Verily, Verily: The KJV--400 Years of Influence and Beauty

As historian Tony Lane once noted, without the King James Version of the Bible, it can be speculated that, there would be no Paradise Lost … no Pilgrim’s Progress … no Negro spirituals … no Gettysburg Address. And even though today there are more accurate and contemporary translations of the Bible, the KJV reigns supreme in the English-speaking world. It is printed and circulated more widely than any other version. The everlasting literary power of this phenomenal volume is unarguable. But how did this remarkable work originate? What were the historical circumstances driving its completion? What sorts of errors (many of them outright hysterical) crept into the translation? Why does it still outsell every other English translation? Verily, Verily offers an informative, inspirational, and light-hearted look into how the world’s most popular Bible was created and why it is still important. Jon M. Sweeney reflects on the cultural importance, spiritual value, beautiful phrasings, and occasional humor of the King James Bible. And Sweeny shows why the KJV has been the most important entry into the Christian scriptures for the English-speaking world and a new understanding of why it is still worth reading.