Jesus’ Baptism Tag

In 1611, when King James enlisted Greek and Hebrew scholars to translate the Bible into the King James Version English, the translators stumbled when they came upon the word “baptize.” They knew it meant to immerse, but they also knew their boss, King James, had been sprinkled, so they were between a rock and a hard place. If they translated the word “baptize” as “sprinkle” or “pour” they would have been ridiculed by the academic community because there are other Greek words that mean “sprinkle” or “pour.” But if they translated “baptize” as “immerse” they would have been inferring that the King was not properly baptized. So rather than translating the word “baptize,” they just transliterated it, and for the first time, “baptize” became an English word.