Where and How Did the
Translators Do Their Work?
The King James Bible translators worked at three locations: Oxford and Cambridge, the only two universities in England at that time, and Westminster Abbey in London. The translators were divided into six companies or committees, with two companies at each site.
The entire Bible was divided into six parts and each part was assigned to a company. At each location, one company translated a portion of the Old Testament, primarily from Hebrew, and the other company translated a portion of the New Testament or the Apocrypha, primarily from Greek.
The translation project was organized by Richard Bancroft, bishop of London and subsequently archbishop of Canterbury. His instructions to the translators describe an orderly process, although we don’t know how well the actual project matched the plan in every respect. Each company was to meet frequently to go over its translation, with finished sections circulated for review. At the end of the project, a single committee was to revise the overall result.
Watch a video interview about what we know (and don’t know) about the translators’ work: Reconstructing the Process
David Loggan. Oxonia illustrata, sive Omnium celeberrimæ istius universitatis collegiorum. Oxford, 1675. Folger Shakespeare Library.
