gave me an unexpected gift. In the box was a typed note which read,

To Matthew Everhard, Christmas, 2010

This Scott's Reference Bible, was given to me in 1953 upon my ordination to ministry, by the last person ordained in my local church, Morris Ikenberry. Morris was a lay preacher, who taught, or tried to teach me in Sunday School when I was a kid, and about as ancient as I am now, 76. He received this book from his grandfather who also had been a lay preacher. It, as you will notice, was printed in 1814, making it 196 years old. For a number of years I have been looking for someone I loved and respected, whose ministry showed great love, caring and humbleness for his flock; whose spiritual gifts were many, and from God, including the gift of opening the church front door and welcoming in the sheep and goats. You are the one I have chosen to give this book to. I hope it reminds you of the eternal gift of the Gospel, that has existed all these years, and will continue to exist after you and I, and this book return to dust. May God continue to bless you, your family, and your ministry. -Elder Karl Baldner

(I should say that if you don't know Karl Baldner, you might not have picked up on his subtle sense of humor. He often reminds me that opening the church door is the ONLY real spiritual gift I have. Karl is a Mennonite-turned-Presbyterian who was a pastor and church planter long before church planting became "cool.").

Inside the Bible, there is another inscription, more haunting still,  from an unknown hand which reads in beautiful cartography,

Within this awful volume lies  

The mystery of mysteries 

To read, to hear, to watch, to pray 

To raise the latch and force the way 

But better they had ne'er been born 

Who reads to doubt or reads to scorn (1)

It certainly gives the reader pause and bids him to consider the eternal weight of the contents inside, doesn't it? Now, a bit about the construction of the Bible itself.

Hand-written inscription in the 1814 Scott's Reference Bible

First, it's exterior. It is bound in leather on board. The spine boasts four raised ribs and the placard reads "Scott's Reference Bible" in gold embossed on black.

For those of you who may be Bible Design Blog fans, this is one of the beautiful antiquated styles that is often replicated by quality book rebinders such as Leonard's Books, who is now emulating these older fabrications with great beauty.

The Scott's Reference Bible with much younger companions. 

As cited above, the version is an 1814 printing of the study Bible edited by Rev. Thomas Scott, D.D. whom the title page denotes as the "Rector of Aston Sanford, Bucks, and Chaplain to the Lock Hospital." The volume was printed in Philadelphia by William W. Woodward, by Griggs & Dickinsons, Printers. A quick Google search revealed that Rev. Thomas Scott was a dear friend of John Newton (the author of the great hymnn Amazing Grace). Scott was a pastor ordained in the Anglican tradition, as well as a hospital chaplain who ministered primarily to syphilis patients. His Commentary on the Whole Bible as well as his The Force of Truth gained him international recognition.

Its dimensions are quite large. It's not a full "Family Bible" size, but it is clearly not a pocket reference edition either. It's dimensions are 9.5 X 6 inches with a spine girth of 3.75 inches meaning that it probably resided on the study desk of the four generations of pastors (at least) that have owned it.

1814 Scott's Reference Bible title page and publisher info.

Inside, the text itself, the Authorized Version, is printed in two columns with both center and edge references. With both the gutter and edge margin filled with Scriptural references, the text block is stocked with useful information, perfect for a pastor laboring in the pre-Biblegateway.com days!

As often as is feasible, the column references attempt an estimation of the date of the context of the Scripture text. For instance, Genesis 1 is noted as pertaining to 4004BC, events surrounding the exile are thusly noted, and the events of the New Testament are given a corresponding date, anno domini. Not only is each book of the Bible given a rather sturdy introduction considering it is really a reference edition (in minuscule print), but each chapter too contains a brief introduction of at least a good, full paragraph. For this reason, this edition might be considered a very old predecessor to the ESV Study Bible to which it is comparable in size.

Scott's Reference Bible, double column, dual margin references.

The pages retain the aged musty smell of a book that has soaked up the fragrances of many and varied homes and bookshelves. Perhaps a cigar-smoker or two once owned this book, although it wouldn't be from its later Mennonite owners! One red blot on the spine says that at some point it had a close encounter with a can of paint. The squared pages are now so stained by the natural elements and aging properties of paper that they are nearly as dark as the chocolate leather.


One day, if the Lord should tarry, I hope to give this Bible to the next pastor down the line who endeavors to carry the enduring Gospel in his own generation.

-Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida. He is the author of several books and many articles, as well as an acknowledged bibliophile. 

(1) A version of Sir Walter Scott's poem. The unknown penman omitted verses 3 and 4 which read, "O happiest they of human race/to whom our God has given grace."