400th Anniversary of the King James Bible

The Bible is the learned man’s masterpiece, the ignorant man’s dictionary, the wise man’s directory.
—Mary Baker Eddy

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, the Library displayed its 1611 edition of this work throughout 2011. The display included images and information about the book’s history. Each month, the Bible opened to a new section. The last, as you see here, is the Epistle of Paul.

The King James Bible emerged from the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, when King James I of England (who was also James VI of Scotland) decreed that a new Bible translation would be undertaken to reconcile the disputing Anglican and Puritan religious factions. For centuries, the King James Bible was the dominant English translation.

King James Bible Gallery