The Authorized Version of the Bible, popularly known as the King James Version, is a literary landmark that will never be surpassed in the English language; but sadly, it is falling out of use. At least part of the reason, I am convinced, is the antiquated typography that plagues most editions. So why not publish an AV in paragraph form?
Today's KJV
It has finally happened. After years of moaning about the absence of an edition of the Authorized Version set in modern type, paragraphed and punctuated, I am now the proud owner of one: Today's King James Version, published in Bath, England by an outfit called Bible First. This edition is nicely bound (although the imprinting is not crisp) and was produced in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee.
As you can see from the photo above, the typeface is modern, the text is paragraphed and the punctuation follows contemporary usage. This makes the classic AV text, a landmark in English literature, more accessible to today's reader -- and it also makes it easier for the Bible student to grasp the flow of the text, which is no longer interrupted by a carriage return at the start of each new verse. The commonly held belief that modern readers cannot comprehend the archaic language of the KJV is, in my view, exaggerated. Yes, there are readers who find it difficult, but that is no reason for more capable students to deny themselves its pleasures. An edition like this is long overdue; it eliminates an unnecessary barrier for the modern reader in approaching this excellent work.
Is Today's KJV perfect? Not quite. What is really needed is a "critical edition" of the KJV, with notes at the bottom explaining difficult words and phrases, much as a critical edition of Chaucer or Shakespeare does. But Today's KJV is, so far as I know, the only edition that offers the traditional text in a contemporary setting. The question is, how do you get one? They are not widely available in the States. In fact, I had never heard of it until Nicholas Gray at R.L. Allan's did the leg-work and located it for me. Much thanks to Nicholas for all the help! If you'd like a copy, I suggest that you get in touch with him. The cost was just under $100, including shipping.
TBS NT - Paragraphed Edition
The Trinitarian Bible Society also publishes a New Testament with paragraphed text, pictured at right. While the typeface is a little archaic, I find this edition more readable than Today's KJV, perhaps because it is presented in a single column format. The paperback binding is not especially nice, but the trim size of the volume is just right and makes for pleasurable handling. If this edition were extended to include the entire Bible and offered in a quality binding, it would be very close to ideal.
Of course, the ultimate paragraphed KJV is the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible, which will hopefully be offered in hand-sized additions in the future.
Check out the Newberry AV single colomn Bible at http://www.penfoldbooks.com/product/74/773, I own one and love it for the single colomn/paragraph layout style to the Newberry study helps to understand the original grammar of the Hebrew and Greek. Highly recommended.
Posted by: Paul - UK | October 30, 2007 at 07:28 AM
Correct link (without the ',' at the end): http://www.penfoldbooks.com/product/74/773
Posted by: Paul - UK | October 30, 2007 at 07:29 AM
Hi. I have an 1890 Newberry Bible, which is single column and Paragraphed. a PENFOLDS website sells them here: http://www.penfoldbooks.com/product/1/951
That makes three! ;-)
Posted by: william | August 09, 2009 at 08:18 PM
well i always love to read your posts, thanks Mark.
Posted by: Custom Logo Design | December 15, 2009 at 10:54 PM
For what it's worth, as of late December 2010,
1. Penfold Books has been absorbed into another concern ("Ritchie Christian Media"), and the Newberry/Englishman's Bible is no longer offered.
2. Postscript Books, a UK remainder bookseller has an unknown quantity of Today's King James Version, new in hardback, for GBP 3.99. With postage to the US (another GBP 4.00) that's about USD 12 and change. I've ordered one and will offer a brief review when it arrives. Not a "fine" binding from the look of it.
Just thought someone might be interested.
Tom H
Posted by: Tom H | December 28, 2010 at 04:42 PM
Thanks, Tom, for the tip on the BibleFirst TKJVs. I noted Amazon UK said psbooks_ had only 2 copies left. But Amazon's postage to US was 3 pounds more than the site you linked so I followed your lead and ordered direct from PostScriptBooks. I'm thinking that might mean the two of us got their last two copies at the 4 pound price.
I agree we've bought a fine design, but probably not a nice execution binding-wise. However I'm particularly intrigued by the "ragged-right" (left-only) justification of the text, as shown in Mark's snippet. Our new friend, Thomas, in the 11/18 thread, showed us something similar in Dutch (at http://2krogh.dk/bibles/#/biblian-heilog-ritning ) but I'm looking forward to seeing it in English.
Posted by: bill | December 29, 2010 at 06:51 PM
My BibleFirst TKJV (2002) finally arrived after 5 weeks of waiting. Customs, I suppose is to blame. TKJV is just KJV except:
1. With modern paragraphing (indenting) at the normal KJV pilcrow marks. Every verse is still numbered, to my dismay, with a large superscripted number right within the paragraph, which rather spoils the whole idea of the paragraph flow approach.
2. With modern quotation marks; but since they're following old paragraphing rules, you can run into quite a bit of dialog all contained within a single paragraph. Sounds odd but I quickly grew used to it. Saves space on the page!
3. With section headings, to the tune of about 3 per chapter, embedded in the text in a bold, all caps, unattractive font. Definitely wastes space on the page!
4. With poetry sections indented as poetry. This tends to be quite attractive in a single column layout, but in 2-column layouts like this, you can get a lot of awkward line breaks.
As with traditional KJVs, there's italics for the implied translational words, and no alternate readings anywhere, which should please the Received Text Only guys.
As far as layout goes, the ragged right is quite effective, and truly seems to aid reading. But the KJV epistle dedicatory, which is the only part of the volume cast in single column with comfortable inner and outer margins, is simply gorgeous, and really leaves you wishing the entire book would have been set that way, even if it required an extra half inch in thickness.
The binding is expertly Smyth sewn, and immediately opens clean and neat and flat. The hardback cover is attractive enough but sheez, wouldn't you expect leather for the Queen's Golden Jubilee, which this volume claims to represent? The text typeface is quite nice, although I wish it were a little bolder/darker/heavier for us aging readers. The paper is only so-so in quality and feel, but at least at .0020" thickness per sheet, ghosting is tolerable. Page edges are trimmed, but square and plain, sorry Your Majesty.
Overall a good, but not great, setting of the KJV. http://www.psbooks.co.uk still shows copies available at under 4 GPB if anyone wants to try out the ragged right, which is really the unique feature here. I hope Nelson (or someone) considers it in in their next release of their Single-Column text bibles, but with a release date of March for the leather, and the "LeatherSoft" editions already shipping, that probably didn't happen.
Posted by: bill | February 08, 2011 at 12:38 AM
Bill beat me to it, but he's correct in all particulars, so I won't repeat anything.
Bill, I do think you're a bit harsh towards the binding ... I'm sure there were special leather (or other) editions produced; I've seen pictures of slipcased TKJVs in red, white or blue hardcover. Any leather that could be had for GBP 4 (and I realize they're liquidating remainders here) would be inferior to the plain binding it has, and I doubt very much that one of these is what was given Her Majesty ;) . It is a utilitarian binding, but it seems sturdy and does lie flat nicely, which is not as common as it could be.
Otherwise, what Bill said.
IMHO the "personal size" New Cambridge Paragraph Bible that I'm waiting for will probably be as nice as I (we?) will find in anything like a modern printing of the KJV (not that I won't have quibbles with it based on the larger NCPB already in print). I tend to prefer mine with the Apocrypha, which makes the NCPB more of a plus ... KJV with Apocrypha are very hard to find in any binding, even used.
Personally, the layout I like most so far is that of the New Jerusalem Bible (the version with all the notes). It's single-column with marginal references at the outside and verse numbers on the gutter side of the page (the latter are marked by small dots in the text -- it sounds awkward but IMHO is surprisingly usable), footnotes are at the bottom of the right hand page only. I like a certain amount of apparatus, and to my own eye the NJB layout allows my eye to flow over the page smoothly when I just want to read, but to stop and find references or notes easily when I want to do that, all modulo the very small type some of the references have to use. All subjective of course, and I doubt VERY much that I'll ever see a KJV w/ or w/o Apocrypha in that kind of layout. Sigh.
Hope that's helpful to someone.
Tom H
Posted by: Tom H | February 08, 2011 at 04:03 PM
Tom, thanks for the tip on Postscript books. I didn't get a TKJV, but they do have some interesting books at excellent prices.
Posted by: John | February 08, 2011 at 05:59 PM