We are all kilted sinners! Oh no!! :-)

[OC Richard]

Many people still quote the King James Bible (or Authorised Version) because it is what they grew up with... it has been around for so long... it is very similar to Shakespearean language...its meaning is very close to that of the original Hebrew...it is more familiar to most English-speakers than any particular modern translation.

I think it's more than just being around a long time. Nobody remembers the Cloverdale/Tyndale, Taverner, Cranmer (Great Bible), Geneva, or Bishop's bible which came out in the years leading up to the King James.

It's because the committee that wrote the King James (yes it's one of the few good things to be created by committee) put a huge emphasis on the poetry of the language. It was meant to sound good read out loud. The committee considered a number of translations for each passage and chose the one that sounded the best.

Our modern translations all sound to me like they're written by scholars, not poets. They're very accurate to the original Greek (NT), much more accurate than the King James, because we have older manuscripts to work from today, and better scholarship to understand them. But when I read them they sound wooden and stiff (at best) and clumsy and unidiomatic (at worst). Some modern translations have a bizarre mix of modern slang and formal language.

Off topic I know! But interesting stuff to me at least.

On topic: I work with a guy who might be the poster child for narrowminded judgemental Christians, and when I told him about this thread, even HE thought this kiltwearing-sinful-guy is an idiot. (As a former Marine he views the kilt as a warlike garment, not an effeminate one.)

[Mike_Oettle]

OC Richard is correct in saying that the King James sounds better because the most poetic versions were picked.
And not wrong either in saying that Coverdale and Tyndale are not remembered. But the AV does include passages from both those early translators. In fact one of the objects in creating that translation was to be as conservative as possible.
In London, at any rate, most people were using “you” instead of “thee/thou”, but in the AV the use of “you” is limited to the plural and honorific usages, and is also not applied to God.

Morris at Heathfield has a point regarding Barbarians and Scythians, but there are no specific Barbarians of Scythians named anywhere in the New Testament (much less the OT).

Anne, I would love to hear you reading from the King James Bible. Your broad pronunciation would resonate well with it.
Regards,
Mike

[piperdbh]

Anne, I would love to hear you reading from the King James Bible. Your broad pronunciation would resonate well with it.

Me, too. I enjoy hearing different accents and comparing them to each other.

[MacFhearchair]

LOL! our friend here also rants about Rock'n'Roll. Obviously he's pitiably self-oppressed. Life must be very difficult for him and any woman he manages to convince to accept his worldview in a long term relationship.

Someone should spike his punchbowl and then have a chat with him about the joys of life. Poor fella.

[biblemonkey]

On topic: I work with a guy who might be the poster child for narrowminded judgemental Christians, and when I told him about this thread, even HE thought this kiltwearing-sinful-guy is an idiot. (As a former Marine he views the kilt as a warlike garment, not an effeminate one.)

I love it!

[Nighthawk]

On topic: I work with a guy who might be the poster child for narrowminded judgemental Christians, and when I told him about this thread, even HE thought this kiltwearing-sinful-guy is an idiot. (As a former Marine he views the kilt as a warlike garment, not an effeminate one.)

You know, I made friends with a whole bunch of Crow braves for exactly that reason. I was in Billings, Mt for the Yellowstone Highland Games, and went to my motel bar and grill for dinner on the Friday night of the festival. There were 2 table of young Crow men there. I walked in wearing my kilt and it was like I was a long lost member of the tribe. They didn't talk to any other white person in the bar. They told me it was because they regard the kilt as the garment of a warrior, and they only associate themselves with other warriors.