God’s Secretaries

The Making of the King James Bible

By: Adam Nicolson

Narrated by: Clive Chafer

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

A net of complex currents flowed across Jacobean England. This was the England of Shakespeare, Jonson, and Bacon; the Gunpowder Plot; the worst outbreak of the plague England had ever seen; arcadian landscapes; murderous, toxic slums; and, above all, sometimes overwhelming religious passion. Jacobean England was both more godly and less godly than it had ever been, and the entire culture was drawn taut between the polarities.

This was the world that created the King James Bible. It is the greatest work of English prose ever written, and it is no coincidence that the translation was made at the moment “Englishness” and the English language had come into its first passionate maturity. Boisterous, elegant, subtle, majestic, finely nuanced, sonorous, and musical, the English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own reach and scope than any before or since. It is a form of the language that drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book.

The sponsor and guide of the whole Bible project was the king himself, the brilliant, ugly, and profoundly peace-loving James the Sixth of Scotland and First of England. Trained almost from birth to manage the rivalries of political factions at home, James saw in England the chance for a sort of irenic Eden over which the new translation of the Bible was to preside. It was to be a Bible for everyone, and as God’s lieutenant on earth, he would use it to unify his kingdom. The dream of Jacobean peace, guaranteed by an elision of royal power and divine glory, lies behind a Bible of extraordinary grace and everlasting literary power.

Adam Nicolson is the author of Seamanship, God’s Secretaries, and Seize the Fire. He has won both the Somerset Maugham and William Heinemann awards, and he lives with his family at Sissinghurst Castle in England.

©2003 Adam Nicolson (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“This scrupulously elegant account of the creation of what four centuries of history has confirmed is the finest English-language work of all time is entirely true to its subject: Adam Nicolson’s lapidary prose is masterly, his measured account both as readable as the curious demand and as dignified as the story deserves.” (Simon Winchester, New York Times best-selling author)

“So few documents have survived this labor—apart, of course, from the translation itself—that piecing together the tale is at least as much a matter of intelligent guesswork as of hard research. This is what Adam Nicolson has done, and he has done it extraordinarily well.” ( Washington Post Book World)

“An astonishingly rich cultural tour of the art, architecture, personalities, and experiences of Jacobean England: high and low entertainment, high and low churchmanship, courtiers, schoolmasters, and ecclesiastics. [Nicolson’s] picture is beguilingly full.” ( Times Literary Supplement (London))

Interesting history

Great research, lots of detail and history. Fun information for those interested in this topic

Informative

Excellent book to give context of the events and circumstances that shaped the translators of the King James Bible

A Committee That Actually Accomplished Something!

Fascinating book on how the translation was accomplished. The author fully develops the history, the context of the 'why' (to, in essence, end the war between the factions supporting the horrid Bishop's translation and the anti-king Geneva bible), the politics, and the budget. It would be a worthy read if it were written on any literature. Classically, even those not given to following the words of the bible, have always called the KJV 'great literature.' It is! And this book shows us how that came to be.

Out of the extravagant court of King James, surrounded by clusters of 'spangle babies' (men and women made juvenile by money), came the king's desire to bring unity to the nation, a nation with rising literacy.

Great scholars across the spectrum were consulted. Yes, even moderate Puritans (but no Presbyterians!). Unofficially, even men at the extreme ends served as consultants to the translators when they were truly expert in a subject. The translators brought prodigious linguistic scholarship to the project, able to tease nuance and subtleties from the original texts.

To loosely quote the author: The beauty of this project is the end result by a committee - a system not designed for genius or great works. It was the organization that was the genius. The translation committee was divided into 6 subcommittees. Each committee had assigned sections, and member was to work alone until he finished his part then review with other members of his subgroup. Each committee had oversight over all the others.

What is amazing is to see how men of so varied opinions, with vigorous and even fierce disagreements, could develop this beautiful and fairly accurate translation. The author weaves their backgrounds in beautifully so you truly understand them as men, not names in a history book.

I was surprised at another reviewer's comments on the "dark" stance of the author vis-a-vis this translation. After hearing 2 lengthy interviews with him and reading the book, I have to say I don't see that at all. The pace slowly gathers all the stories together, so it starts slower. But I definitely did NOT find it monotonous.

The timing was impeccable. It was finished in 1611. By 1614 Parliament had enough of James' excesses and cut his budget. James moved away from reconciliation with the Puritan's camp that had included so many Puritan moderates in the project. And the 30 years' wars in Europe began, with Catholic pitted against Protestant.

Great insight into context and environment, but little on process

It's astonishing that such a huge and enduring work has so very little written about it. A couple of random documents discovered in the mid 20th century hint at the process, and some detection work helps to identify a few of the participants, but we are otherwise in the dark about what happened and how it developed.

Nonetheless, the author does a good job of communicating the cultural context and driving forces that shaped the work, and I felt more informed on the KJV as a written work that makes me respect it more than I have previously.

Quite Informative and interesting

Extraordinarily well-written, well-read and well-researched. From an historical perspective, it is a great piece of work to understand the environment in which the King James Bible and its predecessors was created.

Great read!

This elegant and fascinating history beautifully imerses the reader in Jacobean England, as it introduces the reader to many of the Translators and persons involved in creating the Bible known as the Authorized Version. A must read for all who love the English language and its heritage.

Excellent

Nicolson is a great writer and scholar.
I learned much from this beautiful text, particularly the contrastive analysis and synthesis at book’s end.

A Holy Reading

The book is fantastic. Each chapter is prefaced with a Biblical passage that portends the content. The reading is clear and brings out the language.

Lengthy, but does justice to the subject

The narration is great, keeps it interesting over the long complicated process. The subject is fascinating.

Interesting book, boring narrator

“God’s Secretaries” chronicles the very interesting account of the creation of the King James Bible. The author provides many great anecdotes from the lives of the translators and helps the reader understand the culture and political climate of England and Scotland in the early sixteenth century. The only problem is that the narrator has a monotone voice that literally can put you to sleep.