The Word is preach and dispersed by the authority of Jesus Christ through the great commission, and is annointed by the Power of the Holy Spirit. When one takes the gospel to a people of a different language, one must first learn their language to verbally communicate with them and teach them, preaching the gospel of Christ to them in terms which they understand: If that language has symbols or an alphabet, then translation may take place into a form which they can reread and consult. This is a sobering endeavor. Initially there may be mistakes made, but it is the Holy Spirit which draws men to Jesus, not the perfection of our words or translation.
As more missionaries are moved to minister to a culture, refinements take place in regards to understanding the culture, the language and its structure, the idioms, the history and myths with which may lend support or interfere with the understanding, and refinements to clarify or correct take place. This is not without its problems, as the person(s) translating from an accepted work into another language is dependant on his submission to the Holy Spirit to assist in the communication:
Human, as we are, we bring to such endeavors our own interpretations, theology and understandings, and may present translations which are biased by our own filters of experience and knowledge. Over a period of time, the desire to have a 'perfect' text moves some to critical studies to prove that the translation is correct in understanding as the original language or corrections are made to bring it into line.
When the KJV was authorized, there already existed several 'English' Bibles. The 'team' that was put together, 54 in number (if I recall correctly) were reduced by natural attrition to 47 devout men, highly educated in the ancient languages, most of which could speak and write fluently in those several languages and/or had much familiarity with the Scriptures. Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Aramic translations were all used, with tedious comparison between that which was considered to be closest to the original compared with previous English translations in the developement of the KJV. These folks were not content with their new authorized version, but continued to scrutinize and correct errors of typing, spelling, etc. Embarassingly, the type was set and one edition was printed to find out, when proofed, that the word 'not' was accidentally left out by the printer when some thing related to 'shalt [not] commit adultry'.
My brother in law informs me that the KJV went through 6 printings/attempts to correct errors of oversite, spelling, omissions, etc., until arriving at the 7th edition of 1769. At a site on the internet I find where a gentleman by the name of 'White' reports that there were 7 complete text in existance which were established by consensus of the translating team as being of purity in standards and consistancy to be used in consulting and comparison to arrive at the English AV. Either way, it seems there may be some evidence to support those who feel the Bible declares its own authorized continuance in the verse Psalms 12:6-7 "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." Whether this is accepted as pertaining to the KJV by others or not, I do believe it is the will and power of God that His word will be preserved in some common global language to the establishment of His Kingdom. I think the church (the Body of Christ) by its acceptance either recognizes or disproves a translation's authority.
Today the KJV, is one Bible in the public domain, not dependant on copywrite to use, quote or reprint. The language is simple and the vocabulary is small and easily understood. When it says 'thee' or 'thou' it is speaking to a specific person in the Scripture whereas when it uses the word 'you' it is inclusive of all who may be listening and present when the remarks were made. These distinctions may seem small, but the clarity is enhanced by the more specific and personal use of pronoun. While the language is simple, it is clean and Godly in presentation, and avoids the commonness of street language and slang.....which really are more subject to times and fashion. Current dictionaries recognise the terms used and give definitions consistant with the meanings of the words at the time of its development.
While one might debate that the Roman Catholic Bible was 'authorized' by the government/church...... the KJV is the only English Bible actually 'authorized' by a monarch, without eclesiastical interference on behalf of a church or special interest. While the Roman Catholic Church had much control over the literature and the education, and control of their Scriptures, they had depended heavily on Alexandrian texts and Septuagint: But Greek Churches were also established in early Christian history, and the text of these were available for comparison as they were closest to the original and indeed the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Greek.
I don't know as well about the Old Testament. It seems that during the captivity by Babylon, scribes were assembled to translate the Hebrew into Aramic and Greek. For a long time the Jewish people in the disporia accepted the English translation of our Old Testament. But in more recent times they have translated their Scriptures, from a Russian Hebrew text (I may be wrong about this) into an English version for those who speak English only. If comparing Scripture with Scripture, one should be aware that the JPS version may not compare favorably to our Old Testament Scriptures, especially in those Messianic evidences we normally accept as cited in the New Testament. For example Psalm 22: verse 16 does not say 'they pierced my hands and feet' in their preferenced edition. One may view their Scriptures at Chabad.org. The JewishVirtualLibrary.org is also an interesting resource of Jewish literature and history.
raying: