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Secondary sourceBook1611

King James Version

1611

The 1611 English Bible translation whose wording shaped how Jesus's words and stories are known throughout the English-speaking world.

James personally commissioned this Bible translation to assert control over religious doctrine and calm church conflict.

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Engraved title page of the 1611 King James Bible. Large white central panel reads 'The Holy Bible' and 'Anno Dom. 1611'. Above, figures in clouds and a dove with rays. Moses holds tablets on the left, Aaron on the right, and four evangelists sit in the lower corners.
Title page of the King James Bible, 1611.

About this source

What it is

The King James Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible commissioned by King James VI and I and published in 1611. It includes 39 Old Testament books, Apocrypha, and 27 New Testament books, translated by scholars working from Greek, Hebrew, and earlier English Bibles.

Why it matters

Though made more than 1,500 years after Jesus's life, this translation became the dominant English version of his words and story for centuries, shaping English literature, religious worship, and everyday language and idiom. It reflects not only the biblical accounts of Jesus but also the religious and political concerns of King James's England, including disputes over Puritan influence.

Look closer

  • Why would a king want control over how the Bible was translated and worded?
  • How might a translation made 1,600 years after Jesus's life differ from the earliest accounts of him?
  • What does the elaborate title page, with its images of Moses, Aaron, and the Gospel writers, tell you about how this book was meant to be seen?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of James I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of a early 17th-century book. Ornate woodcut border at top. Text reads: DAEMONOLOGIE, IN FORME OF A DIALOGUE, Diuided into three books, written by the high and mighty Prince, James by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith. Below is a small ornament, then LONDON, Printed by Arnold Hatfield for Robert Waldegraue, 1603.Book

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Daemonologie

James VI and I · 1597 (reprinted 1603)

Title page of a 1598 book reading 'The True Lawe of free Monarchies: or, The reciprocal and mutuall duetie betwixt a free King, and his naturall Subiectes', printed in Edinburgh by Robert Waldegrave, printer to the King's Majestie, with a printer's device at the bottom.Book

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The True Law of Free Monarchies

James VI and I · 1598

Title page of an early 17th-century printed book, 'Basilikon Doron, Devided into Three Books', printed at Edinburgh by Robert Waldegrave, Printer to the King's Majestie, 1599. Ornate border with figures of Justice and Peace, Latin mottoes Amor, Pax, Pacis Alumnus, and Infestamalis, and a central printer's ornament.Book

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Basilikon Doron

James VI and I · 1599 (published 1603)

Photograph of a handwritten early 17th-century letter in brown ink on aged paper, with a fold line across the middle and the number 11A in the top right corner. The cursive text is partly legible and faded.Letter

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The Monteagle Letter

Unknown · 1605

Map of the eastern North American coast showing territories granted to the Plymouth Company (green outline, northern area) and the London Company (red outline, southern area), with latitude lines 41 and 38 degrees marked, and cities labeled Q, R, Po, and SA.Document

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Charter of 1606

James VI and I · 1606

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