What Is the King James Version? (And Why We Read It Every Morning)
By Niall Florence · 13 August 2026 · 2 min read · Understanding the Bible
Every verse on this site carries the little label KJV — the King James Version. If you've wondered what that means, why it says "thee" and "doeth," and why a modern devotional would choose a four-hundred-year-old translation, here's the story, briefly and gently told.
Where it came from
In 1604, King James I of England commissioned a new English translation of the Bible — the work of roughly fifty scholars in six committees across seven years, published in 1611. It was designed from the start to be read aloud in churches, which is why it has that unmistakable spoken music: the translators tested their sentences on the ear, not just the eye. It became, over the following centuries, the most printed and most memorised book in the English language — the Bible of Bunyan and Wesley, of Handel's Messiah, of Lincoln's speeches and King's sermons.
Why it sounds the way it does
The "thees" and "thous" weren't grand even in 1611 — they were simply how English then marked the singular "you." What reads as majesty today was, at the time, precision. And some of the phrases you use weekly were minted or fixed by this translation: "the powers that be," "a law unto themselves," "the skin of my teeth," "labour of love." To read the KJV is to read the headwaters of the English language.
Why we chose it
Three honest reasons. First, it's public domain — the Word freely given, freely shareable, no licence between you and the text. Second, its language is built for exactly what a morning verse asks: to be carried in the mind all day. The rhythm makes it memorable; four centuries of readers have proven it. Third, accuracy is checkable: our KJV quotations are verified word-for-word against the source text before publishing, every one.
The verse about the verses
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Four hundred years is a good head start on "for ever." Translations serve the Word, not the other way round — and this one has served it longer and more widely in English than any other.
Do you have to read the KJV?
No — and we'd never suggest otherwise. A modern translation you'll actually read beats a venerable one you won't; for brand-new readers we often suggest starting a Gospel in whatever Bible is nearest. But we'd also say: don't be afraid of the old music. Taken one verse at a time — which is how we serve it — the KJV is far more approachable than its reputation, and some of its lines will lodge in you for life. That's rather the point of a morning verse.
Try a week of mornings
The best way to meet the KJV is one verse a day with a gentle word alongside — exactly what our daily devotional is. Seven mornings and you'll know whether the old music is for you. We think it might be.
