King James Bible

This selection sets out, with the secular reader in mind, to show that the Authorised (or King James) Version of the bible is as impressive and readable as it ever was. It will help the reader understand and apprecitate this famous text, and something of the sixteenth-century practices and concerns that shaped this particular translation. Headnotes and annotations elucidate the background and draw attention to matters of literary and stylistic interest. Some of the passages are famous, others less so, but together, they enable the reader to investigate the rest of the bible at leisure. This book will prove essential reading to all students and teachers of English and other European literatures, and of social history. It will also appeal to the general reader who has an interest in literature and history.