Making the Bible known
Our Vision

“A TRANSFORMED PHILIPPINES THROUGH GOD’S WORD”

The BIBLE is manual to life for all Filipinos and in every Filipino home

so that lives are transformed resulting in national righteousness,
economic sufficiency, social peace,
public justice, and God-fearing citizenry.

Our Mission

“MAKING THE BIBLE KNOWN”

We exist to achieve the widest possible
effective and meaningful distribution
of the Holy Scriptures

  • In languages that people understand
  • In media and formats that meet people’s needs, and
  • At prices that people can afford providing everyone the opportunity to pray, give, volunteer and engage with the Word of God.


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Philippine Bible Society, Inc.
890 United Nations Avenue
Ermita, Manila 1000
Philippines
+63 (2) 522-4532 loc. 156
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How legal is the King James Version's claim to be the authorized version? PDF Print E-mail
Answer:

The King James Version was translated in England during the reign of James I (who became king in 1603). At that time there were two English Bibles being used: the Bishop's Bible (primarily used by church leaders), and the Geneva Bible (primarily used by the ordinary people). In January 1604, James I called a conference of theologians and church leaders. One of the actions of the conference was for a new translation of the Bible to replace the two Bibles.

The translation team was composed of 54 scholars divided into six groups: 3 for the Old Testament, 2 for the New Testament, and 1 for the Apocrypha (which includes the Deuterocanonicals). The translation was published in 1611. This first edition was revised many times; the most comprehensive revision was by Benjamin Blayney of Oxford in 1769.

Because this Bible was translated through the intervention of the King, it came to be known as the Authorized Version, which means that it was authorized by the King and by the Parliament of England. However, there is no record that the King or Parliament ever gave approval to this translation! The term "authorized version" continues to be used of this revision of the King James, until today.

by Dr. Daniel C. Arichea, Jr.
A former Translation Consultant of the United Bible Societies (UBS), Dr. Arichea is also PBS' Honorary Translation Consultant. Retired Bishop of the United Methodist Church Baguio Episcopal Area in the Philippines.