The Old TestamentThe first part of the Christian Bible which corresponds to the Hebrew Bible but is arranged differently. was originally written in HebrewThe ancient language of the Jewish people. The language of the Torah, the Temple and the modern state of Israel. and the New TestamentThe second part of the Christian Bible containing 27 books consisting of four types of literature: letters (epistles), gospels, history and prophecy. was written in Greek.
The Bible was first translated into Latin. For many years that was the only language it was available in.
About 900 years ago John Wycliffe and then William Tyndale tried to translate the Bible into English, but they were opposed by the Church.
The most significant event was the publishing of the English language Bible during the reign of James VI and IJames was King of Scotland as James VI from 1567 until his death in 1625. In 1603 he became James I of England - uniting the Kingdoms of Scotland, England and Ireland.. It was known as the King James Version. Since then there have been many versions of the Bible in English which have tried to update the language. These include The New International Version (NIV), The Good News Bible and The Message.
Some people prefer to use the King James Version because:
They believe the King James Version is more accurate than the modern translations.
They have learnt passages from scripture, such as the Lord鈥檚 Prayer, from the King James Version so prefer to use it because it is familiar.
The language of the King James Version is poetic and reminds the reader that the Bible is a special book.
Some people prefer to use more modern English versions because:
The language in the older versions is outdated and many of the words aren't in use anymore.
The older versions may put younger people off using them because they don鈥檛 understand the meaning.