What do you think?
Rate this book
The Translators to the Reader: The Original Preface of the King James Version of 1611 Revisited
Contains a facsimile of the original Preface to the King James Bible, a heavily annotated version of the Preface with modern spelling, and the Preface translated into modern English.
85 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2000
1 person is currently reading
8 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 15, 2019
After a lengthy apology for the very fact of translation it contains a nice bit of translation theory which does away with being original or (during your theft) judging other (possibly heretical) translators by their personal merits.
"Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, (for then the imputation of Sextus had been true in some sort, that our people had been fed with gall of Dragons instead of wine, with whey instead of milk:) but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against; that hath been our endeavor, that our mark."
"Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, (for then the imputation of Sextus had been true in some sort, that our people had been fed with gall of Dragons instead of wine, with whey instead of milk:) but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against; that hath been our endeavor, that our mark."
May 3, 2024
This is a very specific book. Not just the KJV Preface, it is a commentary on the 'Translators to the Reader' (also called the Preface) of the 1611 King James Bible. Hence the use of 'Revisited' in the title.
This book is excellent for anyone who wants information on the King James Version. It also demonstrates that the King James translators were in no way 'King James Only'.
The American Bible Society originally published this in the 1990s and unfortunately it has gone out of print. If you can get a used copy at a decent price, it's well worth it. Maybe they'll print it again or release an electronic version.
It contains a facsimile of the original Preface to the King James Bible, a heavily annotated version of the Preface with modern spelling, and the Preface translated into modern English. The editors have gone to great lengths to source all of the citations in the KJV Preface, often giving you lengthy quotes in Greek and Latin with their English translations. Other than using modern spelling, the annotated version has every last word of the original. The translation into modern English has all of the content of the original. You can jump back and forth between the modern version and the annotated version and really understand the original.
There is an excellent Preface (not to be confused with the KJV Preface which the whole book is a commentary on!).
This is one of those amazing books where a couple of scholars explain an older and complicated text to you without watering it down.
ADDENDUM: This book is out of print and can be hard to find and expensive. If you don't have to have it in paper, the publisher has a pdf for $9.99: https://bibles.com/products/the-trans... If you read this and purchase the pdf, please leave a Comment!
This book is excellent for anyone who wants information on the King James Version. It also demonstrates that the King James translators were in no way 'King James Only'.
The American Bible Society originally published this in the 1990s and unfortunately it has gone out of print. If you can get a used copy at a decent price, it's well worth it. Maybe they'll print it again or release an electronic version.
It contains a facsimile of the original Preface to the King James Bible, a heavily annotated version of the Preface with modern spelling, and the Preface translated into modern English. The editors have gone to great lengths to source all of the citations in the KJV Preface, often giving you lengthy quotes in Greek and Latin with their English translations. Other than using modern spelling, the annotated version has every last word of the original. The translation into modern English has all of the content of the original. You can jump back and forth between the modern version and the annotated version and really understand the original.
There is an excellent Preface (not to be confused with the KJV Preface which the whole book is a commentary on!).
This is one of those amazing books where a couple of scholars explain an older and complicated text to you without watering it down.
ADDENDUM: This book is out of print and can be hard to find and expensive. If you don't have to have it in paper, the publisher has a pdf for $9.99: https://bibles.com/products/the-trans... If you read this and purchase the pdf, please leave a Comment!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews