Lancelot Andrewes
2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. One of the translators was Lancelet Andrewes (1555-1626), James I's favourite preacher, who was made Bishop of Winchester in 1626 . The translation was done in teams and Andrewes' team was responsible for Genesis - Kings 2. Andrewes' own translation includes the beautiful phrases:
"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
T.S.Eliot was so inspired by Andrewes' poetic vision that he quoted one of his sermons in his poem The Journey of the Magi:
'A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.'
posted by Whispering Walls at 9:31 am
3 Comments:
I'm sure, dear WW, that like just about everyone else, you bought and read The New English Bibble when it came out all those years ago.
And like 99.9% of the population, you thought it a VERY poor imitation of the King James.
Quite apart from anything else, the language is so stunningly pure that it lives and breathes belief.
Meaningful, WW.
Yes indeed KL.
Bonne Annee, ED!
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