"In one point, however, he yielded to the ob noxious Puritans, notwithstanding the protests of the bishops. This was the revision of the Bishops' Bible, which had, from Queen Elizabeth's time, been used in all the churches of England, while the Geneva Bible of 156° was the favorite version of the common people in their families.
"Dr. Reynolds, the real mover of the enterprise, is described by Anthony Wood as a prodigious scholar, who 'had turned over all writers, pro fane, ecclesiastical, and divine, all the councils, fathers, and histories of the Church.' He was commissioned as one of the translators of the com pany which had in charge the prophetical books of the Old Testament ; but he died in May, 1607, four years before the publication of the work.
"The king was not slow in making prepara tions. In July of the same year he commissioned fifty-four dignitaries and scholars, who had been selected by some unknown but, no doubt, compe tent authority, to carry out the revision, and di rected Bancroft, who in the meantime had be come archbishop of Canterbury, to make provis ion for the compensation of the translators by church preferment. He divided them into six classes, who were to meet at Westminster (Lon don), Cambridge, and Oxford, two classes in each place." Although the number of translators appointed was 54, only 47 were actually engaged in the work.
The following are the rules which were com posed to govern them in their labors: "(1) The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called 'The Bishops' Bible,' to be fol lowed, and as little altered as the truth of the original will permit.
"(2) The names of the prophets and the holy writers, with the other names of the text, to be retained as nigh as may be, accordingly as they were vulgarly used.
"(3) The old ecclesiastical words to be kept ; viz.: the word church not to be translated congre gation, etc.
"(4) When a word hath divers significations, that to be kept which bath been most commonly used by the most ancient fathers, being agreeable to the propriety of the place and the analogy of the faith.
"(5) The division of the chapters to be altered either not at all or as little as may be, if neces sity so require.
"(6) No marginal notes at all to be affixed. but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words which cannot, without some circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be preserved in the text, "(7) Such quotations of places to be originally set down as shall serve for the fit reference of one Scripture to another.
"(8) Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or chapters ; and having translated or amended them severally by himself where he thinketh good, all to meet together, con fer what they have done, and agree for their parts what shall stand.
"(9) As any one company hath despatched any one book in this manner, they shall send to the rest to be considered of seriously and judiciously; for His Majesty is very careful in this point.
"(1o) If any company, upon the review of the book so sent, doubt or differ upon any place, to send them word thereof, note the place, and withal send the reasons ; to which if they consent not, the difference to be compounded at the general meeting, which is to be of the chief persons of each company at the end of the work.
"(i i) When any place of special obscurity is doubted of, letters to be directed by authority to send to any learned man in the land for his judg ment of such a place.
"(12) Letters to be sent from every bishop to the rest of his clergy, admonishing them of this translation in hand, and to move and charge as many as being skillful in the tongues, and having taken pains in that kind, to send his particular ob servations to the company either at Westminster. Cambridge, or Oxford.
"(13) The directors in each company to be the deans of Westminster and Chester for that place, and the king's professors of Hebrew and Greek in either university.
"(14) These translations to be used when they agree better with the text than the Bishops' Bible: Tyndale's, Matthew's (Rogers'), Cover dale's, Whitchurch's (Cranmer's), Geneva.
"(15) Besides the said directors before men tioned, three or four of the most ancient and grave divines in either of the universities, not employed in translating, to be assigned by the vice-chancellor, upon conference with the rest of the heads, to be overseers of the translations, as well Hebrew as Greek, for the better observation of the fourth rule above specified." How closely these rules were followed it is impossible to say. A passing remark of Selden furnishes nearly all that can now be known of what may be termed the private history of our English Bible : "The translation in King James' time took an excellent way. That part of the Bible was given to him who was most excellent in such a tongue, and then they met together, and one read the translation, the rest holding in their hands some Bible, either of the learned tongues, or French, Spanish, Italian, etc. If they found any fault, they spoke; if not, he read on."—Table Talk. When the revision was completed, three copies of the whole Bible were sent (to London) —one from Cambridge, a second from Oxford, and a third from Westminster—where they were committed to six persons, two from each company, who reviewed the whole. This final revision lasted nine months. The work was at last given up to the printer, Robert Barker ; the proofs were read by Dr. Thomas Bilson, bishop of Winchester, and Dr. Myles Smith (appointed bishop of Glou cester in 1612).