View source for The Road to the King James Bible

Many people do not realize that the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/KJV1611 King James] Bible was not the first Modern English translation. There were actually 6 other translations published before the KJV:<br>
<br>
* 1525 - [https://web.archive.org/web/20210419220642/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Tyndale Tyndale] Bible
* 1535 - [https://web.archive.org/web/20211108025708/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Coverdale Coverdale] Bible
* 1537 - [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213056/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Matthews Matthew] Bible
* 1539 - [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Great Great] Bible
* 1560 - [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Geneva Geneva] Bible
* 1568 - [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Bishops Bishops] Bible 
* 1611 - [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/KJV1611 King James] Bible
<br>
Someone may ask why the [https://biblemanuscriptsociety.com/Bible-resources/English-Bible-History/Wycliffe-Bible Wycliffe] Bible is not included in the list. It is not included for two reasons:

1. The [https://biblemanuscriptsociety.com/Bible-resources/English-Bible-History/Wycliffe-Bible Wycliffe] Bible was not in Modern English. It was in Middle English. The period of Middle English is considered to be the time from 1154-1485. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe Wycliffe] translated the Bible in the 1380s.

2. The [https://biblemanuscriptsociety.com/Bible-resources/English-Bible-History/Wycliffe-Bible Wycliffe] Bible was not translated from the original languages ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koine_Greek Greek] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Hebrew Hebrew]). It was translated from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulgate Latin Catholic Vulgate].

The 6 Modern English translations leading up to the KJV were all translated from various editions of what we call today the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koine_Greek Greek] "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus Textus Receptus]." The first several of these printed [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koine_Greek Greek] editions were published by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus], and later editions used to produce the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Geneva Geneva] Bible and [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Bishops Bishops] Bible were published by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Estienne Robert Estienne a.k.a Stephanus]. The KJV translators also translated from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koine_Greek Greek] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus Textus Receptus], using the editions of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus Erasmus], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Estienne Stephanus], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20200130022932/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/Editorial/Beza Beza].

Modern Bible versions are translated from a completely different source. They are translated by critical texts edited by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novum_Testamentum_Graece Nestle/Aland] and the United Bible Societies in the 20th Century. These modern [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koine_Greek Greek] editions are based on corrupt manuscripts like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Vaticanus Codex Vaticanus] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus Codex Sinaiticus], as well as more recent Egyptian papyri discoveries. It is not a coincidence that Egypt is the source of the corruption underlying modern perversions like the NIV, ESV, NLT, etc.

The 6 Bibles leading up to the KJV were all translated from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textus_Receptus Textus Receptus] (the correct [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koine_Greek Greek] textual tradition) and are therefore consistent with the KJV. They agree with the KJV. The modern versions, on the other hand, are dramatically different. Therefore, if a person accepts the modern Bible versions as accurate, they are not only rejecting the [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/KJV1611 King James] Version. They are also rejecting every English Bible that came before it! According to them, every English translation before the 20th Century has been wrong!

The [https://web.archive.org/web/20211107213053/http://textusreceptusbibles.com/KJV1611 King James] Bible is the culmination of the 6 Bibles that led up to it. It is the culmination of almost 100 years of scholarship and sacrifice that gave us our English Bible. That is why the 6 earlier translations eventually went out of print, and the KJV became the standard English Bible used by virtually all Christians until recently. People recognized that the KJV was the final draft of the English Bible, so it replaced the 6 rough drafts that led up to it. The 6 Bibles before the KJV were good Bibles, and the KJV could never have been the magnificent Bible that it is without having had those 6 excellent rough drafts.

"The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." - Psalm 12:6