Rating: 
Summary: Jointedness
Review: James Stuart was ugly, red-headed, restless. He was an unlikely hero. He believed in the possibilities of an encompassing peace.
The plague afflicted London at the time of James's accession to the throne. The best way to avoid catching the plague was to leave the city. The royal supremacy over Church and State was the foundation of James' position. In Church matters James was faced with contending parties of Presbyterians, Puritans, and others.
Rather than use the Bishops' Bible or the Geneva Bible, another version was constructed. The King James Bible became part of the new royal ideology. The translation work was a tightly organized and managed programme. The organization created for the task resembled a commercial company.
Richard Bancroft issued the royal orders to the translators. The author speaks of jointedness, a quality existing in the culture and particularly characteristic of the manner in which the work of translation was undertaken. The translation committee was separated into six subcommittees. Rules provided for continuity and noncontentiousness. The organization, the setting of tasks of translation, contained a sort of system of checks and balances.
The Jacobean atmosphere was one of openness, tolerance, discussion. Lancelot Andrewes was a leader of the enterprise. He was clever, learned, and had a network of connections. He was Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge. The others in the major leadership roles were Hadrian a Saravia, a Protestant Fleming, and John Overall, Dean of St. Paul's. Saravia was a linguist and Overall a classicist. Both wee members of the anti-Puritan party in the Church.
In the first years of James's rule, eighty or so Puritans were expelled from the Church. Puritans working on the new translation were by definition moderates. The richness of the King James Bible was caused by the coming together of diverse religious mentalities.
In the Jacobean era there was a love of variegation, of the multiplicity of things. The author uses a glorious description of Hatfield House, the estate of Robert Cecil, to make his point. The size of the windows at Hatfield House was immense, letting in the light. In the new translation the objective was to bring to readers the light of understanding.
The final printed volume of the Bible appeared in 1611. Word-counting is not a route to understand a translation. The King James Bible, as the Tyndale, reflects its historical circumstances. The Jacobean translation process was social. The result had a heard rhythm. T.S. Eliot cited auditory imagination.
The printshop of Robert Baker produced some anarchy with the copy so that no version of the 1611 Bible is the same. The translation was not successful when issued. Some complained that the English used was sixty or so years out of date, but the fact of the matter was that the language used was a kind of English that had never been spoken. Initially the Geneva Bible was preferred.
The King James Bible became popular after 1660 and the Restoration. Subsequent translations have lacked the rich, deep, true, and alive qualities of the seventeenth century phrases. Appendices include a piece on sixteenth century Bible translations, a comprehensive list with identifying information of the individual translators, bibliography, chronology, and index. The circumstances surrounding the translation venture and the personalities involved are described vividly and winningly.
Rating:
Summary: Ordinary People
Review: Most secularists believe that life is just a series of random events, though some are bold enough to believe in a "higher power" who once set it all in motion. In contrast, Christians believe the world unfolds according to the divine plan of a personal God. Throughout God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible, such a plan is evident.In a beautifully written book, Adam Nicolson explores the efforts of a group of fallible human beings--clergymen, power-brokers, drunkards and even a few rogues--who produced a divine work of art that was to become a standard for generations. A committee of 54 men translated the King James Bible, a book that has inspired the world and influenced the work of countless great writers and thinkers, including William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, William Faulkner, Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. In God's Secretaries, Nicolson draws the reader into a world of political, religious, social and cultural change. Crowned in 1603, the impoverished King James VI of Scotland had ascended to the throne of England as King James I, inheriting great wealth and a country divided by religious and political turmoil. Nicolson writes, "The period was held in the grip of an immense struggle: between the demands for freedom of the individual conscience and the need for order and an imposed inheritance; between monarchy and democracy; between extremism and tolerance." The reign of King James marked the beginning of a united England and Scotland. Long before James's ascension, after King Henry VIII had broken from the Roman Catholic church in 1534, the Church of England was created with the king as its head. By the time James became king, England was a crucible of Catholic loyalists, royalists, Puritans and Presbyterians, all of whom were in disagreement over how God's word should be translated. Several translations were in existence, but King James wanted one Bible for everyone. Drawing on existing translations, including the Reformation-era Geneva Bible, the king's men labored for seven years to create the King James Bible. Not surprisingly, King James wasn't overly concerned with proper biblical interpretation; he wanted to maintain the order of his kingdom and preserve the "divine right of kings." While James was open to examination of the theological basis of the Church of England itself, he wouldn't tolerate the questioning of his own authority. Nicolson does an excellent job illuminating a world now ancient to modern eyes as he takes the reader into the conflicted society of Jacobean England. A great admirer of the literature of the Bible, Nicolson's own prose is magnificent. Rarely does one come across an engrossing book that elevates the ordinary, banal language often heard and spoken today. Nicolson further draws out the beauty and musicality of the language as he compares select passages from other translations to the King James Bible to show the linguistic superiority of the latter. Readers will also learn interesting facts. For instance, the English in the King James Bible was already archaic in 1611, and the Puritans--opponents of the Church of England and future pilgrims to the New World--did not bring the King James Bible with them. Thus, the KJV didn't become popular in America until after the Civil War. God's Secretaries is definitely not a Bible study, so Christian readers shouldn't expect an exposition of Biblical truth. Regardless, this book is an enjoyable excursion into an age that produced the greatest work of English prose. For those readers who believe the Bible is the infallible word of God, Nicolson's book offers an intriguing snapshot of a brief time in history guided by the very hand of God. © 2003 La Shawn Barber
Originally published on Townhall.com.
Rating:
Summary: Sermons, sedition and social stability
Review: Nicolson's study of the background and people involved in producing the King James Bible is akin to doing an old jigsaw puzzle where the colours are washed out. You're pretty certain of how it will look when completed. After all, most people have been exposed to the book's purported topic. You have expectations of what you will encounter. Each chapter offers a new piece leading to the assumed final result. Yet each piece is something of a surprise - an unknown character or an obscure event. As the image builds, Nicolson assures you of its relevance. Yet, when the task has been finished, the rendering is almost wholly unexpected.
For once, the renaming of a British publication - the original was "Power and Glory" - was appropriate. Nicolson opens with the accession of King James I of England, but the VI of Scotland. This unusual transformation of a monarch brought about a new wave of stresses to a nation that had endured a succession of religious upheavals over the previous century. From Henry VIII's break with Rome, through an unmitigated Protestantism and sudden reversion to Roman Catholicism, to Elizabeth's long, waffling reign, the British welcomed a king they felt promised religious stability. They hadn't counted on James' unhappy years under Scots Presbyterian mentors. Nicolson's depiction of James is of a man almost obsessed with exercising power over religious matters. If not the subtle initiator, James certainly pounced on the idea of creating a "new" English Bible.
It was an era of Bible writing. The Douai had been recently produced by English Catholics in exile, while the very Presbyterians James loathed had imported Calvin's Geneva text enthusiastically. Anglicans had struggled with earlier English-language versions, from Tyndale through the half-century old Bishop's Bible. Having been smothered by the heavily annotated Geneva version, James was keen to have a "pure" text. Nicolson convenes, almost one at a time, the Translator committee to produce it. Calling them "a disparate lot" is but mildly descriptive. There were stern theologians, frowning at any challenge to episcopal prerogatives. Others were known to weep while delivering sermons. The Presbyterian presence, no matter how unwelcome in James' view, still had to be tolerated. The Geneva, as Nicolson notes repeatedly, is what came to the Western Hemisphere on the Mayflower.
However pedantic this book might have been in another's hands, Nicolson's characterisations elevate it to gripping reading. Lancelot Andrewes, the weeping pastor, takes centre stage as the chief Translator - James insisted on the capitalisation. Andrewes, along with most of the team, was driven by the notion of a monarch closely aligned with the church. No more backsliding to Rome! The Puritans, although not yet granted that appellation, wanted even stronger guarantees - bishops were the banana peels leading to papistry. Get them out! The tenor, ably captured by Nicolson, is a strong church under a strong king. Yet among the Translators was one entertaining the most seditious thought of all. Henry Savile, whose family would later found the London haberdashery locus, had travelled and read probably more widely than any of his colleagues. Describing him as "the most glamorous of the Translators", Nicolson also reveals that Savile harboured the idea of a nation without kings! Savile's experience kept him from the confines of holy orders, but his language capability was undeniable.
As the work begins, Nicolson is forced to reveal that almost nothing of the Translators' notes or exchanges has survived. Although they had access to a large compendium of works by Church Fathers and other commentators, no list of what they consulted is available. There are some personal journal entries in various locations - mostly uncovered by American researchers beavering away in dusty vaults. These, however, are but a tantalising sample. No record of submissions, disputations, arguments or reasons for resolutions are provided. Instead, we are given Nicolson's paean to the formal language of Jacobean England. His disparagement of more recent versions isn't even camouflaged scorn. He longs to return to the subject of his study, but what would be sacrificed to accomplish this end?
Although this is supposed to be a study of Jacobean times, there are a few gaps. The communication between Britain and the Continent, only touched on with Savile, had more impact than Nicolson grants. Explorers were widening the view of the world, which led many to wonder what the deity had been up to in those remote places. Within the British Isles, Savile was but a symptom. The rapid change of faiths led to serious questioning of long-standing dogmas. If religion could change so often and so dramatically, how could the deity tolerate it.
Nicolson ignores the growing tendency to question and the resulting emergence of "the village atheist" in Britain. As the most literate people, which Nicolson notes was increasing in this period, it was only logical that questions would increase. Nor does he see fit to note that the very effort the Translators made laid the foundation for an even greater upheaval in the Puritan Revolution and Cromwell. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating: 
Summary: A tribute to a translation and the Jacobean Era
Review: The book described how James Stuart came to power, his personality and foibles. The book then described the Jacobean era. It was a complex era of opposing forces and King James was a man who tried to unite his kingdom. King James appointed several teams of translators to translate the Bible. The translation itself was to be an irenicon. The book described the personalities of several of the translators. Some were holy and some were assuredly not holy. The author then tried to show how the translation affected our culture to this day. The writing is well done and the story is fascinating. My only small criticism is that the author makes some rather weak conclusions to show how the different influences contributed to the book. The book show the author's love for wording and cadences of the King James version. At times, the author's effusiveness gets to be irritating, but the book is always entertaining and informative. The author's love for the language of the King James version is contagious.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and Insightful
Review: The language of the King James Bible is both beautiful and powerful. Nicolson, in "God's Secretaries", writes an account both of the motivation behind and the translation process of this bible. To better understand why the translators choose the form of language they did you must first understand the mind-set of Jacobean England. And Nicolson spends much of the book at the task of describing this world. His imagery runs from the superb, "London was a sucking sink of iniquity, with something murderous and dissolving at the core", to the rather tedious, "...he is in many ways its hero; as broad as the great Bible itself, scholarly, political, passionate, agonized, in love with the English language, endlessly investigating its possibilities, worldy, saintly, sensuous, courageous, craven, if not corrupt then at least compromised, deeply engaged in pastoral care, generous, loving...." At first, I found it difficult to become involved in the story. It was somewhat the uneven style and somewhat the fact that much of the beginning is devoted to background. But persistence pays off. Nicolson's book, once he gets going, becomes interesting and enlightening, particularly when he finally gets to the Bible itself. The translators were a contradictory bunch of imperfect men. Lancelot Andrewes, one of the central translators, could be at once cruel and insensitive and devotedly passionate. With the available information Nicolson sketches in their lives, some in more detail than others. Because of the dearth of information he is only really able to write about a handful of the translators and there are gaps and holes in the history. But he is able tell enough of the tale that they become, if not alive, then reasonable facsimiles. Toward the end of the book he compares and contrasts various biblical passages from other translations against the King James. Nicolson's goal, and I believe he achieves it splendidly, is for the reader to get a sense not only of why the translators chose the words and phrases they did, but how much more rhythm and richness is in the King James compared to Tyndale's et al translations. Nicolson's preference for the King James Bible, and for Jacobean thought, is clear. Yet, even in his bias, he does provide some convincing arguments. Much criticism has been leveled at the accuracy and clarity of the translation. He acknowledges that it is fraught with error - particularly in the Hebrew sections. But with respect to the language itself, he contends that the translators spent much time arguing over the specific words to use. And their selection criteria included, among other things, richness of meaning and rhythm. Their translation was meant to replace the Bishops Bible and so to be read out loud during sermons. Modern day society tends to crave the specific, the exact. Jacobean England did not. And the translation reflects that. For Nicolson, the King James Bible still holds power and authority precisely because it hasn't been reduced to a common language and because it still retains a richness and drama that, for him, modern translations lack in their enthusiasm for exactitude. His answer to the criticism that the Tyndale Bible is the greater of the two since the King James Bible takes 80-90% of its material from Tyndale's earlier translation is that that 10-20% difference is what counts. Where Tyndale is clumsy and halting the King James is majestic, rhythmic, and powerful. He also points out that the translators did not set out to make something new, but rather to improve on what had already been done; and that this was to some extent driven by political motives. All-in-all Nicolson's analysis is interesting, biased and yet convincing despite that, and well worth the time to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Unreadable
Review: The most unreadable book I've ever picked up-- this coming from an English major who's read her share of post-modern authors, as well as such giants of unreadability as Hegel and Kant. Mr. Nicolson isn't of the pomo school, nor is he a philosopher, but boy is his prose ever confused, vague & disconnected. What is the point? I kept asking myself. I still don't have an answer. Not to mention how dull dull dull! it all is. The man is badly in need of both an English Grammar class and some lessons in Style.
For those of you that had no troubles reading this book, I don't know how you did it. I tried and tried, but couldn't make it through more than a few pages at a time before giving up, having retained almost nothing of what I'd read. I'd then pick up another book and have no trouble reading it, so I know for sure that it's Nicolson's unabsorbable prose, not any reading comprehension issues on my part. I also agree with the reviewers who said Nicolson's faithful reproduction of archaic spellings made the reading unnecessarily laborious.
Rating:
Summary: A Work by Committee
Review: The strengths of the book are plenty. The story is fascinating. Even how King James set up the teams and organized the translation is interesting. Nicolson does a great job giving us the culture and the personalities that translated the King James version. The various contradictory forces and foibles of the culture and of the translators contributed to the translation's beauty. His writing is engaging and strong. He also adds colorful tidbits that keeps the reader's interest. For example, he describes how the Puritans named their children after moral qualities like "Eschew Sin" and "Sin-deny." He also gives the reader a sense of the majesty and the music of the King James Version. My criticisms of the book are minor. First, he tries too hard sometimes to show how the personalities of the translators affected the translation. In other words, he makes leaps of logic to reach tenuous conclusions that really do not add to the thesis of the book. Second, he does not seem to understand Puritans at all. He states in the final chapters that he does not go to church. Perhaps that is why the Puritan mind set is so foreign to him. Third, his language is so effusive about the KJV that sometimes that it gets hard to read. A good book to read with this would be Moynahan's "God's Bestseller: William Tyndale, Thomas More, and the writing of the English Bible." Nicolson worships the language of the King James. Moynahan worship's Tyndale's translation. Between the two of them, you would get a balanced view of the translation process. I recommend the book strongly. It is definitely a fun read.
Rating:
Summary: Take a letter...
Review: There will likely never be a time when the King James Bible is without influence; it has through the dialectical relationship with the English language become part of a world-wide linguistic tradition that, should English ever become a dead language a la Latin or ancient Greek, its historical stamp will continue to be felt. Perhaps the twin towers of influence on modern English coming out of the medieval were Shakespeare and the King James Version of the Bible. Adam Nicolson set out to explore the development of this phenomenal text, often dubbed the best book ever produced by a committee. Indeed, this was work done individually and communally. As Nicolson points out, the King James Version did not arise in a vacuum; there were earlier translations of the Bible into English, the greatest and most influential of which was the Tyndale Bible, whose influence was so great that at least three-quarters of the King James Version (and a goodly percentage of many future versions of the Bible) is directly from Tyndale. This is no simple tale of translation. Nicolson explores the troubled times surrounding the early Jacobean reign in England. The glory of the Elizabethan age, with its turbulent times politically, socially and religiously, gave way to this somewhat-foreign influence now in authority. Part of the purpose of King James (the first of England, the sixth of Scotland) was to put an indelible English stamp on his reputation and reign, and succeeded such that his name continues to be near-synonymous with the holy scripture. This age was one of change and growth, but also one of maturity and establishment. The Bible itself, from the very first page, proclaims this - this is the 'Authorised' version. The process itself took seven years, from the first commissioning in 1604 to the publication in 1611. Nicolson argues that there is a deep mystery in the process, whereby the names of the Translators (an official title for the 50 or so scholars from across Britain) are not known to the common reader of the Bible, despite the ubiquitous nature of the text. Their names are not inscribed in the text the way modern scholars ensure their names are duly credited - this anonymity strengthens the idea that this is a transmission of text from God, and not merely the work of human hands. Nicolson applauds the political purposes behind the text (and yes, there were politics afoot here) - stating that this was 'a work of majesty, not of tyranny', this was an effort to place something in the country as a unifying entity that was simultaneously of the time and timeless, specific to the culture and yet universal. Nicolson is no fan of Elizabeth, this is clear - the bleak picture of the end of her reign is about as far from a tribute to Gloriana as one can get; of course, this helps set the stage for the heroic James Stuart to appear. This early depiction gives the reader a clue to the bias inherent in the text, and biases there are, many. However, they are generally readily apparent, and the astute reader can glance over lightly interpretations while still enjoying the base information and turns that Nicolson devises as his narrative progresses. Among the many personalities introduced here are Lancelot Andrewes, the chief Translator, a man of contradictory sensibilities - at once a lavish courtier and a world-denying, remorseful character. Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury, was the chief organiser; Henry Savile, a figure of some glamour and prestige, is called by Nicolson a buccaneer-scholar - the only Translator not in Holy Orders. In addition to the personalities of the Translators were the characteristic events of the time - colonists setting off for the unknown lands of Virginia, the publication of Shakespeare's sonnets, and the freezing over of the river Thames all occurred during the translation process. This is a wonderful book to read, not only to gain some back-stage information about the King James Bible, but to experience anew a world so vital for and yet so distant from our own.
Rating:
Summary: This is a serious and significant book
Review: This is a serious and significant book on the making of the King James Bible. The best parts of the book are when Nicolson takes passages from the KJV and commentates on them, such as his stirring section on the opening lines of the Book of Genesis and the account of the woman who breaks the alabaster jar of ointment in Mark 14 (192-197). It is in these parts of the book that one forgets one is reading, and is taken up into the beauty and grandeur of the subject in question. Especially helpful are the social and cultural context of the KJV, as well as the comparison of the KJV to Hatfield house. Also, the book gets better and better as one moves to the final chapter. The closing pages are beautifully written and moving. Nicolson's strength is when he gives his own opinions. At times the prose is brilliant. One such example can be found on page 234 where the author, criticizing the translation of the New English Bible (NEB) which sought to translate the Bible into ordinary language, says: "They had forgotten that ordinariness is not the Bible's subject." Those who love and read the KJV cannot ignore this book.
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