FOR a book forged in the fire of the English reformation and stained with the blood of various battles down the ages, the King James Bible has survived otherwise intact over four centuries. This month, the translation celebrates its 400th anniversary, and the majestic power and the glory of its language, the transcendently grave and beauteous rhythms that permeate its pages, remain evocative and enduring: there is fair argument that the greatest story ever told should also be the greatest ever written.
As The Age's religion editor, Barney Zwartz, points out today, the King James is possibly even more important in literary than religious terms. Even Richard Dawkins - an atheist, to whom this book should be anathema - has described it as ''a precious English heritage'', but essentially a literary one.
Yet, it is still a wonder that the King James Bible ever achieved universal success. The obstacles to becoming a best seller were formidable: it was commissioned as a compromise solution at a religious conference; it was written in archaic prose; and it was translated by committee. As Adam Nicholson asks in his history of the King James, ''How did this group of near-anonymous divines, muddled, drunk, self-serving, ruthless and obsequious, manage to bring off this astonishing translation, which has never been bettered?''
Well, somehow, they did; the English-speaking world owes these 54 divines considerable debt. As English phraseology becomes further tortured and twisted by Twitter and text, the heavenly length and linguistic inspirations of the translation of 1611 have embedded themselves so naturally into common usage, their provenance is often disregarded. Linguist David Crystal has identified 257 popular expressions directly attributed to the King James translation. They include: ''know for certain'', ''eat, drink and be merry'', ''flesh and blood'' and ''labour of love''. The last of these could be said to be a true reflection of the endeavours of the anonymous translators.
The crucial question, sad but inevitable, is the diminishing importance of the King James Bible in modern society. For a book designed to be read, heard and comprehended, its original purpose has been overtaken by a liturgy that increasingly relies on personal reading, as well as overtaken by more modern, less successful and more clunky, translations. What cannot be taken away, though, is the effect the King James has had over 400 years on our thought and expression.