World culture: Rare King James Bible discovered in England

The edition that had been sitting on a ledge in the pretty Anglican church in Wiltshire, central England for the past 150 years, barely touched and much less read, is one of only a handful that still exists. Although a sign above the book indicated it dated back to 1611, it was only after the parochial church council of St. Laurence in Hilmarton decided to get it authenticated during the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible that they made their discovery.

An expert from the Museum of Book in London said that the Holy Scripture kept in the church was one of the oldest editions of the King James Bible. The St. Laurence Bible, whose heavy handset Gothic script was printed on linen fabric, lacks any gold leaf or ornate illustrations, and was authenticated as a second edition because of a tell-tale misprint. The place in the Gospel of Matthew that should say Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane and spoke to his disciples instead says that Judas, who betrayed Jesus, entered the garden.

The King James Bible is one of the most important books in the history of Great Britain which served the basis for modern English language. The bible was translated in beg. 17th c., when Puritans dissatisfied with existing variants of the book turned to James I. It took almost 7 years to translate the Bible using Greek and Latin variants of Holy Scripture.

The King James Bible is today considered the most popular scripture, it has been translated into hundreds of languages. Fewer than 200 original printings of the 1611 King James version are believed to exist. British Mass Media has included the King James Bible in the UK’s Top 12 most important books. The church in Wiltshire is now looking to raise funds to put the Bible in a glass case, from which people would still be able to turn the pages and read it.