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	February 2004				The Making of the English Bible by Benson Bobrick, Phoenix Press 2003. RRP $23
		Book Review The Making of the English Bible reviewed by Philip Blake
			Today we tend to take our English Bible for granted. Every now and again a new translation or a paraphrase in idiomatic English appears. The purpose of this may be to increase our understanding of the original or to emphasise a particular kind of interpretation. It was not always like this. Benson Bobrick in his excellent survey of the steps and stumbling which led up to the production of the English Bible guides the reader painstakingly through the traumatic pangs of birth and growth. It used to be argued that since the titulus which Pilate had fastened to the cross was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, only versions of scripture in those languages were acceptable! So the Greek (Septuagint) and Latin (Vulgate) were appropriate, but not English. Such a translation would debase Holy Writ. Political Benson Bobrick leads us through the translations of John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale and others to the eventual production of the Authorised Version. This covered a period of some 300 years and was marked by much misunderstanding, persecution and political manoeuvring. It included the periods of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation and the reigns of several royal lines. Ultimately the course of action which set in motion the formation of the committee which drafted the Authorised or King James' Version was almost an afterthought. At the Hampton Court Conference in 1604 which ostensibly sought to listen to Puritan objections to Church polity, the new translation was proposed and accepted. For whatever reasons, the outcome produced a version which would really replace all other versions and would still be held in high respect hundreds of years later. A miracle In a very useful Appendix Bobrick compares significant Biblical passages from Anglo-Saxon times, through the various versions to the production of the Authorised Version. He does not attempt to do more than refer to more recent translations. This is a valuable and readable book and ought to be essential reading for all involved in ministry of any kind. We can only value what we have when we appreciate what it has cost in people's lives, determination and hard scholarly work. It was a miracle that the Authorised Version ever appeared. Without it our literature would be the poorer and our understanding of liberty lessened.