The History of English in ten minutes. Chapter Four: The King James Bible, or
let there be light reading. In 1611 the powers that be turned the world upside
down with a labor of love, a new translation of the Bible.
A team of scribes with the wisdom of Solomon went the extra mile to make
King James translation all things to all men, whether from their hearts desire
to fight the good fight or just for the filthy lucre. This sexy new Bible went
from strength to strength getting to the root of the matter in a language even
the salt of the earth could understand. The writing wasn't on the wall it was in
handy little books with fire and brimstone preachers reading it in every
Church, its words and phrases took root to the ends of the earth or at least the
ends of Britain. The King James Bible is the book that taught us that a leopard
can't change its spots, that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, that a
wolf in sheep's clothing is harder to spot than you would imagine
and how annoying it is to have a fly in your ointment. In fact just as Jonathan
begat Maribel and Maribel begat Micah the King James Bible begat a whole
glossary of metaphor and morality that still shapes the way English is spoken
today. Amen.