King James Version
                Is it the best?

Will God preserve his word only through one particular tradition and one particular Bible translation? Does God work through translators in 1611 but not today?

The KJV is a great Bible. Beautiful language. But it is hard to understand. It is written in medieval formal language. It is not written in the language spoken by any English speaking societies today. Now, when the Bible is read in a language that is not the main language of the reader, misinterpretations occur and it is hard to recognize the true meaning of the text. This is where heresies begin! Of course, this is the reason that the Bible was translated into English in the first place.

Contrary to what many teachers lead their students to believe, the KJV was actually
NOT the first English version! The first English Bible was the Tyndale Bible.  The KJV was written because King James (The Son of Mary Queen of Scots, who put many Protestants to death) and his religious leaders did not care for the margin notes of the Geneva Bible.  The Geneva Bible was the most widely used Bible at that time.  The fact is that the King James Version arrived amid controversy, just like the modern translations have, because it was, in its time, a new translation! 'Our Old Bibles are good enough!' argued the supporters for the Geneva Bible. Since the KJV makes changes to the Geneva Bible, one could rightly argue that the KJV has many 'omissions'!  The KJV is not the Backbone of Christianity! Jesus Christ is! The KJV was not used by the early settlers of this nation. The Bible which was used by the Puritan Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower, was the Geneva Version! Remember the reason these Pilgrims came to this nation.  They came because they felt religious oppression  in England. King James told them how to worship God, and what Bible translation to use! Of course the immigrants who came over, after the Pilgrims carried the KJV; they had no choice....it was the Bible of the realm! The official Government Bible.

Likewise, there are some teachers and preachers today, who insist on using only the King James Version of the Bible. These same teachers and preachers instead must interpret the meaning of the scriptures for their congregations. They read a passage, and then say, "now this means..."
Much like the Catholic Church did with Latin scriptures, for hundreds of years. This keeps the congregation dependant on their teacher.

There are also many Bible students who prefer the King James Version, because they enjoy looking up the meanings of words; they read their Bible with a Strong's Concordance and a dictionary to translate every word! They want to find that special secrete that other Christians throughout history must have surely missed! Although they have not learned the Greek or Hebrew language; which takes years to become proficient. So, they must trust their own limited understanding of Greek and Hebrew; and the limitations of the Strong's and other Bible dictionaries.  They trust their pastor and themselves more than Mr. Taylor,  a true Greek and Hebrew scholar, who translated the Living Bible; or the hundreds of educated Bible scholars who worked on the modern English translations!

In some cases, I believe the insistence on the KJV, is a matter of pride. Some take pride in feeling that they are able to understand what others, seemingly do not. This is very much like the Pharisees, in Jesus's time. And in fact, that pride clogs up the ears, so that they are truly unable to understand true salvation; which is the gospel of Jesus Christ.


There was once a famous missionary who went to Germany, after the war, to speak to a group of Christian intellectuals. This group took great pride in their "wisdom", and felt that they were much more profound in their theology, than the missionary. So, they often interrupted her sermons by pelting her with questions on biblical interpretation. So, on her last visit with them, the missionary brought them some Dutch chocolate. Since chocolate was very rare after the war, they eagerly accepted the gift! When she stood to address them, she said, "no one has said anything to me about the chocolate!" The group disagreed, saying that they had thanked her profusely for the treat.. "I did not mean that," said the missionary; "I mean not one questioned me about it. No one asked whether it had been manufactured in Holland or Germany, what quantities it contained of cocoa, sugar, milk, or vitamins. Instead of analyzing it, you just ate it. It is the same with the Bible.  If you try to analyze it as a book of science or even a book of theology, you cannot be nourished by it. Like chocolate, it is to be eaten and enjoyed, not picked apart bit by bit." 

Every child of God, who wishes to please the Lord, should be very careful about the KJV only question.  They should pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, and do some investigating. Do not just take the words of KJV only advocates! Read the other side, of the debate, check history books, sources..ect....don't rely on someone else that you think is more "learned" than you are!

All false teachers set themselves up as more "knowledgeable" than the average Bible student. They strive to convince others that they hold the key to unlocking the scriptures. When in truth, Jesus Christ says that he is the only way to the truth; that the scriptures all point to Him--He IS the living Word! 

Since these teachers are much more "knowledgeable", of course they insist on using the KJV only.  They explain that it is because the KJV is much more accurate than the modern translations; but in truth, it is because the KJV is much easier to twist!  Then when the false teacher begins to throw in the meanings of the words in the "original languages"; well this impressive display of knowledge seals in the student's mind the idea that they are following one of the truly gifted teachers in the world! Remember, my friend, Satan also promised Eve greater knowledge!! Be careful. Trust no man. Trust only the Holy Spirit to give you truth. Check out all teachings, not only using the sources and tools suggested by your favorite teacher, but others that he says are bad! 

Read the modern translations to see for yourself what they say. I came across a site that said that the modern translations "omitted" the blood of Jesus 15 times! But when I checked the modern translations for the verses, which the site said the blood was omitted from, I found it to be a complete and total lie! I checked the NIV, NLT, NKJV, YLT, LB, RSV, WEB, NASB, TWB, and the Blood is NOT OMITTED in ANY of the verses, except Colossians 1:14, and even then, it is NOT "OMITTED" in the LB, NKJV, NLT, YLT, or WEB!!

To say that it is "omitted" is really an ignorant thing to say anyway. Different translations naturally use different words. If the word "Dios" is used in a Spanish translation, does that mean that I have "omitted" "God" from the Bible?  "Dios" is the Spanish word for God. So, of course I would use the Spanish version of the word. That is what modern translations do. They use the common language of the common man, so that he can understand what is being talked about. Do you see? Different translations use different words to say the same thing. When translating the Bible into modern language, is it fair to say that words have been "omitted"? Look at it this way, One could turn the tables and see what doctrine is 'corrupted'; see what is "omitted" in the KJV; by comparing the KJV to  the modern translations.

Consider this verse:
'Who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Thy Servant, didst say, why do the gentiles rage and the peoples devise futile things?'(Acts 4:25 NASB)

'Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?' (Acts 4:25 KJV)

Dear reader  did you see what the KJV "omitted"? It was the words, 'by the Holy Spirit'! The KJV translators attack the doctrine of Holy Spirit inspiration?!!

Also the cross-reference to the following verse is 'destroyed' in the KJV above.

'The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.' (2 Samuel 23:2 KJV)

The words, 'by the Holy Spirit,' speak of the means of the Divine inspiration of the Word of God. It was the Holy Spirit Himself who spoke through David, 'the sweet psalmist of Israel' (2 Samuel 23:1; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

Must we therefore conclude that the King James Version 'ATTACKS' the doctrine of the inspiration of Holy Scripture? That is "omits" the Holy Spirit?!

Not anymore than we should claim modern translations attack Christian doctrines ! The doctrine of Holy Spirit inspiration of scripture, is plainly taught in the KJV at such passages as 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:21. Even in the verse quoted above, in Acts 4; the prior vs. 24 states that 'GOD' spoke through David. . But since we are told in other passages that the Scriptures were given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (the third Person of the Trinity), Acts 4:25 in the NASB (& NIV, Amplified) makes a clearer (if not even stronger) case for this truth.

And just take a look in Jude 25, we have a case where the KJV "omits'" 'Jesus Christ our Lord'!!

'To the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now forever. Amen.' (Jude 25 NASB)

'To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.' (Jude 25 KJV)

Here in Jude 25, not only are the words,  "through Jesus Christ our Lord," "omitted" in the TR/KJV, but also the words, 'before all time' have been 'left out'!
'many 'omissions'!

Here is a brief history of the KJV. In 1516 a Roman Catholic scholar and priest, Desiderius Erasmus, published the first printed edition of the Greek New Testament. Over the course of his lifetime four more editions would come out, each differing in various ways from the other. Erasmus's text was widely published and relatively inexpensive, so was easily obtainable. Robert Estienne, better known by his Latin name, Stephanus, continued Erasmus's work. Theodore Beza, who succeeded Calvin in Geneva, used Estienne's work. Beza produced a number of editions of the Greek New Testament. All of these editions  the five of Erasmus, Stephanus's text (primarily his 1550 edition), and Beza's editions  were available to the King James translators while they labored between 1604 and 1611. Since these editions differed at various points, the translators also played the role of textual critics, weighing the various readings and making decisions as it seemed best to them, just as modern editors and translators do!

One needs to realize that the King James New Testament text did not exist in that exact form prior to 1611! That is, there is no family of manuscripts, or even a single manuscript that reads exactly as the King James New Testament! Even it has changed slightly over the years!

The KJV translators recognized that no single manuscript should be elevated to the status of the 'standard,' but that each manuscript contained variations and that the true and original text was best found by finding the points in which the texts agree. Regardless, a few decades AFTER the publication of the KJV, an advertisement appeared for the printed edition of the Greek texts of the Erasmus-Stephanus-Beza that claimed, as advertisements do, that it represented the 'text received by all.' In Latin this phrase boiled down to the "Textus Receptus", and hence an advertising blurb became associated with the texts from which the KJV was translated!

'Study to show thyself approved'...
Read the examples, and check them out, yourself. Research the texts of Erasmus,  which were used by the KJV translators, and the methods that Erasmus used. You will be surprized see that he actually added things, for convenience sake; because he was under a deadline! Erasmus had only one Greek manuscript, which lacked the last six verses of the book of Revelation! A pretty important book! To fix this problem, Erasmus back-translated the last six verses of Revelation from the Latin Vulgate into Greek, with the result that the final verses of Revelation in his printed Greek text contain numerous Greek readings that are not found in Greek manuscripts of any kind, and are therefore devoid of manuscript authority!





          






Look at this example, which is very important. One of those verses produced by Erasmus that lacks any Greek manuscript support is the reference to the 'book of life' in Rev. 22:19. All Greek manuscripts read 'tree of life'; not a single one reads 'book of life'!! The corruption of 'tree' into 'book' occurred in Latin when the correct 'ligno' (tree) was miscopied as though it were the similar-appearing 'libro' (book). When Erasmus back-translated from Latin, he introduced for the first time ever in Greek the reading 'book of life' in Rev. 22:19, and by the slavish reprinting of Erasmus' text by later editors, the reading 'book of life' found its way into the Textus Receptus and the King James Version, even though it is completely without support of any kind in any Greek manuscript.

And then there is the famous Comma Johanneum (found in 1 John 5:7- 8). In 1516, Erasmus did not include this in the text of his first manuscript, because he said that "it is not found in any Greek manuscripts"; He said, "if I ever read it in a Greek manuscript, I would include it". The Catholic Church wanted it included, supporting the Trinity. So, a manuscript was duly manufactured in Britain to suit the conditions of Erasmus' vow,[codex 61] and in his third edition (1522), Erasmus added the words to his text. Check it out! This is the truth. So you see, the KJV is not the most accurate translation available today.

The difference being, thanks to archeology, modern translators have thousands more manuscripts availible to them, including the dead sea scrolls, The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, The M. Martin Bodmer Papyrus manuscripts, and most importantly the John Rylands Library papyri of the gospel of John, which dated back to 100 AD! Any teacher can tell you, that if you give an entire room of students a written page to hand copy, you will get back 30 various versions. They all will deviate at different points. If the original were lost, which one would you choose to represent the 'standard'--the original?  You would have to gather them all, and observe the points where most of the papers agree. then it would possible to recreate almost a perfect match of the original. It is the abundance of copies that would make that possible.

In the case of all ancient writings, the more copies that agree with each other, especially if they emerge from different geographical areas, the more you can cross check them and figure out what the original document was like. We have today, in addition to the Greek manuscripts, the gospels written in other languages close to the time of Christ! We have Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Gothic, Georgian and Ethiopic! If the Greek manuscripts were lost to us, today, we could piece together information from those manuscripts to reproduce the New Testament!

Compared to the few manuscripts available to the KJV translators, modern translators have available 5,664 Greek manuscripts; 8-10,000 Latin Vulgate manuscripts; 8,000 divided between the other languages, to total about 24,000 manuscripts available to scholars today!

The KJV is NOT the most accurate translation! It is good, but unless you speak in medieval english, one should get a modern translation for personal devotions. Then you are assured that you are reading and understanding the most accurate translation of the Word of God.

If you feel that the modern translations have been mistranslated, even though you are not educated in the original languages of the manuscripts, perhaps you should persue a college education, in Biblical languages, in a true Christian College. NOT a course by your favorite teacher! Test that teacher. Learn for yourself.

If you are following a teacher who insists on using the KJV only; and who says slanderous things about modern translations (exception: the New World Translation), one must wonder what the teacher is afraid you will learn in a Bible you can understand? Perhaps that what the teacher is teaching, is not actually Biblically supported?

And please remember, that the Holy Trinity does not consist of:
God the Father....

God the Son.......

and God the King James Bible!

Worship God. Not the Bible he sent, to point the way to him!