The Wall Street Journal published on Friday a good essay by Norte Dame history professor Mark Knoll on the King James Version of the Bible. (Hat tip: Dunker Journal.)
Because the KJV was so widely read for religious purposes, it had also become a source of public ideals. Because it was so central in the churches, and because the churches were so central to the culture, the KJV functioned also as a common reservoir for the language.
. . . .
[N]early universal use . . . meant that its spiritual themes of reproof and liberation, its stories of human sin and divine grace, . . . exerted a great influence for good.
