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John Drury's clear, marvelously erudite, and richly detailed introduction to the Everyman's Library edition of the New Testament reminds us why the King James Version first published in 1611, has been the favorite of English readers for centures. Despite a plethora of new translations in the second half of the twentieth century, the King James Version retains its power and appeal because 'it has the intrinsic value of a classic and is an enduring masterpiece.' Drury outlines the fascinating history of this magisterial translation, marveling at the 'patient generosity' with which the translators sifted through and distilled a century of previous scholarship. He poits out that their work has endured not only because of the astonishing care they took to reflect faithfull the syntax of the original Hebrew and Greek--which enabled them to dispense with the densely entangled prose style that characterized English writing at the time--but also because of their concern to combine exactness with elegance. As they put it themselves, their goal was above all to imbue their work with 'grace' while choosing words both 'fitly for phrase' and 'expressly for sense.' Drury addresses as well the power of the New Testament itself, tracing its effects on writers from Milton to Coleridge to George Eliot. From the doctrinal richness of the letters of St. Paul to those four masterpieces of storytelling, the Gospels, the New Testament has served as a source of inspiration for centuries.
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