It has been described as the single most important publication in whole of history.

A series of events are underway to mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. This was the version of the Holy Bible published in 1611, known as the King James' version. In the first decade of the 17th century, it took the new King James from Scotland to hammer out a Bible that endured. "It is one of the first British things to be made," said Glasgow-born Neil MacGregor, fresh from his work with A History of the World in 100 Objects. "It was made by the whole island to be used by the whole island." Now it is used by the whole globe. The last Harry Potter book sold 44 million - the Bible has sold 2.5 billion some say, or six billion, say others. The Authorized Version today is not the text published in 1611. Hundreds of changes in vocabulary, grammar, spelling and punctuation have been made.

In honour of this anniversary, we are planning a series of events to celebrate the Bible in English. Scheduled events will include lectures and an exhibit of ancient Bibles and biblical manuscripts.