Extraordinarily, the King James Bible was written by committee. Its 54 translators were inspired to their task. Using the Bishops’ Bible of 1568 and consulting too William Tyndale’s New Testament of 1525, they fashioned cadences that have saturated English literature from John Bunyan to D. H. Lawrence. The anniversary of their work provides opportunity for historical reflection, but also for restoring it to the nation’s public life.
