King James Version (with Apocrypha) KJV

Protestant
Old Testament source: Masoretic Hebrew
New Testament source: Textus Receptus
Protestant, with the Apocrypha
Formal (word for word)
1611
Public domain

At a glance

Language: English
Tradition: Protestant — Made by the Church of England in the reign of James I; the classic English Protestant Bible, which originally included the Apocrypha as a separate section.
Church approval: Yes — Like the Great Bible and Bishops' Bible it was 'appointed to be read in churches' (Church of England). Note: in the UK the text is still under Crown letters patent for printing.
Old Testament source: Masoretic Hebrew — Hebrew Masoretic text; Apocrypha translated from Greek (and Latin for 2 Esdras).
New Testament source: Textus Receptus — Printed Greek Textus Receptus editions (Beza/Stephanus); Blayney's 1769 revision checked italics against Stephanus 1550.
Canon: Protestant, with the Apocrypha — (Apocrypha section) Tobit, Judith, Greek Esther, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch (with Letter of Jeremiah), Song of the Three, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh, 2 Esdras
Style: Formal (word for word)
Year: 1611; eBible uses the standardized 1769 (Oxford/Blayney) text with the Apocrypha.
Translators: Committee of English scholars appointed under King James I (Church of England)
Reading level: Early Modern English; beautiful but hard for many modern readers.
Verse numbering: English (KJV-style)
Licence: Public domain — eBible: 'This royal decree has no effect outside of the UK, where this work is firmly in the Public Domain.' Web display is not printing, but a UK-based print product would need care.
Text source: eBible.org (eng-kjv)

Notes

Psalm titles are printed as the start of verse 1.

About

The 1611 Authorised Version of the Church of England, here in the standard 1769 text with its Apocrypha. It translates the Hebrew Masoretic Old Testament and the Greek Textus Receptus New Testament. For centuries it was the English Bible of the Protestant world.

Strengths

Enormous literary and historical influence
NT text (TR) is a Byzantine-type text close to the Church's traditional Greek
Includes the Apocrypha in this edition

Things to know

Archaic English
OT follows the Hebrew, not the Septuagint the Orthodox Church reads
Apocrypha placed in a separate section, reflecting the Protestant view that these books are not canonical
TR includes a few readings absent from most Greek manuscripts (e.g. 1 John 5:7-8 'three witnesses in heaven')

Profile checked 2026-10-17.

Books in this edition (80 books)

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Prayer of Manasseh O (C) (P), 1 Esdras O (C) (P), Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit O C (P), Judith O C (P), Esther (Greek) O C (P), Esther, 1 Maccabees O C (P), 2 Maccabees O C (P), Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon O C (P), Sirach O C (P), Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch O C (P), Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three (O) (C) (P), Susanna (O) (C) (P), Bel and the Dragon (O) (C) (P), 2 Esdras (4 Ezra) (O) (C) (P), Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation

Not in this edition: 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, Psalm 151, Odes

Letters show which canons include a book: O Orthodox, C Catholic, P Protestant (in brackets: printed as Apocrypha or in an appendix).

Publisher's statement

King James Version + Apocrypha
The King James Version or Authorized Version of the Holy Bible, using the standardized text of 1769, with Apocrypha/Deuterocanon
Public Domain
Language: English
Dialect: archaic British
Letters patent issued by King James with no expiration date means that to print this translation in the United Kingdom or import printed copies into the UK, you need permission. Currently, the Cambridge University Press, the Oxford University Press, and Collins have the exclusive right to print this Bible translation in the UK. This royal decree has no effect outside of the UK, where this work is firmly in the Public Domain. Please see http://www.cambridge.org/about-us/who-we-are/queens-printers-patent and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version#Copyright_status for more information.
This free text of the King James Version of the Holy Bible is brought to you courtesy of the Crosswire Bible Society and eBible.org .
2026-09-26

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