God’s Secretaries

The Making of the King James Bible

De: Adam Nicolson

Narrado por: Clive Chafer

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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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

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.

Poor performance ruins the book

I could only listen to this for about an hour or so before the narrator’s read about brought me to tears.
I really wanted to hear this as the subject matter is most interesting to me but I’ll have to buy it again as a physical book 😏

Interesting, good historical content, dryly read

The first thing that immediately stood out to me was in the reading of this book. The man has a very nice accent and is very articulate. However, his voice is monotonous in this reading and the flavor is dry. To be clear this is not meant as an insult and I believe the performer is an excellent reader.
The author did a fine job of presenting the historical evidence for the book in a very objective manner, which is difficult to come by for books of spiritual and religious matters. I may object as to the truth or validity of the author’s personal comments at the end of the book, but it was evident that there was separation between this personal exposé and the rest of the book.
I enjoyed it and will listed a second time to get more of the information. It is not, however, a complete story of how the Bible was manufactured, but does an excellent job of illustrating how the King James Version came to be.

Wonderful

I appreciate the intensive scholarship. The ending is for me intellectually and spiritually exciting. My thanks to the author.

Entertaining and well-researched

Lots of colorful characters, not dull academics translated the KJV. Narrator keeps it interesting.

Very good history of the King James Bible

It is a tedious read but very informative.
I have a new found respect for King James & the translators.

I must admit I have not finished the book yet but I do enjoy listening to it. It is a great study of world history at the time.