Immerse Thyself

The reach of the KJV has been far and wide—farther and wider than any book in history—but understanding the KJV comes only from reading it, hearing it, and absorbing it. My book, Verily Verily, isn’t an academic exercise, and neither is this blog. My goal is to spark in you an interest in picking up the KING JAMES BIBLE again. Spend time with it.

I recently reread the entire 1611 KJV myself. I selected an edition that is without sectarian trappings of any kind—no footnotes, commentaries, or devotional comments. I ignored my grandfather’s old Scofield Reference copy on the shelf, and my Thompson Chain Reference from high school youth group. Instead, I picked an edition that was recently published by a university press, aimed at the textbook market. The Old Testament accounts for 1,039 pages. The Apocrypha (Grandpa would not have approved—but it was included in the first KJV), 246, and the New Testament, 317. That’s 1,602 pages all together; so I knew that if I read ten pages a day, I’d finish in six months.

It was a journey I’ll never forget. You should try the same, in this 400th anniversary year. Don’t just take my word for it; and don’t just read this blog; read the KJV itself.

1 Corinthians 13:1-2 in the 1611 King James Bible

Though I speake with the tongues of men & of Angels, and haue not charity, I am become as sounding brasse or a tinkling cymbal. And though I haue the gift of prophesie, and vnderstand all mysteries and all knowledge: and though I haue all faith, so that I could remooue mountaines, and haue no charitie, I am nothing.