The Bible in the King's English?

I received my first Bible at the time of my confirmation.  It was a Revised Standard Version.  It served me well all the way through high school and I took it along when I started college.  In the late sixties I picked up my first copy of the American Bible Society's Good News for Modern Man.  It was the first paperback Bible I had seen.  GNFMM proved serviceable during my first years in youth ministry, but was soon replaced with The Living Bible, a contemporary paraphrase.  It was actually one of my teens that brought TLB to my attention. That eventually led to a meeting with the Board of Elders at the church I was serving at that time.  They were not sure of a Bible in contemporary language was appropriate.  I assured them that it was an important tool in making God's Word relevant to teens.  In the late eighties I started using the New International Version.  To this day my personal Bible is a Thompson's Chain Reference NIV Bible.  All the study helps make it an important resource in my writing ministry.  For devotional reading I prefer The Message, a contemporary paraphrase.

A report I read last week made me realize I am in the minority.  While the NIV Bible still is the best selling translation it way behind the King James Version when it came to the Bible most Christians preferred.  The report was published as part of the Bible in American Life project of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.  19% of American Christians reported they used the NIV as their personal Bible, compared to 55% who used the KJV.   All other translations and paraphrases came in with less that 10%.  I am not surprised but still a little disheartened by the news.  While I still enjoy hearing the Christmas story read in the King's English, I also am aware that most people don't talk that way.  When was the last time you used the word "espoused" or "lineage." The KJV was originally written in 1611, and even attempts to make it contemporary come up short.

I have a Bible app on my smart phone.  I am able to read the Bible in over thirty different versions, including the Orthodox Jewish Version.  With all those options, I have to wonder why people still cling to the KJV.  My take is that it is part of tradition, or maybe a level of comfort.  I am also concerned about the degree that they are actually using the scriptures for personal Bible study.  We tend to be creatures of habit who cling to rituals.  Is that the case with our Bibles as well?  A bigger questions for me is: How does it impact our ability to share God's message with our contemporary culture.   I used The Living Bible because teens in the seventies could relate to it.  As a back-up I used my trusty Revised Standard or New International Versions.  It is no different today in trying to reach the millennial generation.  Use a scripture that they can relate to.  Is it the King James Version?