God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible

This is a splendid book on a subject of vast religious, aesthetic and cultural importance. Nicolson has produced a lovely study, particularly in light of the fact that there are few materials at hand. We know that there were approximately 50 translators divided into six companies. While some remain relatively shadowy figures, a number are very well known, particularly Lancelot Andrewes, the great sermon writer and one of T.S. Eliot’s favorite writers. We know a bit about the review process in which individual translations were subject to a hierarchical form of peer review, with one ultimate committee holding responsibility for final decisions. We know that the text from which the companies worked was the Bishops’ Bible and we know that William Tyndale’s words had a particularly strong influence on the translators. What we lack is documentary evidence. Only a few pieces survive, in part because of a great fire in Whitehall shortly after the publication of the KJB. What we have, however, is Adam Nicolson, who is able to look at the sparse collection of extant documents and draw conclusions based on trenchant analysis. The translators were very, very conscientious, debating over the structures of sentences and the appropriateness of each word therein. They were attuned to the sounds of those sentences, reading them aloud (as they would be read aloud in churches) and paying close attention to the rhythm, clarity and gravity of each. Hence (lacking a vast amount of documentary evidence), Nicolson comes at this from a different direction. He looks, in depth, at the individual experience of individual translators and demonstrates the manner in which those experiences participated in the contemporary zeitgeist and formed the basis for the final results, in English biblical prose. For example, he will talk about gardens and men who loved them, of plants, flowers, vegetables and all that Shakespeare described as ‘great creating Nature’. He will then take the individual experiences, form them into a Jacobean perspective and then demonstrate how that perspective played out in individual passages of the KJB. He then reinforces the point by contrasting the dramatic, magic, nearly mystic power of the Jacobean voice with the flat, uninspired banalities of modern translations. Ben Jonson once said that Spenser ‘writ no language’, that the language of the Faerie Queene was a Spenserian construct, studiedly archaic but aesthetically appropriate. Nicolson sees the language of the KJB as, in some ways, similar; it is like the language of the mid-16th century, not the language of 1611, and it is designed to be both clear and also commensurate with the grandeur and importance of its subject. It is poetic, lapidary, unforgettable and the result, in its totality, is the greatest monument of English prose. It should also be noted that the KJB was printed in incredibly sloppy fashion and that one cannot really talk about ‘editions’, ‘issues’, etc. in the manner of standard bibliographical analysis; each volume is ‘unique’ (in a bad sense); hence another layer of difficulty for modern students to penetrate. Adam Nicolson is a very special writer—a learned and erudite individual who has also immersed himself in the realities of the material world. He is a farmer; he is a sailor, e.g. This helps equip him for the challenges of writing this book. In writing it he has also demonstrated that he is an exceptional literary critic, one who is capable of analyzing prose (for which we have the most limited academic vocabulary) and finding unexpected but apt words to describe the aesthetic phenomena that have had a profound effect on all KJB readers (and listeners). Bottom line: a most impressive book, fascinating in its details and strategies. Highly recommended.

It turned out a little different than I expected, so in some ways I'm disappointed and in some ways I'm pleased. Overall good book with tons of cultural and historical insight that I was clueless about. So I loved that! I was hoping for a little more analysis into why certain (or lots of certains) passages were translated the way they were. It wasn't terribly long so I do recommend it.

In God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible, Adam Nicolson tells to compelling story of the translation of the bible into English commissioned by King James. This bible, of course, would become the beloved version in the English speaking world. Nicholson tackles the subject from all sides. He is interested in the details of translation. It was done by committees, and committees reviewed the translations before the final product was approved. We know a great deal of some of the men who translated the works; they were important members of the seventeenth century church of England. But for many others, we know only a man, or perhaps native city. Nicholson takes the scant evidence left of their working methods and clarifies it for his readers. The King Jame Bible was truly the work of a culture, not the brand of a single person. And in that, Nicolson finds it genius. At the time, the Church of England was being rocked by early stirrings of Puritanism. They wanted a bible close to the source material that downplayed the roles of bishops and official clergy. King James had no interest in this, and commissioned the bible, in part, to trump other translations that promoted radical Protestantism. Yet there were moderate Puritans on the translation committees. They made their mark on the work. And therein lays its great strength. The King James Bible, behind its apparent uniformity, expresses a range of opinions, reflected in the translator’s choices. This gives the work a depth it would not otherwise have. The translation also reflects a particularly rich period in English. When it was started, Shakespeare was writing his last plays, and English was in a rapid period of expansion, adding new works and modes of expression. Nicholson shows the place of the King James Bible at the time of its composition, and its influence over the subsequent development of the language. Nicholson does a thorough job of researching this topic. For the layman in this subject, this is the go-to book.

This is the second time I've read this book. I'd forgotten how good it was. Nicholson uses great effort to pull together fragmented and disparate sources to reveal to us the natur of the men and the times that brought forth the King James Bible. A truly remarkable achievement, attempting unity where there was division of religious persuasion, divisions that would lead to seemingly never ending war in Europe and England. James attempted to pull together the Puritan and more high church minded strands within the church. The men were contradictory characters, but truly remarkable in their understanding of language in a way that is almost unheard of now. Nicolson puts them on the page, and does so masterfully. This book will make you appreciate the King James Version for what it is, while doing away with any modern myths of divine inspiration. I don't think reading this book will make you love the KJV less for all that.

Um relato fantástico da história por trás da mais respeitada tradução da Bíblia para o inglês.

A highly informative book giving an at times amusing account of the character of as many of the translators of the Authorised Version of the Bible sometimes known as the King James Bible as the author could find information about. I suspect lovers of the King James Version would be horrified at some of what this book reveals. Read it and see for yourself.

Interesting background. A bit scary how the translators were motivated partly by politics. But fascinating.

Truly a fascinating history that connects the translators with the political, cultural, and religious situation of their times. I find it amazing that men with weaknesses just like all of us were enabled to produce such a magnificent translation of the Word of God. Although I am quite familiar with the Stuart period and the King James Bible, I found it hard to put this book down.