Why Do Men “Translate” God’s Word?

Photo by John Snyder 2008

If God’s Word is forever settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89), what right does man have to change it? Obviously, when missionaries visit a remote tribe where there is no Scripture yet translated into the native language, this is an essential goal. The Holy Spirit will ensure that His Word is accurately translated into new languages, provided the translators pray for wisdom and have their hearts right with God (Matthew 5:18).

But the numerous English language “translations” of the Bible, with new versions coming out faster than the older ones enter the public domain, are actually revisions of God’s Word.

If we believe that the King James Bible (KJB) is the inerrant, unchanging Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16), how can subsequent versions, with their many changes and omissions, also be God’s Word? The KJB was first distributed in 1611 as the first complete English language Bible and remained unchallenged for nearly 300 years. Did God ensure that the KJB translators got it right in the first place, or did He allow an incorrect version of His Word to circulate for nearly three centuries?

The new versions delete verses altogether; they delete key portions of other verses; and they frequently omit the Name of Jesus, Christ and Jesus Christ. This is shocking, because God's Word tells us that there is no other Name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). The English Standard Version (ESV), for example, removes the precious name of Jesus 18 times, Jesus Christ 51 times, Christ 39 times, the Lord 66 times, and God 38 times!

These omissions make it easier for those of other religions to apply the altered verses to their personal notion of god. In 1 Timothy 3:16, for example,  the KJV states “ And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

The ESV changes the word “God” to the word “he,” totally destroying the mystery of incarnation, as every person on earth is manifest in the flesh! According to the ESV, therefore, each of us can be a god!

The list of heretical edits goes on and on, such as denying the incarnation altogether in 1 John 4:3. The KJV states: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God…, whereas the ESV changes this to: and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.

Even the Mormons and Muslims “confess Jesus,” meaning that they believe that such a person walked the earth. But their “Jesus” is altogether different from what the KJB teaches. Jesus Christ of the Bible is fully God; part of the Trinity; eternally Self-existent; and the only Redeemer; saving man from his sins by taking on human flesh to be the perfect Sacrifice. The Mormons believe that Jesus was a created being and brother of Lucifer; and the Muslims believe he was a human prophet eclipsed by Mohammed.

Philippians 2:6-7 in the ESV is even worse. The KJB describes Jesus as being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, meaning that Jesus is God the Son and therefore rightfully is equal in power and glory to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The ESV distorts this verse completely to: though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. In other words, Jesus could not possibly aspire or claim to be equal with God!

The new versions omit many phrases emphasizing Jesus' divinity and miracles, and references to the saving and cleansing power of His blood shed for us (e.g., Romans 3:25), to wash away our sins. They omit many references to hell, Satan and demons (the ESV removes “hell” 40 times and “devil” or “devils” 83 times). They often lack clarity and specificity.

For example, in Isaiah 14, which is a key passage explaining how the created angel Lucifer fell from heaven due to his sin of pride and rebellion, thus becoming Satan, many newer versions substitute "morning star" or “day star” for "Lucifer."  Yet Day or Morning Star is one of the names for Jesus Christ Himself (1 Peter 1:19; Revelation 22:16), so the casual reader might think that it was Jesus Who sinned and became the devil!

By key omissions, even the “Lord’s Prayer,” or model prayer (Luke 11:2-4) is transformed in the ESV to an ambiguous prayer that could be referring to Satan rather than God the Father, for the father in this prayer is not in heaven and is not asked to deliver us from evil.

Another example is the substitution of "young girl" for "virgin" in reference to the virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus, God in the flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:27-35). Clearly there is nothing miraculous or even extraordinary about a young girl getting pregnant!

A key omission in the ESV that undermines the very importance of God’s Word itself is Luke 4:4. The ESV has Jesus telling the devil merely, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” Yet in the KJB, Jesus clearly tells Satan “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ The secular world has adopted "not living by bread alone" to justify their desire for a lavish lifestyle beyond basic needs, accompanied by drinking, sexual immorality, wealth and power. How far removed is that concept from God's true and complete Word!

Many changes are extremely subtle yet insidious. By changing the grammatical form of the verb “saved,” to “being saved,” for example, the ESV implies that salvation is an ongoing process (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 1:18), presumably taking place by our own works, rather than the instantaneous, completed, once-and-for-all salvation that occurs by God’s grace through our faith at the moment we are born again (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:3-8).

Many of the newer versions attempt to be gender-neutral, substituting words such as "human" for "man." This is particularly dangerous when referring to Jesus Christ, Who came in the flesh as a man, equally Son of God and Son of Man, not as a sexually ambiguous "human" (Philippians 2:8).

You may be wondering why the other English versions of the Bible came into being. Some say it is because the KJB is in the public domain, meaning that it cannot be copyrighted and that publishers cannot make as much money selling it as they can make by selling the newer versions.

Others suggest that each new revision further attempts to undermine the divinity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, and His perfect sacrifice for our sins. By changing, adding or omitting words or even entire verses, the new versions blur the distinctions between Christianity and other religions. 

This casts doubt that accepting Jesus as your Savior is the only way to eternal life (John 14:6), as is so clear in the KJB, and paves the way for a new global religion (Revelation 13:4). The KJB warns that as the world approaches the End Times, false prophets will attempt to distort God's Word and deceive the people (Matthew 24:11).

God rewards those who diligently seek Him through prayer (James 5:16), by keeping His commandments (John 14:15,21), and especially by reading His Word (Psalm 119:105). Anyone can be saved and accept Jesus as their Savior by placing their faith in His death, burial and resurrection as the only Way to Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 14:6). Then the Holy Spirit enters every believer’s heart (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13) and will teach us to understand God's Word, if we pray to Him for wisdom and enlightenment (James 1:5) and spend quality time with the Word each day (2 Timothy 2:15).

Once you start a regular Bible reading plan, you'll quickly get used to the "thee's" and "thou's" that may seem unnatural at first. Like reading Shakespeare, it's definitely worth the effort!  You may find it helpful to use a Bible dictionary to explain some of the words that are not commonly used today, because the richness of meaning these words convey is lost in the modern versions.

The KJV Bible is the inspired, preserved, infallible, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). It contains no mistakes or contradictions, and it reveals scientific truths that could not have been written over 1,000 years ago unless it was inspired by God Himself.

Just as God does not change, and Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), so God's Word will not change throughout eternity (Luke 21:33). The KJV Bible provides daily bread for our Christian walk (Matthew 4:4). So come to God's table today!  

© 2014 Laurie Collett

 

Why Read the King James Bible?

Photo by Billy Hatham 2010

Imagine being able to hold the Word of God in your hand!  Indeed, you can do just that. The Authorized King James Version (KJV) Bible is God's Word. It is God's love letter to all mankind, containing Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. It does not contain God's Word or describe what God said; rather, it is the Word of God, written during a period of 1,500 years by about 40 authors inspired by the Holy Spirit to record His Word for all eternity (2 Timothy 3:16).

The authorized KJV Bible has appeared on Norton Anthology's list of "the world's best literature" for decades, and it is the most widely published, best-selling book of all time. The Bible is even the most commonly stolen book -- go figure! I guess Bible thieves overlook the "Thou shalt not steal" commandment! (Exodus 20:15)

Since God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets and gave them to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 25:12), He has gone to great pains to preserve His inerrant Word unchanged (Matthew 5:18). Throughout the centuries, great Christians like Martin Luther. John Wycliffe, and William Tyndale have suffered persecution and imprisonment so that the Bible would be preserved, translated into different languages, and made available to all. The result is that by reading the Bible, everyone who wants to know can understand God's will and plan for their lives (Matthew 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-10).

God's plan of salvation is that Jesus Christ -- God the Son -- came to earth in human form (John 1:14) but without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), was crucified, and died as a perfect sacrifice to pay for all our sins, past, future and present (John 1:29). He then defeated death and the grave (1 Corinthians 15:55), rose on the third day, and ascended into Heaven, where He sits at God the Father's right hand (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 12:2).

Everyone who acknowledges and turns away from their sins, asks God for forgiveness, believes in Jesus' finished work of salvation, and accepts Him as their personal Savior with simple, childlike faith will not die eternally in hell, but will live joyously forever in Heaven (John 3:16, Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13).

Once we are born again (John 3:1-8), the Holy Spirit enters our heart (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30), teaching us the truth of God’s Word if we pray for wisdom (James 1:5) and apply ourselves to learning it (2 Timothy 2:15).

That truth will light the path of our Christian walk (Psalm 119:105), helping us to make the right choices (Proverbs 3:5-6), keeping us from sin (Psalm 119:105), and bringing us closer to Christ. Before we were saved, God’s Word seemed to us to be foolish, but when we are born again, we realize that it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18-21).

As the Christmas season begins, many of us might want to give a Bible to a loved one, or even choose a new Bible for ourselves and a reading plan to go through all the Scripture in 2015.  Depending on the reader’s background, spiritual maturity, and life circumstances, we might be tempted to choose a “modern” version perceived to be more “relevant” or “easier to read.” My personal preference for everyone, regardless of these factors, would be the KJV.

Why read the KJV Bible, and not one of the more contemporary versions? The KJV Bible, published in 1611, is the signed, sealed and delivered official Word of God in the English language. It was authorized by King James and commissioned by God Himself, as He brought together a team of more than 50 of the world's best scholars to translate His Word into English, the world's most widely used official language. Rather than seeking their own fame, glory or profit, these scholars were humble, dedicated to the Lord and to spreading His Word to all people, even if they had to pay for it with their own lives.

The Old Testament of the KJV Bible was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew Text, and the New Testament was translated from the Majority Text. The latter is also called the Received Text or Textus Receptus because most (99.92%) of the 5,686 existing Greek texts are in agreement with it.

Most modern English Bible revisions are based on a Greek text not agreeing with the Majority Text. Two men instrumental in authoring these new versions, Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, intentionally omitted or changed portions of the Greek text to suit their own beliefs, or rather doubts, regarding many key Bible truths.

They did not believe literal six-day creation (Genesis 1), the many miracles of Jesus described in the Gospels, His substitutionary sacrifice for us (2 Corinthians 5:21, etc.) the power of His shed blood to wash away our sins (Revelation 1:5; 7:14; 1 John 1:7, Colossians  1:14 ,etc), or the existence of Heaven and hell as real places (John 14:2; Acts 7:55-56; Luke 16:20-31; Mark 9:43-44, etc.).

The newer English versions are actually revisions, not translations, of God's Word. Jesus warns of the dangers of adding to, taking away from, or changing His Word in any way, and the punishment for those who do so (Revelation 22:18-19; Proverbs 30:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:2; Matthew 5:18).

Apart from this most important reason to stick with the KJV Bible, there is the poetic beauty of the text that reflects its inspiration from God. If you compare Psalm 23, for example, beginning with "The Lord is my shepherd..." in the KJV Bible with that of any other version, you can easily appreciate the majestic, musical quality of the KJV. The profound influence of the KJV Bible on English literature is evident in the masterpieces of famous authors including John Bunyan, John Milton, Herman Melville, and William Wordsworth.

One of my personal favorite reasons to read the KJV Bible is that Jesus promised to prepare a place for us in Heaven, and in the KJV, He promises each of us a "mansion" (John 14:2). How can that compare with the "room" mentioned in the modern versions?

A common objection to reading the KJV Bible is that it is "hard to understand." Actually, studies comparing the language used in the different versions show that the KJV is the easiest to read because it uses more action words and contains no "fluff" or wordiness.

A standard readability test (Flesch-Kincaid) shows that the KJV Bible is at a 5th grade reading level, whereas the English Standard Version (ESV), for example, is at an 8th grade reading level. The average number of words per sentence is 9 in the KJV and 19 in the ESV, and the KJV turns out to be easier to read than the ESV in terms of sentence and vocabulary complexity and use of short and simple sentences.

True, the KJV contains “thee” and “thou,” (but so does Shakespeare, and we can get used to that very quickly). It also contains words that we seldom use today, like “fornication,” and doctrinally specific words like “propitiation.” These are easily understood with a good Bible dictionary or study Bible. I have the KJV on Kindle for use when we travel, and if you highlight a word, the Kindle automatically provides a definition!

But by far the most important reason to avoid the new versions is that they delete verses altogether; they delete key portions of other verses; and they frequently omit the Name of Jesus, Christ and Jesus Christ, as we shall see next week. Faith comes by hearing (and reading) the word of God (Romans 10:17), so may we believe what God has spoken, and not in men’s revisions designed to suit their own agenda. 

© 2014 Laurie Collett