Exhibition celebrates the King James Bible

As one sacred text gets more complicated, another, praised for bringing the 'word of God' to the layman 400 years ago, is being celebrated. An original King James Bible, published in 1611 when the translation was first released, is on display at an unlikely venue - Sha Tin's New Town Plaza.

It's part of Oxford University Press' 50th anniversary exhibition, displaying original world classics and other bestsellers until May 2.

The King James Bible is widely credited with bringing the holy book to the English-speaking masses at a time when the printing press was a recent invention and formal schooling was non-existent. It took 50 scholars seven years to put it together.

'It was the very first standard version of the English Bible for the English-speaking world,' said Craig Ho, associate professor of religion and philosophy at Baptist University.

It was still the most common English Bible in the 1960s. It influenced the Chinese Union Bible published in 1919, used by most local churches - plus the majority of the world's 70 million Chinese Christians. A team of 30 international scholars completed the 27-year feat of revising the Chinese Union Bible last year.

The King James Bible's influence goes beyond the church. Its writings are also woven into the fabric of the English language. 'An eye for an eye', 'no peace for the wicked' and 'God forbid' are all phrases originating from the text.