The KJV Audio Bible

Elizabeth Whitworth

I’m recording the King James Version of the Bible, one chapter at a time. The KJV is renowned for its linguistic beauty, and the New Testament of the KJV is based on the Received Text, which I believe is the most trustworthy and original text of the New Testament books. There’s a certain power in reading Bible books as a whole. Bible-in-a-year plans are great, but they have a few pitfalls: (1) They typically chop the Bible up into unnatural parts (readings from several books each day). This makes it harder to understand each book and remember it distinctly. (2) If it’s not January 1, we aren’t likely to start a Bible-in-a-year reading plan. Every day is an excellent day to start reading the Bible. (3) At the end of the year — once we’ve completed reading the whole Bible — we might think we’re “done.” Our goal shouldn’t simply be to read the whole Bible; our goal should be to read the whole Bible and to read the Bible every day of our life. We’re never done.

  1. EPISODE 2

    Genesis 2

    Genesis 2 provides an account of creation from a second perspective, focusing specifically on the creation of humans and the garden of Eden. The chapter begins by describing how God rested on the seventh day after completing the work of creation, blessing and sanctifying it as a holy day of rest, set apart from the others. It then provides a more detailed account of how God formed man (Adam) from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him. God planted a garden in Eden as a perfect home for the man and placed him there to work it and care for it. The garden had all kinds of beautiful trees that provided food, including two special trees in the center: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God commanded Adam that he may eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, warning that, if he ate from it, he would "surely die." Four rivers flowed out from Eden, which are described with their geographic contexts. God observed that it was not good for the man to be alone and made a suitable help meet for him. God brought all the animals to Adam to name, but none was a suitable companion. Then God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs, and from it created a woman. When Adam saw her, he joyfully recognized her as "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" and called her "woman" because she was taken out of man. The chapter concludes with the statement that this is why a man leaves his parents and is united with his wife, becoming one flesh. It notes that the man and woman were both naked and felt no shame.

    4 min
  2. EPISODE 3

    Genesis 3

    Genesis 3 is the account of the rebellion of humanity, when sin first entered the world. The serpent, described as "more subtil than any beast of the field," approached Eve in the garden of Eden and questioned God's command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent told Eve that eating the fruit wouldn't cause death but would make them like God, knowing good and evil. Eve saw that the fruit looked good, desired its wisdom, and ate it. She then gave some to Adam, who also ate it. Their eyes were opened, they realized they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together in an effort to cover themselves. When they heard God walking in the garden, Adam and Eve hid. God called out to them, and Adam admitted they hid because they were naked and afraid. God asked if they ate from the forbidden tree. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. In Genesis 2, God had said that they would "surely die" if they ate from that tree. In Genesis 3, He described the curse that was to be the indirect consequence of humanity's rebellion: The serpent was cursed to crawl on its belly and eat dust, with enmity between it and the woman's offspring. The woman would experience pain in childbirth and be ruled by her husband. The man would toil amid thorns and thistles to produce food, eventually dying (returning to dust). God made garments out of animal skins for Adam and Eve to wear. God expelled them from Eden to prevent them from eating from the tree of life and living forever in their sinful and fallen state (with the curse). God placed cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

    4 min

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About

I’m recording the King James Version of the Bible, one chapter at a time. The KJV is renowned for its linguistic beauty, and the New Testament of the KJV is based on the Received Text, which I believe is the most trustworthy and original text of the New Testament books. There’s a certain power in reading Bible books as a whole. Bible-in-a-year plans are great, but they have a few pitfalls: (1) They typically chop the Bible up into unnatural parts (readings from several books each day). This makes it harder to understand each book and remember it distinctly. (2) If it’s not January 1, we aren’t likely to start a Bible-in-a-year reading plan. Every day is an excellent day to start reading the Bible. (3) At the end of the year — once we’ve completed reading the whole Bible — we might think we’re “done.” Our goal shouldn’t simply be to read the whole Bible; our goal should be to read the whole Bible and to read the Bible every day of our life. We’re never done.

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