This episode spells out the conservative approach of the translators of the King James Bible and demonstrates that the KJV relied heavily on previous translations. One word study found that 83.7% of the KJV was identical to William Tyndale's New Testament. Translators were instructed to methodically go through the Bishop's Bible and make any modifications based on the Hebrew or Greek texts. The translators relied on relatively late copies of both testaments, drawing from the Masoretic Text for the Hebrew (11th century). With respect to the New Testament, translators mostly relied on Erasmus' compilation of Greek texts (3rd to 5th editions), as well as collections of Stephanus and Theodore Beza. Together these copies make up the Textus Receptus, or Majority Text. The Majority Text depends on relatively late manuscripts (12th century) but is nevertheless very reliable when compared to modern translations, which depend on manuscripts as old as the second and third centuries.
“It Helps to Know the Greek”
This episode contrasts the Bishop's Bible with the Geneva Bible, particularly over readability, accuracy, and overall lay-friendliness. The Geneva Bible is far superior. Roughly half of the episode highlights how more literal translations, coupled with word-studies on the original languages, are ultimately more rewarding. Matthew 5:48 commands us "to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect." The Greek is in the passive, so the translation should read "be ye made perfect.." This nuance is often lost in English translations and has significant implications on whether we try to fix ourselves or simply be available for God to complete us. Additionally "perfect," coming from "teleos," also means complete or mature. Knowledge of these nuances of the Greek greatly enhances comprehension of the text.
The Empire Strikes Back: the Bishop’s Bible
This episode further explains objections to the Geneva Bible by both bishops and monarchs, and analyzes the Bishop's Bible, the "establishment's" response. The commentary throughout the Geneva Bible advocated a presbyterian form of church government where a group of elders presided over the church. Bishops in England naturally opposed this arrangement, for it undermined the singular authority of the bishop. Monarchs also found presbyterian government objectionable, as the close fusion of church and state potentially undercut the monarch's role in governing the Anglican Church. In response, the "establishment" produced the Bishop's Bible in 1668 (revised in 1672). While it was a direct translation from Hebrew/Greek to English, the final work lacked cohesiveness since individual bishops translated passages of the Bible (instead of committee), and no uniform translation methodology governed the process. The Bishop's Bible was consequently not as popular as the Geneva Bible.