Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of
God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart."
The Word of God is sure, settled forever in
heaven. However, for the past one hundred and twenty years there
have been attempts to develop a more "user-friendly"
Bible. Publishing modern Bible versions has become a hugely
profitable undertaking. The publicly stated reasons for the
publication of each new Bible have been a combination of the
following:
1. More accurately rendered
2. More up-to-date language
3. More easily understood
It is interesting to see that the stated
reasons have never been to develop a Bible that
is:
1. More humbling
2. More convicting
3. More life-changing
Indeed, no modern copyrighted version can
claim to even equal the power of the Word of God. The nature of
copyright law demands that the new version must be significantly
different. Sad to say, the modern versions are different. As has
been eloquently pointed out, Things That Are Different Are Not
The Same. The modern versions:
1. Leave out words
2. Leave out verses
3, Change words
4. Change verses
Why would they change or leave out words
and entire verses? The answer to this rests in motivation and
translation.
MOTIVATION: Picture a young man being informed by his mother
that a letter from his fiance has arrived. Now imagine a scene
where the mother refuses to let her son see the letter. She
explains that she can tell him basically what the letter is
saying. In fact, she says that her rendition of the letter will
be better than letting him read the original. She does not want
to confuse him by letting him read what his fiance has written.
Instead, she will tell him what his fiance was really intending
to say. Why would a mother do something like that? Why not just
let him read the letter for himself? Would the young man be
suspicious of some ulterior motive on the part of his mother?
Who were the "mothers" of the
modern versions? Would you trust these men to edit a Bible
manuscript? Click
here to find out about Brooke Foss Westcott and
Fenton J. A. Hort, two men influenced by and sympathetic to the
Darwinian theory of evolution, who in 1881 brought forth a
version of the Greek New Testament which differed from the Textus
Receptus in over 5,700 places.
TRANSLATION: The argument has been put forth that somehow the
translators of the King James Version did not know as much as
"modern scholars." The Textus Receptus that they used
was not deemed as reliable as two old manuscripts discovered in
later years.
Modern versions are built on the
"scholarship" that examined these two new, older Bible
manuscripts. The first manuscript, Vaticanus (Codex B), was
discovered in the Vatican library in 1481 and was known to the
KJV translators, but was not used by them. In the library in my
home there are about seven thousand volumes. The ones that are
most useful get much handling. The most beloved are the most
worn. The ones that are least loved or trusted, are also least
worn. Although ancient, Vaticanus was in very good condition,
similar to the condition of a book that was never used much. The
second manuscript, Sinaiticus (Codex Aleph), also in good
condition, was found in a monastery wastebasket at the foot of
Mt. Sinai in 1844. In ancient times, books were valuable
commodities, especially Bibles. There might have been a serious
problem with a Bible manuscript for it to have been thrown into
the dump. The Vaticanus and Sinaiticus appear to have been copied
from the same source in the 4th Century and held great weight
with Westcott and Hort because of their antiquity. Tischendorf,
the discoverer of the Sinaiticus manuscript, noted at least
12,000 changes which had been made on this manuscript by others
than the original copyist. In the many places where these two
manuscripts disagreed with each other, the "scholars"
had to decide whether to use one, or the other, or just to forget
what either said and instead make up their own wording.
The English Revised Version (ERV)
was published in 1885, and its counterpart the American
Standard Version (ASV) was published in 1901. The ASV
differed from the KJV in over 36,000 places. The Revised
Standard Version (RSV) was published in 1952,
eliminating the word virgin in the prophecy of Christ's
birth in Isaiah 7:14. The Good News Bible
published in 1976 removed the word virgin from both the
Old and New Testaments, and eliminated the blood of
Christ in many key New Testament references. The Living
Bible (TLB), published in 1971, is neither a translation
nor a version. It is a paraphrase that Kenneth Taylor originally
developed for his children. Based on the ASV, it was a
"thought-for-thought" paraphrase which he called
"dynamic equivalence." Changed meanings and vulgarities
in this paraphrase were shocking at the time. The New
American Standard Version (NASV) was published in 1971.
It is based on the ASV, and continues its errors. The New
International Version (NIV) was published in 1978. This
version leaves out many of the same verses and portions as the ASV
and NASV. To take the NIV accuracy test click
here. The New King James Version (NKJV) was
published in 1982. It claims to have "preserved the
authority and accuracy" and "improved the purity and
beauty" of the original KJV, but that is a false claim. THe
NKJV text actually has many word changes identical or similar to
those of other modern versions. The New Revised Standard
Version (NRSV) published in 1990 to replace the RSV,
eliminates so-called sexist language, and has been approved by
the Roman Catholic Church. The Today's New International Version (TNIV), published in 2002 is the latest outrageous attempt to market a politically-correct money-maker.
What manuscript was the foundation of the King
James Version? It is known as the Textus Receptus, and
is actually a compilation or comparison of many older Bible
manuscripts. In copying by hand, it is possible to make mistakes,
whether of omission or commission. That is why early copyists
were so painstaking when copying any document. When copying the
sacred Word of God, copyists were typically at the height of
care. However, even the most careful copyist could make a
mistake. The Textus Receptus was put together using the Majority
Text Principle. When a great number of texts are compared, it
becomes very easy to see the errors. Whether a copyist has simply
made a mistake, or has perhaps even deliberately set out to
change the Bible, by comparing it to the majority of the texts it
becomes readily apparent which is the altered version. For a
fuller explanation of the Majority Text Principle and the Textus
Receptus, click
here.
Conclusion: When considering Bible versions, there are two important issues. The first issue
is: Has God preserved His Word? A simple answer
to this first question is that any believer can go into a
bookstore and purchase a King James Version Bible, and be able to
know that it is trustworthy, powerful and complete. The second
issue is: What are you going to do with it? This
question can only be answered by you. If you believe that the
Bible is a valuable book and should be read, you agree with the
majority of the population of the United States. However, that
does not answer the question. Here is the question again: What
are you going to do with it? Attending a church,
studying issues, surfing the web, talking about religion, all of
these beg the question. I would encourage you to honestly ask
yourself: What am I doing with the Bible? If you have one,
prayerfully read it and ask God to direct your life through it.
If you do not have one, get one today and begin to read it. The
internet has sites where you can read the Bible or download it
to your own computer, all for free. KJV Bibles are available in
various covers, with prices ranging from inexpensive to lavish.
If you cannot afford to purchase a Bible, they can be checked out
for free from almost any public library or you could contact the
pastor of any independent fundamental Bible-believing church to
learn how to obtain a copy. If you have not done so yet, why not
take the time right now to read a portion of God's Word, and set
up a schedule for regular Bible reading.
