In actuality, the KJV was the 3rd English translation in an 80 year period. And it was allegedly taken on to correct inaccuracies in the previous two. But, as you correctly point out, all translations should be somewhat suspect in that whoever requested or sponsored each version had reasons to change language in such a way that it would promote certain values or historical events to suit their purposes.

Also, the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic scrolls were written in the language of the day when certain words had very different meanings and/or connotations, by human hand, years after the events, and without punctuation or capitalization. To take any version literally is the height of naivety.