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Did Shakespeare Translate the
King James Bible?

Myth or Reality?

No. The translation project was a large-scale effort by many of the best known clergymen and scholars of the day, whose expertise was in language and theology. The King James Bible was produced through regular, detail-intensive meetings, often dealing with one very small portion of the Bible at a time, over several years, the very opposite of the fast-paced, commercial world of the theater.

In addition, many Puritan leaders, including some of the King James Bible translators, believed that the stage was inherently sinful, and would never have considered a playwright as a colleague. From a modern perspective, the King James Bible and Shakespeare’s works are, among other things, literary masterpieces from about the same period. At the time, however, the two enterprises that produced them—and those concerned in each—existed in fundamentally different professional worlds.

The styles of the King James Bible and Shakespeare’s plays are also quite far apart. The text of the King James Bible is compact, concrete, and minimal in vocabulary, while Shakespeare’s plays are expansive and full of metaphors, with a very large vocabulary. This is in part because the goal of the King James Bible translators was strict word-for-word accuracy, not literary excellence in the modern sense.
Select a link below to learn more.
Video-select here to watchLearn how the King James Bible was translated: Reconstructing the Process

Goldie Junior (pseud.) Our Shakespeare Wrote the Bible. London, c. 1929. Folger Shakespeare Library.

Goldie Junior (pseud.) Our Shakespeare Wrote the Bible. London, c. 1929. Folger Shakespeare Library.


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