The Language of the KJV Bible

Ten years ago when I decided to pick up a Bible to read after a long absence, I sorted through a variety of versions/translations.  As John Timpane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, "For 400 years, the King James Bible has ruled among all the versions."  And I settled upon this 1611 authorized version, too.  It is the beauty of the language.  It is simply the same Elizabethan language that I love in Shakespeare's writings, as well.  Mr. Timpane's article, The Divine Word, appeared in the Greensboro News & Record on the front page of the Ideas section on Easter Sunday.  Since we have a Bible study class going on addressing this very topic, I was quite interested to read the article.  He writes on page H4, "Its creation took seven years of work by 47 of England's most learned men."  And he quotes Debora Shuger, a professor of English at UCLA:  " . . . You can find errors and question interpretations, yes, but these were translators who heard the poetry, the underlying feeling, and stay true to it throughout."  The poetry, the underlying feeling, those are key elements to reading Shakespeare and to reading the Bible.  A modern translation may be helpful in many ways to the study of Biblical writings, making them easier to grasp and understand, making them more relevant to today's choice of wording.  However, modern texts lose the lilting rhythm of the KJV.  How else can one read the 23rd Psalm of David?  And many of us remember the verses we learned as children in the sweet language of the King James Bible.  To read them in any other wording seems "off."  Regardless of the choice we make in study texts, it is comforting to know that the message remains the same.  The Bible is a collection of works that ultimately teach us about the God-human relationship and the eternal love that is available to us.  And that is beautiful in any translation.