Four hundred years ago in London, England, typesetters were busy loading presses. Printers were just as busy turning the huge handles that pressed the paper to typeset. These men were just doing their job, just printing a book; little did they know they were printing a book that would change history and lives forever.

The fact that the King James Bible is still being printed and still being purchased is a testament to the strength and guidance society still finds within its pages. The Bible is celebrating its 400th year in print this year, and one area pastor couldn’t be happier for this blessed book.

Cliff Hartley, local pastor and teacher, of Northside Baptist Church, said he understands why this version of the Bible has remained so powerful for the past 400 years despite new translations and various attacks aimed toward it. Hartley loves the words of the King James Bible and is grateful for every page of the book.

“I personally have a love relationship with the King James version because of its reverence to the Divine Godhead,” Hartley shared. “The thees and thous, for example, exalt his deity, his perfection, and his sovereignty for devotion and worship like none other. More people have been saved, changed, and are serving God today by the King James Version than any other translation on the market. It is still the best-seller of Bibles overall and remains the Bible which God has honored in the preservation of his word. Most all the hymns and Christmas carols sung in our churches are from the King James Version. When it came to us for such a time as this, it had weathered many storms to outlive all others versions.”

As far as the accuracy of the King James translation, Hartley believes the King James Bible has been preserved and handed down and protected by God, even 400 years ago, so that His Word would be available to mankind.

“I believe God was at work in preserving His Word when copies of the original Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek were handed down through the centuries for the King James Version of the scriptures into the English Bible,” Hartley shared. “We have nothing else to trust but what 16th century scholars brought to the common people as with the English Bible.”

With a Bible such as the King James Version being relevant and in demand for 400 years now, one may wonder why there are so many other translations today. Why not just use the King James Version and what sets it apart from other, more modern translations? Hartley believes that the King James Version contains words that others have died to protect and that make it very powerful.

“I prefer the King James Version over all others because of its accuracy, its preservation for more than 400 years, and its use around the world,” he added. “It has God’s stamp of approval for its endurance in the past, today, and for the future. The Bible mentions those who were beheaded for the Word of God who will rule and reign with Christ for 1,000 years. What Bible is in existence today that men would die for? With that being the case, men would die for the King James Version hands down in my opinion.”

Hartley also said that anyone making a new Bible purchase today should make sure it’s an accurate translation and to “take serious inquiry from a man of God or a strong seasoned Christian servant who can advise them how to make the most important purchase in their life.”

“We have more versions of the Bible today than any other generation--are we so naive to think all of those versions are correct,” Hartley said.