David Norton has recently re-edited the King James Bible for Cambridge University and this book arises from his intensive work on that project. He reveals here how the text of the most important Bible in the English language was made, and how it was changed by printers and editors until it became the text we know today in 1769. Using material as diverse as the manuscripts of the original translators, and the results of extensive computer collation of electronically held texts, Norton has produced a scholarly edition of the King James Bible that will restore the authority of the 1611 translation. This book includes the bible's fascinating background, Norton's editorial principles and substantial lists and tables of variant readings. It will be indispensable to scholars of the English Bible, literature, and publishing history. A website with additional resources (www.cambridge.org/kjv) will be available one month prior to publication.