This episode initially addresses the challenge of literal word-for word translations of the Bible. Literal word-for-word translations don't always convey connotations and nuances behind the words themselves. For this reason, students of the Word should ideally use both literal translations and thought-to-thought translations. The episode also addresses King James' instruction that the KJV include no marginal notes outside of explanatory notes on the Greek and Hebrew. This requirement was obviously a swipe at the Geneva Bible, which had lots of antimonarchical and anti-ecclesiastical comments. King James went so far as to ban the Geneva Bible in 1616. James was nevertheless fair with Puritans (who had produced the Geneva Bible), including them on the translation committees so that the KJV was NOT a sectarian "establishment" translation of the Scriptures. By 1660 the KJV eclipsed the Geneva Bible in popularity, and for the next 200 years quoting from the Bible presupposed the KJV.
The preferment of “church” to “congregation” in the KJV
This episode addresses the translation of "ekklesia" in the KJV into "church" in Matthew 16:18. King James, who was understandably partial to the "established" Church of England which he led, insisted that translators use the word "church" instead of "congregation." The dispute is less over the literal meaning of "ekklesia" than over the connotations of the word in seventeenth century England. Both "church" and "congregation" accurately convey the meaning of "ekklesia," which literally means "those called out of." Yet one connotation of "church," which is still true today, points to the building and the establishment behind the structure. "Organized religion" embodies this connotation, on top of the literal meaning. James, who headed the established Church of England, insisted that "church" be the word translated from "ekklesia." Significantly, 4 previous English translations used the word "congregation," including the Great Bible and the Bishop's Bible. Ironically, the Geneva Bible, produced by Marian exiles who most resisted the "established" church, opted for "church" over "congregation, " largely in deference to John Calvin's high ecclesiology.