y do people prefer the language of king james translation even though it is distant from ordinary English?

Question

http://www.av1611.org/kjv/kjvhist.html

Answer 1

I think they prefer it because they grew up hearing it read out loud, and that's how the Bible is "supposed" to sound to them. (I include myself---I do not care for "modern" translations of the Bible.)

Answer 2

There is one major reason, and that is this. In 1611 when King James authorized the translation of KJV Bible, there were no other ENGLISH Bibles. There was the Latin Vulgate, and Wycliffe's etc...but not one complete ENGLISH Bible. Other versions such as the NEW KJV and the NIV and the NASB, and the ESV, and others have not been translated and written until more recent years. So for some 300 years the only ENGLISH Bible that was available was the KJV. Many prefer to use this Bible simply because it is what they grew up with.
Another reason that many only use the KJV, is because they feel that all other versions of the Bible have not been correctly translated. There are many types of Bibles today. Some are called "Paraphrases" basically saying, "This is what I think it says" Others say it says this when others say it says that. You must understand that the original manuscripts written in Bible times was not in English, but in rather greek, hebrew, caldean, and aramic. None of these can be exactly translated into english. For example, there is one portion of Hebrew text that speaks of a woman picking up branches. The hebrew language does not have a word for branches, so the hebrew text actually says, that this woman was out picking up trees! thus when it was changed into english it had to be translated into english.
Many "versions" of the Bible don't hold as closely to the old manuscripts as much as others do. I for one use the KJV, but I will also use the NKJV and the NASB. Most theologians today will say that the New American Standard Bible is the most correctly translated bible we have today. But many hold to the KJV because that is what they prefer to use.

Answer 3

The King James Bible was written in the beginning of Modern English.

Old English (OE) Beowulf

Middle English (ME) Chaucer

Modern English (ModE) Shakespeare

Now you know why these three authors are required reading in Junior High School and High School, they represent each period of the development of English.

The King James Bible was written in the time of Bill Shakes when English was developing from ME to ModE.

Ordinary English, like you speak to your friends or on the telephone, is called 'colloquial English', a blend of formal and informal English (informal English has slang, swears, and idioms). So that is why the King James Bible reads so differently, it is not written in 'ordinary English', it is written at the very beginning of Modern English (like Bill Shakespeare).

So go back and read MacBeth and the Kings James Bible all over again! Really cool stuff.