Updates On The KJV Since 1611?

There are actually several different KJV editions presently being published in the US. The two most often seen are the Oxford edition of 1769 and the Cambridge edition of 1762. There is also a Thomas Nelson edition of 1975 which has become very popular because of its updated spelling. "Neighbour" is updated to "Neighbor" "traffick" to "traffic" and "Timotheus" to "Timothy" etc. It is based on the Cambridge edition of 1762.

I am not sure what edition the Holman follows but an easy test is to look at Jeremiah 34:16. If it says, "But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids." - then you have a Cambridge. If it says, "But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids." - then you have an Oxford.

Oh, by the way, "ye" is the correct reading, the Hebrew is plural. When typesetting the old fashioned way, by hand, apprentice printers were told to "watch your p's and q's." That admonition was necessary for type was set backwards and when the impression was made it was reversed on the paper. A "p" is a backward "q". The same is true of the older typefaces regarding "h" and "y" the "h" is just an upside down "y". An old uncorrected typesetters error that has survived for 233 years!

 

I ran across a version of the KJV that I have never seen before. It is used in the KJV Study Bible that Zondervan has recently published (aka NIV study bible notes with the KJV text). In the preface it states that it is a Cambridge Paragraph Version from 1873 and has Scrivner's name attached to it (I am posting this from memory, it may be 1879).

Any info on this version? The only difference I can find is that on verses that use "an" they have replaced it with "a" - for instance "an humble man" now reads "a humble man".

God bless,
Michael

 

You are correct. The edition you are talking about is the 1873 Scrivener Cambridge. It is an excellent edition, in my opinion, the best edition, of the KJV.

It restores the marginal notes of the 1611, as well as being more consistant in the use of italics, restores the punctuation to that of 1611, and standardizes the spelling, and divides the poet books into paragraphs more suited to the Hebrew style of poetry.

 

Doc, thank you for this info. Do you have any more information about it? I have to ask myself why this text hasn't become the standard KJV text? Even Cambridge isn't using it in the bibles that you purchase from them. Strange.