For sheer poetry, especially in the Psalms, the KJV is hard to beat. But the KJV can also be delightfully quirky.
For example, a few months ago at church our bible class was studying the book of James. During one of the classes my friend Kregg, who is also fond of the KJV, read aloud this passage from James 1.21:
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.Goodness, translation-wise it doesn't get any better than superfluity of naughtiness. I keep trying to figure out how to use this phrase...
"Boys, your mother and I are going out. While we are gone I don't want any superfluity of naughtiness."
"Class, during the test I don't want any cheating or superfluity of naughtiness. Keep your eyes on your own test."
BTW, if you're interested in reading or using the KJV let me recommend to you the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible. It is very difficult to get a KJV in a paragraph format. This edition gives you that. Plus, this edition removes the italics font from the KJV (which I find distracting) and adds quotation marks to set off dialog (unlike the original KJV which uses capital letters to set off dialog). Finally, this edition updates archaic spellings. You can also get it with the Apocrypha. All in all, the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible is the best reader's version of the KJV on the market.
