Revised Version (English Revised Version)

The first official modern revision of the King James Bible, breaking away from Textus Receptus to embrace 4th-century codices (Vaticanus & Sinaiticus).

Historical Sources & Antecedents

What Texts and Translations Did This Version Use?

The foundational manuscripts, earlier translations, and polyglots consulted during compilation.

1611 ADdirect revision

King James Version (Authorized Version)

The 1881 Revised Version was the first official authorized revision of the 1611 King James Bible in English history.

Approx. 80% textual contribution

350 ADancient manuscript basis

Codex Sinaiticus

Westcott and Hort used Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus to depart from the KJV's Textus Receptus in over 5,000 readings.

325 ADancient manuscript basis

Codex Vaticanus (Graecus 1209)

Codex Vaticanus served as the premier manuscript witness for the textual changes introduced in the Revised Version.

Subsequent Lineage & Revisions

Who In The Future Used This Translation?

Modern revisions, authorized successors, and descendants shaped by this text.

1901 ADdirect revision

American Standard Version

The American Standard Version was the American edition of the 1881 Revised Version, incorporating the preferences of the American scholars.

Curatorial Commentary

Historical Context & Textual Significance

Initiated by the Convocation of Canterbury in 1870, a joint British and American committee of over 50 scholars undertook the first authorized revision of the KJV in 270 years. Led textually by Cambridge scholars B.F. Westcott and F.J.A. Hort, the translators utilized the newly accessible Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, abandoning the Textus Receptus in over 5,000 New Testament variants (such as omitting the Comma Johanneum in 1 John 5:7 and bracketing the ending of Mark). The New Testament release in London on May 17, 1881 sold over one million copies in its first week.

Textual Legacy & Impact:

Pioneered the transition from Textus Receptus to modern critical Greek scholarship in public Bible translation; direct mother text to the ASV, RSV, and ESV.

Where Can You View Original Surviving Copies Today?

Known physical copies preserved in world archives and library vaults.

Cambridge University Library

Oxford University Press Archive