Lived: 1566 - 1625
King James was the first King of both England and Scotland, he was responsible for bringing together previously divided areas of the country through his skillful handling of the Gunpowder Plot and the commission of a new Bible in English.
The Authorised Version (or King James Version) is the Bible of the British Establishment and was originally published (in part) to head off challenges to the royal authority of King James I.
James developed his own view on the divine right of kings while ruling Scotland, where he opposed the democratic system of church government proposed by the Presbyterians.
Important Verses
The Authorised Version combined a number of previous Bible translations including the Bishops Bible and the more liberal Geneva Bible.
One Geneva footnote that particularly concerned King James related to 2 Chronicles 15.16, which stated that the King should have executed his lawless mother. James saw that as a personal attack on both him and his own mother, Mary Queen of Scots, who had previously been executed for treason under Elizabeth I.
