Authorized King James Version

The Authorized King James Version is a translation of the Christian Bible into English.^[1] It is also called the Authorized Version (AV) or the King James Version (KJV) in the United States.

The title page to the 1611 first Authorized King James Version of the Bible, painted by Cornelius Boel.

The name comes from King James I of England. He brought together the Hampton Court Conference of the Church of England and told its members to begin working on the version in 1604. Its first book was published in 1611.

Although it is one of the oldest English translations of the Bible, it is still one of the most widely-read versions. A 2014 survey in the United States found that 55% of those who read the Bible used the King James Version. The next most widely-read version was the New International Version, at 19%, and other versions were used by less than 10%.^[2]