James I, who was already James VI of Scotland, became king of England in 1603. He was responsible for the English translation of the Bible, published in 1611, that bears his name. Of the poetic versions of the psalms of David, none is more frequently used or more dearly loved than Psalm 23. The King James Version of Psalm 23 is in six verses and uses 118 words. The 1650 Scottish Psalter version is in five verses with 114 words.
Nothing is taken away, nothing is added.
Crimond, the tune most frequently found with this psalm text, was composed by Jessie Seymour Irvine in 1871. It is named for the village in Scotland where she wrote the tune and where her father was minister for 30 years. The singing of this text and tune at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1947, and the following year at the wedding anniversary of King George and Queen Elizabeth, made it very popular through the media of radio and television.