I read the King James Bible (KJV) because it is vastly superior to every modern English translation of the Bible. Without question, the KJV is the best version available in the English language today.
The Lord Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35 KJV). The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to study the Scripture because the Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16 KJV). God is faithful to His word; He would not inspire words that He would not preserve.
The Authorized or King James Version of the Bible is both a faithfully preserved text and a faithfully written translation. It is what God would have said had His words been written down in early modern English rather than Greek and Hebrew. Today’s modern English Bible versions such as the New International Version (NIV) are riddled with errors, omissions, and contradictions.
For example, the KJV says “faith” is one of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22; the NIV replaces faith with “faithfulness” as one of the fruits.
Ephesians 5:9 is another example. The KJV says “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth”; the NIV omits the word Spirit and says “for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth.”
Contradictory Bible versions breed confusion among Christians. Since God is not the author of confusion, the confusion created by modern English Bible versions such as the NIV cannot be of God.
The KJV agrees with the majority of Bible manuscripts, which number over 5,000. Modern versions, including the NIV, are based on only a few manuscripts, which were rejected by the early church for being corrupt.
Initially 54 scholars and a few overseers (who went from group to group) were appointed in 1604 to translate the Authorized version. Seven translators died before the project was completed, leaving 47 to finish the job.
The translators worked at three locations: Oxford, Cambridge, and Westminster. They were divided into six groups, two groups per location. The Bible was also divided into six sections. Each group took one section, working on one book at a time.
Each translator would make his own translation of the book, which was reviewed by each member of the group. The group then collectively reviewed the book. When they all agreed on the translation, they sent it on to the other five groups for evaluation. Those groups would mark anything they disagreed with before sending it back to the original group, which would read over the book again.
When all the groups finished with the book, it was sent to a select committee made up of one leader from each of the six groups to address any unresolved disagreements. The committee resolved all remaining issues before sending the book to the printers.
Unlike the “Revisers” of the late 19th Century (1871 – 1881), the KJV translators did not work in secret. The translators could ask an outside scholar for advice and input at any time. The churches remained in the loop throughout the process, and anyone could find out the status of the project.
Every Bible verse was carefully examined by as many as 50 or more people and decided upon a total of 14 times, which prevented the translator from imposing his personal viewpoint on a verse or passage. His translation had to be logically sound and reasonable or the appointed scholars would not write it into the text. These careful examinations prevented the translators from imposing their private interpretations on the verse.
The KJV translators wanted to put into English exactly what God said. Their primary concern was to find the exact English words to match the Greek and Hebrew. They used a “formal equivalence” technique, which prevented them from injecting their theological worldviews into the wording.
The translators of the modern Bible versions including the NIV use a “dynamic equivalence” translation technique. Instead of finding the exact English wording to match the original language, they try to interpret what the verse or passage means, and then they select the English words to convey that meaning.
The dynamic equivalence technique makes it easy for translators to impose their theological worldviews on the meaning of the verse.
The upshot is the KJV faithfully presents what God said, and the modern versions present a translator’s interpretation of what God meant. Christians trying to decide which version to use must choose between what some translator thinks the Lord said and what the Lord actually said.
God does not make a promise that He doesn’t keep, and only the KJV upholds God’s promise to faithfully preserve His words.
Peace.
I.M. Kane
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THE MILLSTONE DIARIES 