Illuminations

Coincidence?

Did Shakespeare translate Psalm 46 in the King James Bible?

William Shakespeare knew his Bible well. About that there is no disagreement.

But is it possible that he translated Psalm 46 in the King James Version?

The King James Version was translated by a committee of scholars between 1604 and 1611. In 1610 Shakespeare was 46 years old. (He was born in 1564.) If he translated a psalm in the King James Version when he was 46 years old, he might be expected to give us a clue in Psalm 46.

If you count the words of Psalm 46 as translated in the King James Version, you will find that the 46th word is “shake.” If you count backwards from the end of Psalm 46, you will find that the 46th word is “spear.”

Is it possible that in his 46th year, Shakespeare translated Psalm 46 and gave us a secret clue by making, the 46th word from the beginning “shake” and the 46th word from the end “spear”?

If Shakespeare didn’t translate Psalm 46, did he edit it after it was translated? Or is all this just a coincidence?

(Thanks to BR reader Bill Ickes of Berlin, Pennsylvania, for providing this information.)