King James Bible Course
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The King James Bible is the most influential Bible known to the English-speaking world. It is called the King James Bible because King James I of England, who ruled from 1603 to his death in 1625, authorized Its translation. It is also called the Authorized Version.
The King James Bible is the most influential Bible known to the English-speaking world. It is called the King James Bible because King James I of England, who ruled from 1603 to his death in 1625, authorized Its translation. It is also called the Authorized Version.
The King James Bible was first published in 1611 A.D. It is said that more than 169 original King James Bibles are in existence today. The first copies were about 17 inches tall and were 30 inches wide when opened, weighing up to 30 pounds. They were expensive and were chained to the pulpit to keep from being stolen.
The King James Bible was first published in 1611 A.D. It is said that more than 169 original King James Bibles are in existence today. The first copies were about 17 inches tall and were 30 inches wide when opened, weighing up to 30 pounds. They were expensive and were chained to the pulpit to keep from being stolen.
The King James Bible was the first Bible ever printed in the United States. This has been the Bible used by those in all levels of government, including presidents to take their oath of office. Below are some quotes from famous people concerning the King James Bible:
The King James Bible was the first Bible ever printed in the United States. This has been the Bible used by those in all levels of government, including presidents to take their oath of office. Below are some quotes from famous people concerning the King James Bible:
"That Book, sir, is the rock upon which our republic rests."—Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States
"The King James Version is a Magna Carta for the Poor and Oppressed: the most democratic Book in the world."—Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
"Indeed, it is an incontrovertible fact that all the complex and horrendous questions confronting us at home and worldwide have their answer in that single book."—Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States
"The scholars who produced this Masterpiece are mostly unknown and unremembered. But they forged an enduring link, literary and religious, between the English-speaking people of the world.”—Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of UK
"The translation was extraordinarily well done because to the translators what they were translating was not merely a curious collection of ancient books written by different authors in different stages of culture, but the Word of God divinely revealed through His chosen and expressly inspired scribes. In this conviction they carried out their work with boundless reverence and care and achieved a beautifully artistic result...
...they made a translation so magnificent that to this day the common human Britisher or citizen of the United States of North America accepts and worships It as a single Book by a single author, the Book being the Book of Books and the author being God."—George Bernard Shaw, Irish Author, Nobel Peace Prize Winner
The King James Bible has 66 books with 1189 total chapters, 31,102 verses, 783,137 words and 3,116,480 letters. The Bible can be read out loud in approximately 70 hours. It is estimated that over one billion copies of the King James Bible have been published since It was first published.
The King James Bible is the English Bible we believe is God’s preserved Word in the English language. This section will discuss why we believe It is the Word of God and the process the Lord used to bring It to us.
I. The philosophy we believe concerning the King James Bible
I. The philosophy we believe concerning the King James Bible
Whether or not we can hold any Bible in our hand today and completely rely upon Its words as being the words of God, is something that must be addressed before the King James Bible can be heralded as that perfect Book.
What do you believe about God’s Word today? We believe the words of God can be known today by reading the King James Bible. This is true for several reasons, but the cornerstone of our belief must be that we believe that the words of God actually are in existence today. Without this fundamental belief our battle is lost.
A. There are twoschools of thought that we find in modern Christianity concerning the Scriptures.
A. There are twoschools of thought that we find in modern Christianity concerning the Scriptures.
1. The inspired Scriptures have been supernaturally preserved without error for all generations (Psalm 12:6–7).
1. The inspired Scriptures have been supernaturally preserved without error for all generations (Psalm 12:6–7).
This supernatural preservation must include the translation to the English language. If it is not in the English language, there is no Bible for the English-speaking world, which has become the predominant global and missionary language.
We believe this not just to say it, but because it is necessary for many reasons. The consequences of doubting God’s Word can be disastrous. Below are mentioned some reasons why it is so important for believers to know they have a perfect Bible:
a. Promises (Isaiah 40:8; II Peter 1:3–4; Psalms 105:8; 119:89, 152, 160; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Matthew 4:4; 5:17–18)
a. Promises (Isaiah 40:8; II Peter 1:3–4; Psalms 105:8; 119:89, 152, 160; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Matthew 4:4; 5:17–18)
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
He hath remembered his covenant for ever, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.
Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old That thou hast founded them for ever.
Thy word is true from the beginning: And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
b. Protection (I Peter 5:8–9; Genesis 15:1; II Samuel 22:31; Psalm 119:114; 144:2; Proverbs 30:5; Ephesians 6:16)
b. Protection (I Peter 5:8–9; Genesis 15:1; II Samuel 22:31; Psalm 119:114; 144:2; Proverbs 30:5; Ephesians 6:16)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
As for God, his way is perfect; The word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; My shield, and he in whom I trust; Who subdueth my people under me.
Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
c. Purpose (I Peter 1:23; Matthew 28:18–20)
c. Purpose (I Peter 1:23; Matthew 28:18–20)
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
d. Preparation (II Timothy 2:1–5; 3:15–17)
d. Preparation (II Timothy 2:1–5; 3:15–17)
Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
e. Purification (I Peter 1:22; Titus 2:12)
e. Purification (I Peter 1:22; Titus 2:12)
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
f. Progress (Hebrews 12:4; Revelation 2:16; Ephesians 6:17)
f. Progress (Hebrews 12:4; Revelation 2:16; Ephesians 6:17)
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
2. The inspired Scriptures are without error in the Autographs only, and there is noperfect Bible in any language today.
2. The inspired Scriptures are without error in the Autographs only, and there is noperfect Bible in any language today.
Preservation is not possible in the eyes of those that hold this philosophy as truth. This is because they cannot accept the fact that sinful men can be used of the Lord to accomplish a perfect work. They limit God’s ability to use sinful and weak men to accomplish a perfect work. This seems to be the reason why the Lord includes the last verse to Psalm 12.
The words of the Lord are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. The wicked walk on every side, When the vilest men are exalted.
This verse infers that the wickedness of mankind does not hinder God from accomplishing His perfect holy purposes. God has proven throughout the Scriptures, and history also proves that mankind cannot overcome the purposes of God. In other words, if God has declared it, there is no one that can successfully overthrow it. Many have tried only to break themselves against the rock solid principles and precepts of God’s Word.
B. The Bible believer trusts God’s ability to fulfill His promises to preserve His Word (Romans 10:17).
B. The Bible believer trusts God’s ability to fulfill His promises to preserve His Word (Romans 10:17).
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Without faith man will never accept that God’s words exist. In fact, those that have no faith in God’s perfect Word existing today would not have believed it existed in the original autographs either. This is not really a text issue as much as it is a faith issue. It is an issue about whether we believe God or not.
Critics would have you feel intellectually inferior for relying on faith as your foundation in believing that God’s Word is preserved today. God never mocks our faith in His promises. It is through our faith we access the power of God’s grace. God called Israel a froward generation because they had no faith (Deuteronomy 32:20). They operated by reason and intellect, much like Bible critics.
1. Defining faith in relation to the Scriptures—a moral conviction or persuasion that God’s Word is the Truth (Hebrews 11:1).
1. Defining faith in relation to the Scriptures—a moral conviction or persuasion that God’s Word is the Truth (Hebrews 11:1).
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
a. What is your standard for truth?
a. What is your standard for truth?
The key is to find out what it is one is looking to as their standard of truth.
1) Natural revelation
1) Natural revelation
Some believe in human reason, meaning what is sensible. Some believe in what feels or is seen to be truth. We believe what we trust. Bible critics trust their intellect and scholarship. Men that question God and His promises have a hard time getting past themselves (Job 15:31; Isaiah 31:1; 36:9).
Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: For vanity shall be his recompence.
Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; And stay on horses, And trust in chariots, because they are many; And in horsemen, because they are very strong; But they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, Neither seek the Lord!
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
2) Supernaturalrevelation
2) Supernaturalrevelation
The Lord is not like man. He is not limited to the natural. There is nothing too hard for Him. Bible believers trust in a supernatural God that has made supernatural promises, which we find in a supernatural Book. (II Samuel 22:31; Job 13:15; Psalm 16:1).
As for God, his way is perfect; The word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: But I will maintain mine own ways before him.
Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
b. Christian faith is based on the infallible principlesthat are based in God’s unchanging words (I Kings 8:56; Psalm 119:89).
b. Christian faith is based on the infallible principlesthat are based in God’s unchanging words (I Kings 8:56; Psalm 119:89).
Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.
What a miserable life a Christian would live if he could not trust in God’s promises. The Psalmist asked, “…doth His promise fail for evermore?” Knowing His promises strengthen the soul of the child of God, God forbid that we would ever take the place of the destroyer and cast doubt upon the veracity of God’s promises (Genesis 3:1–4).
c. Biblical principles are based in the structure of the specific words that the Holy Ghost has given (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4; II Timothy 1:13–14).
c. Biblical principles are based in the structure of the specific words that the Holy Ghost has given (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4; II Timothy 1:13–14).
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
d. Faith in the truthmust be a faith-based in the Scriptures.
d. Faith in the truthmust be a faith-based in the Scriptures.
1) The Scriptures are called truth (John 17:17).
1) The Scriptures are called truth (John 17:17).
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Jesus Christ has faith, but His faith is always truth. In fact, His faith is truth. Galatians 2:20 reveals to us a vital truth, that of course is misaligned by the English translations based on the corrupt Alexandrian texts.
NIV—“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
KJV—“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
It is no wonder that those who hold to erroneous Bible versions also hold to the erroneous idea that we live by faith in Christ rather than living by the faith of Christ. To live by faith in Christ is to live the way one thinks Christ would want him to live without actually knowing exactly how Jesus wants him to live. This has to be the philosophy of those that say the Bible is not perfectly trustworthy. Those that hold to a perfect Bible, live to the exact conviction of the words written in the Book. It is the faith of Christ. The mind we have is Christ's mind (I Corinthians 2:16).
2. The effects of faith in relation to the Scriptures
2. The effects of faith in relation to the Scriptures
Faith is not something that is kept inside to remain a mere belief system. Faith changes things, and the things changed are changed according to what one’s faith is in. Notice in the following verse, God is telling us that the just (justified) live by faith. That means faith must have life (Romans 12:1; James 2:17; Galatians 2:20).
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
a. The Lord is exalted when we walk by faith in the Scriptures (Habakkuk 2:4).
a. The Lord is exalted when we walk by faith in the Scriptures (Habakkuk 2:4).
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: But the just shall live by his faith.
Those that attack the veracity of the Scriptures today are not somehow doing the work of God. Where in history has God ever sent a prophet to question the truthfulness of God's Word? If the King James is rejected as truth, where is the truth? Is there a viable option given by these textual critics? No, they put themselves in place of God, determining for us what we should believe, and criticizing us for just believing what the Bible says. When one cannot walk in faith of the Scriptures, man must be exalted as the authority. This is false teaching.
b. The Lord's righteousness is revealed when we walk by faith in the Scriptures (Romans 1:17; II Thessalonians 3:14).
b. The Lord's righteousness is revealed when we walk by faith in the Scriptures (Romans 1:17; II Thessalonians 3:14).
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
If there is no preserved Scripture today, how can one confidently know that the righteousness of God is being revealed through obedience? How can you know you are actually obedient? That which we think we ought to do does not reveal God’s righteousness, it is revealed by exact obedience to what the Scriptures dictate.
c. Man is justified by faith in the Scriptures (Galatians 3:11).
c. Man is justified by faith in the Scriptures (Galatians 3:11).
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
The destiny of our eternal soul rests upon the Scripture. If I cannot trust what the Scriptures say, can I trust in my justification before God?
1) It is through faith that we are justified for salvation (Romans 3:28; Romans 5:1; Galatians 2:16; 3:11).
1) It is through faith that we are justified for salvation (Romans 3:28; Romans 5:1; Galatians 2:16; 3:11).
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
2) It is through faith in God’s words that we are justified in all of our beliefs after salvation (Matthew 12:37; Romans 3:3–4).
2) It is through faith in God’s words that we are justified in all of our beliefs after salvation (Matthew 12:37; Romans 3:3–4).
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
d. Man can only please the Lord by walking by faith in the Scriptures (Hebrews 10:38).
d. Man can only please the Lord by walking by faith in the Scriptures (Hebrews 10:38).
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
I can only please God as I operate by faith in the Scriptures. Is it pleasing to God to question His ability to preserve Scripture if He has clearly declared that He would?
C. The heretic trusts in the abilities of men through scholarship.
C. The heretic trusts in the abilities of men through scholarship.
Though there have always been critics of the Scriptures’ text, the main thrust of attack began in the 1800’s. Many heretical doctrines began in this century. Evolution, textual criticism, various major false religions got their start in this century. It is interesting to note that it was Germany that was the hotbed for textual criticism during this century. The fruit of this lack of faith in the Scriptures can be clearly seen in the fruit it produced in the world wars to follow and the blatant actions to exterminate God’s chosen people, the Jews, under Hitler’s rule.
The simplicity of faith in the Scriptures was being challenged by men of “higher learning”. Christianity allowed Satan to deceive them to move away from a faith position, to an intellectual and reasonable position on truth. This immediately began to cast doubt on the established truth of the King James Bible and Its underlying texts. It is important to establish that this “intellectual” position does not coincide with a faith position.
1. The original Autographs were written by unlearned and ignorant men that had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
1. The original Autographs were written by unlearned and ignorant men that had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
God was able to use unlearned men to give believers the inspired Word of God. These men were qualified because they had been with Jesus, and they were chosen by God for this task. God enabled them for this (I Timothy 1:12).
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
2. Believers are authorized by Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, not their scholarship, to teach all the Scriptures (Matthew 28:18–20).
2. Believers are authorized by Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, not their scholarship, to teach all the Scriptures (Matthew 28:18–20).
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Bible College is a valuable resource in preparation for the Lord’s work, but if one does not have a personal walk with God, the academic excellence one achieves will never enable them for the work the Lord has for them (I Corinthians 1:26–29).
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
3. All Scripture is inspired (II Timothy 3:15-16)
3. All Scripture is inspired (II Timothy 3:15-16)
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
a. All Scriptures are inspired including the copies of the originals
1) Timothy possessed and knew the holy Scriptures, though he did not have original autographs.
Corrupt versions support the idea of not all ofour Bible is necessarily inspiried.
American Standard Version
2 Timothy 3:16 “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness:”
4. Languages do not hinder God from preserving the inspired Scripture.
3. Satan introduced the philosophy of “higher learning” and “textual criticism” (Genesis 3:1–6).
3. Satan introduced the philosophy of “higher learning” and “textual criticism” (Genesis 3:1–6).
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
a. Satan cast doubt upon God’s established truth (Genesis 3:1).
a. Satan cast doubt upon God’s established truth (Genesis 3:1).
b. Satan removed the fear of consequence for rejecting established truth (Genesis 3:4).
b. Satan removed the fear of consequence for rejecting established truth (Genesis 3:4).
c. Satan taught that man could achieve god-likeness in knowledge through rejection of established truth (Genesis 3:5).
c. Satan taught that man could achieve god-likeness in knowledge through rejection of established truth (Genesis 3:5).
4.
4.
True knowledge is rejected when God's Word is rejected (Romans 10:1–3).
True knowledge is rejected when God's Word is rejected (Romans 10:1–3).
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
5.
II. The places concerning the King James Bible
II. The places concerning the King James Bible
· 📷The two primary philosophies or schools of thought that exist concerning the Scriptures historically have emanated from one of two different localities. The headquarters of the apostolic philosophy was Antioch, Syria. The headquarters of the higher learning and worldly philosophies was Alexandria, Egypt. The Greek Texts used today for our King James New Testament were those that had their source in Antioch, while the critical texts that have been introduced in the 1800’s were originating from the Alexandria. It is important to discuss these two localities in relation to what we believe concerning the King James Bible.
· There are three main groups of people the Bible refers to: the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church (I Corinthians 10:32). Each of these groups was represented by a central locality from where their base of operations was located.
A. Jerusalem—the central locality for the Jews
1. Israel’s history and significance revolves around Jerusalem.
· Jerusalem, the city of peace, has great significance in God’s program concerning Israel. This was the central place of worship for the Israelites. It was their turning away from this city with the temple of God at its heart that led Israel’s ten tribes under the reign of Jeroboam to destruction by the Syrians (I Kings 12:26–31; 13:33–34). It was also the destruction of Jerusalem that symbolized Israel’s judgment, and its reconstruction that symbolized Israel’s forgiveness in the sight of God.
2. In His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ prophesied a transitionto the Samaritan woman (John 4:19–24).
· Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that the Jews were right in worshipping in Jerusalem and inferred that the Samaritans were wrong in following Jeroboam’s sin. He revealed the time would come when worship would be neither in Jerusalem nor in the mountain, but in spirit and truth (John 4:19–24). This was referring to a New Covenant that would disannul the Old Covenant. It was the covenant received by the church according to the blood of Christ (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25; II Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 7:22; 9:15–20). Those seeking to stay true to the Old Covenant will only be brought into this New Covenant at the Second Coming of the Lord when all Israel will be saved (Jeremiah 31:31–40). It is interesting that this New Covenant given at this time is associated with the rebuilding of God’s Holy City Jerusalem during the millennial reign.
3. The Old Testament Scriptures were committed to the Jews(Romans 3:2).
· Jerusalem, as the Jews understood it, represented the Old Covenant. The Old Testament was supposed to lead them to the New Covenant, which they rejected, when they rejected Christ (John 1:9–10). It was established as a symbol of freedom, but Israel’s pride made it a home to their self-righteous spiritual debauchery. The Book of Revelation, during the seventieth week, describes Jerusalem as that “…which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt…” (Revelation 11:8). Alexandria, the home of the critical texts used in all modern translations, is located in Egypt.
B. Antioch, Syria (Seleucia)—the central locality for the early church
· It is interesting to note that when Abraham’s servant went to seek a bride for Isaac, that he went to Laban “a Syrian” (Genesis 25:20). This is a positive first mention of Syria. Syria is also inferred to by the Lord as the place to where Abraham is sent when he is told to depart from his country (Genesis 12:1).
1. Antioch—a strategic choice for the Lord
· It is recorded in history that over 100,000 Christians lived in Antioch by the end of the first century. This city was a strategic piece in God’s plan to reach the world with the Gospel. Seleucus I founded Antioch about 300 B.C. It was strategically placed as a crossroads on the ancient highways. It was at the heart of the trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean, and western Arabia to Asia Minor.
2. The first mention of the city of Antioch is positive, being the home of one of the early church’s first deacons (Acts 6:5).
· The law of first mention reveals to us that Antioch was the home of Nicolas, one of the first deacons chosen for the church at Jerusalem. Nicolas was a proselyte to Judaism before he was saved, added to the church at Jerusalem and brought in as a deacon.
3. Antioch became the refuge for Christians fleeing persecution after Stephen’s stoning (Acts 8:1; 11:19). It is a place of new beginnings for believers (II Corinthians 5:17).
4. Antioch was a city of God’s choice to start the firstGentile church (Acts 11:20–23). The order of events in the Book of Acts must be considered to discover the importance of Antioch.
a. The persecution of the Jewish believers drove them from the Jewish center of Jerusalem (Acts 8:1).
b. The salvation of Saul (Paul), the apostle chosen by the Lord to reach the Gentiles (Acts 9:15).
c. The vision given to Peter convincing him of God’s acceptance of the Gentiles into the church (Acts 10:9–19).
d. The salvation of Cornelius, a Gentile of the Italian Band (Acts 10, 11). This place in Acts becomes the turning point of church history as the Gentiles now are included in the church with the authorization of Peter, the apostle to the Jews (Matthew 16:18–19). This single incident convinced all saved Jews that the Holy Ghost would also indwell the Gentile believer (Acts 10:44–48). Acts 11 is given as a testimony by Peter to recount these events to the Jews at the church at Jerusalem. It was Antioch that became the symbol of oneness between the Jew and the Greek in one body (Galatians 3:28).
e. Those dispersed in the persecution arrive at Antioch and preachthe Gospel to the Grecians (Acts 11:20).
f. Barnabasmoves from Jerusalem to Antioch to encourage the church and much people were added to the Lord (Acts 11:21–24).
g. Barnabas finds Paul and brings him to Antioch, where they both taught and encouraged the believers to walk with the Lord (Acts 11:26).
5. The believers in Antioch were the first to be called Christians(Acts 11:26).
6. The church at Antioch began to financially aid the churches in Judaea (Acts 11:27–30).
7. The church at Antioch was the sending church of Paul for all of his missionary journeys, reaching the world for Christ (Acts 13:1–3).
8. The church at Antioch was the first to be freed of Judaism.
· Those seeking to infringe upon the liberty of Christ’s church at Antioch wanted the Gentile believers to incorporate aspects of the Mosaic Law into their church doctrine (Acts 15:1). A council in Jerusalem consisting of elders and apostles determined that such a thing was not Scriptural. They sent a letter by the hands of Barnabas and Paul, and other prophets, Judas and Silas, to read the letter and confirm these things by testimony to the Gentile church at Antioch (Acts 15:23–32).
9. From the church history given in Acts, only those that moved to Antioch were recorded as being used by the Lord.
· Those that returned to Jerusalem after this time were never recorded as being used for the expansion of the early church. Silas stayed behind in Antioch and was used mightily for God’s glory (Acts 15:32–35).
10. Antioch, being the central focus of early Christian activity, became the source of the traditional text from where the King James Bible is translated.
· Even Hort, a self announced opponent to the Traditional text admitted that the Textus Receptus was the text originating out of Antioch.
11. The Antiochan mindset is that the Bible is the perfect Word of God and cannot be improved upon.
a. The teachers at Antioch in the early church promoted and taught literal, not allegorical, Bible interpretation.
“Wilbur Pickering observes that this fact has serious implications in regard to the issue of texts and translations, because ‘a literalist is obliged to be concerned about the precise wording of the text since his interpretation or exegesis hinges upon it.’ He notes that the 1,000 extant manuscripts of the Syriac Peshitta ‘are unparalleled for their consistency,’ and that ‘it is not unreasonable to suppose that the Antiochian antipathy toward the Alexandrian allegorical interpretation of Scripture would rather indispose them to view with favor any completing forms of the text coming out of Egypt’ (Identity of the New Testament Text, chapter 5).” (David Cloud, The Bible Version Issue, p.91)
b. The early Antiochan church rejected Catholicdoctrine, but gradually over decades, succumbed to its teaching through Arianistic influence.
12. The persecutions that were instigated by early Roman emperors provide evidence of the preservation of the Antiochan text.
a. The persecution of Diocletian (A.D. 284–305)
“Under these persecutions not only were Christians put to death but also their Scriptures and writings were systematically destroyed. The most severe of the campaigns was that under Diocletian (A.D. 284-305). ...the period of persecution which lasted almost ten years in the West and much longer in the East was characterized by the systematic destruction of church buildings (and church centers), and any manuscripts that were found in them were publicly burned. ... The persecution by Diocletian left a deep scar not only in church history but also in the history of the New Testament text (Aland, The Text of the New Testament, pp. 65, 70)” (David Cloud, The Bible version Issue p.92)
b. Copies of the Biblical Text were made after the great persecution of Diocletian, due to the dearth of Bible Texts. The text that emerged from this was the Traditional Byzantine Greek Text, not the Alexandrian text.
C. Alexandria, Egypt—the central locality for heathen philosophy
· Alexandria was a pagan city that was well known for its pagan philosophies. It was an educational center, just prior to the New Testament era that elevated an eclectic approach to truth, which typified the then known heathen world. It was also famous for its library and school. Much of its philosophies came from Athens, a city wholly given to idolatry. Paul visited Mars Hill in the city of Athens and sought to persuade the philosophers of their sinful idolatry (Acts 17:16–23).
1. Egypt is viewed negatively in the Scripture.
a. Murderous and adulterous (Genesis 12:10, 12)
b. Slavery (Genesis 37:36)
c. Persecution, killing children (Exodus 1:11, 15, 16)
d. The house of bondage (Exodus 20:2)
e. The iron furnace (Deuteronomy 4:20)
f. God forbids commercial activity with Egypt (Deuteronomy 17:16)
g. God pronounces judgment on Egypt (Jeremiah 46:25).
h. Idolatry (Ezekiel 20:7)
i. Associated with Sodom (Revelation 11:8)
j. A type of the world
2. Alexandria is negatively mentioned in Scripture.
a. Men of Alexandria martyred Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr (Acts 6:9).
b. Apollos came from Alexandria, teaching error (Acts 18:24).
c. Alexandria was a stop on the way to Paul’s deathin Rome (Acts 27:6).
d. After a winter in Malta, a ship from Alexandria delivered Paul to Rome where he was martyred (Acts 8:11).
3. Alexandria is home to numerous heretics and writingsthat corrupted Bible texts after their own ideas and beliefs, namely Gnostic and Arian beliefs.
· Since Alexandria was a hotbed for worldly philosophies, it also had its share of students that promoted these philosophies. There were a number that professed Christ but denied some fundamental doctrines of the faith. They sought to harmonize their philosophical teachings with Christianity. The fruit of their labor is culminated in the Alexandrian type texts used today in modern English Bible translation. This problem of wolves in sheep’s clothing was something that Paul warned about (Acts 20:26–31). The first century pastors fought against many such heretics that would seek to corrupt the Scriptures.
a. False doctrines that influenced false manuscripts in the early church
1) Gnosticism—the Greek word gnosis means “knowledge.”
· This is a broad term used for a myriad of false beliefs. It taught that matter was evil and that spirit was good. This belief separated Jesus into two beings, where the divine Christ came and united Himself with the human Jesus. Since material was evil, marriage was thought to be evil. There were select few called “spirituals,” of whom Christ was one, that would understand the secret knowledge held in secret and passed down. There are those in the “know,” and those not in the “know.” This created an aristocratic pride of some believing themselves to be the “chosen ones.”
a) Valentinus from Egypt in the 2nd century—an offshoot of Gnosticism was Docetism that attacked Jesus Christ in denying the incarnation of Christ and the reality of Christ as being human.
b) Marcion (85–110 A.D.) believed that the God of the Old Testament was different than the God of the New Testament. He believed Jesus Christ was some type of phantom and not a real man and denied the bodily resurrection. Following is a quote from Irenaeus, a sound fundamental pastor in 150 A.D:
“Marcion and his followers have betaken themselves to mutilating the Scriptures. …they assert that these alone are authentic which they themselves HAVE SHORTENED” (Irenaeus, c. 150 A.D.).
· We know that of the corrupt texts used in the translation of modern English versions, the chief characteristics are omissions. 2,886 words are omitted from the text when compared to the Textus Receptus.
c) Adoptionism—Jesus was born an ordinary man, and He became the Son of God at His baptism when the Spirit of God came upon Him.
d) Sabellianism—this is what is known as “modalism”. This teaching denied the Trinity and believed that the three Persons of the godhead were actually one person existing in different forms at different times. The divine substance assumed the different forms of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.
e) Arianism—Arius, an elder in the church at Alexandria, Egypt, promoted it in the 4th century. He taught that the Father alone is God and that the Son of God was not equal to God. He believed the Son was a creature, not the Creator. They believed that Jesus achieved the position of godlikeness, but not being God.
b. Heretical epistles surfacing in the early church
1) The Gospel of Nicodemus—supposedly written by Pilate from material obtained from Nicodemus. It contains a mythical account of Christ in Hell. It also contains the mythical account of Mary’s early years.
2) The Shepherd of Hermas—teaches the heresy of adoptionism. It is the account of a female angel preaching repentance, offering forgiveness through repentance, prayer, and good works apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ.
3) The Epistle of Barnabas—written by an anonymous heretic who allegorized Biblical accounts. It states that the Law was disannulled because Moses smashed the tablets of stone. It also taught that the Jews were to spit on the scapegoat. It also taught water baptism for salvation.
4) The Gospel of Thomas—written in the 2ndcentury, gave record of Jesus Christ’s early life before He was 12 years old. It focused on miracles done by Jesus. The character of these miracles was destructive and whimsical.
5) Other heretical writings were discovered in upper Egypt in 1946: the Acts of Peter, the Apocryphon of John (giving a Gnostic account of the origin of the universe), the Gospel of Truth, the Gospel according to Philip, the Revelation of Adam, and the Gospel According to Thomas.
c. False teachers originated out of Alexandria, Egypt, the home of the corrupt texts.
1) Philo (40–60 A.D.)
a) He intermingled the teaching of Scripture with the philosophies of pagans such as Plato, the Cabala, and the Essenses.
b) Philo’s form of Gnosticism made way for the Arian heresies.
c) Philo interpreted Scripture allegorically.
2) Pantaenus
a) Established a school in Alexandria about 180 A.D.
b) Mixed pagan philosophy with Christianity
c) He is called a Christian philosopher of the Stoic sect.
3) Clement of Alexandria (115–215 A.D.)
a) A student of Pantaenus and taught at the school at Alexandria from 190–202 A.D.
b) Early proponent for the doctrine of purgatory
c) Accepted the apocryphal books as divinely inspired
d) Baptismal regeneration
4) Adamantius Origen (185–254 A.D.)
· Origen, though noted by many as being a “church father,” is in reality a heretic. He was born in Alexandria and attended the theological school that was established there in the 2nd century. This school mixed Greek Philosophy or Gnostic beliefs with Biblical teaching.
"He (Origen) is considered by many to be the most profound mind in the history of the church. But in fact it may be said that he had a greater corrupting influence on the early church and on the Bible itself than any man."(Jack Mooreman, Forever Settled p. 91)
a) Origen spiritualizedthe meaning of Scripture instead of applying proper Biblical hermeneutics, denying the infallibility of the Scriptures.
b) Origen exalted the authority of the church above the Scripture.
c) Origen believed many heretical doctrines.
· Origen believed that man was divine.
· He believed in the pre-existence of souls.
· He taught that everyone, including the Devil, would eventually be saved.
· He described the Trinity as a "hierarchy," not as equality of Father, Son, and Spirit.
· He believed in baptismal regeneration.
· He believed in purgatory.
· He taught that the Holy Spirit was the first creature made by God.
· He believed Christ was created.
· He taught transmigration (this is the belief that at death the soul passes into another body).
· He denied a literal interpretation of the Genesis creation, taught that it was a "myth" and taught that there was no actual person named "Adam."
· He taught that Christ "became" God at His baptism.
· He taught, based on Matthew 19, that a true man of God should be castrated, which he did to himself.
· He denied the physical resurrection of believers.
d) Origen criticized the Biblical Text.
e) Origen deliberately corrupted manuscripts to follow that which he believed.
i. Origen is well known for his Hexpla, which was a six column Hebrew Old Testament promoting different versions.
ii. Origen was also well known for his labour in producing a “correct,” but of course, a corrupt text of the New Testament because of his disfavor of the Bible texts of the day.
f) Modern textual critics exalt Origen and attest to his influence of the Alexandrian texts used to underlie the modern English translations.
“Origen is mentioned repeatedly and favorably by modern textual critics. For example, he is mentioned on 12 pages of Kurt and Barbara Aland’s The Text of the New Testament and on four pages of Bruce Metzger’s The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, corruption, and Restoration. These prominent textual critics see Origen in a positive light rather than as a corruptor of God’s Word.” (David Cloud, The Bible Version Issue, p.88)
It is well accepted that Origen had a hand in the composing of what we call today, the minority texts, which are based in Alexandria, and from which all modern English translations come from, except for the King James Bible.
5) Eusebius (260 A.D.—340 A.D.)
a) Eusebius was greatly influenced by Origen (like begets like). He collected Origen’s writings. He claimed he had collected over eight hundred letters written by Origen.
b) Eusebius was commissioned by the Roman Emperor [1]Constantine to write 50 copies of the Bible. These Bibles were meant to harmonize the pagan element and Christians alike.
“It is possible that Vaticanus and Sinaiticus are two of the 50 copies of the Bible that were copied under the direction of Origen’s disciple Eusebius at the command of Constantine, the father of church statism. This was believed by Constantine Tischendorf, F.J.A. Hort, Alexander Souter, Edward Miller, Caspar Gregory, and A.T. Robertson, among others. T.C. Skeat of the British Museum believed that Vaticanus was a “reject” among the 50 copies (Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, p. 48).” (David Cloud, The Bible Version Issue, p. 89)
c) Eusebius was charged with making changes to the Bible Text that reflect the changes in the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.
“Frederick Nolan and other authorities have charged Eusebius with making many changes in the text of Scripture. Nolan charged Eusebius with removing Mark 16:9-20 and John 8:1-11, among other things. ‘As it is thus apparent that Eusebius wanted [lacked] not the power, so it may be shewn that he wanted not the will, to make those alterations in the sacred text, with which I have ventured to accuse him. ... The works of those early writers lie under the positive imputation of being corrupted. The copies of “Clement and Origen were corrupted in their life time; the manuscripts from which Tertullian’s 90 works have been printed are notoriously faulty; and the copies of Cyprian demonstrate their own corruption, by their disagreement among themselves, and their agreement with different texts and revisals of Scripture. It is likewise indisputable, that these fathers not only followed each other, adopting the arguments and quotations of one another; but that they quoted from the heterodox as well as the orthodox. They were thus likely to transmit from one to another erroneous quotations, originally adopted from sources not more pure than heretical revisals of Scripture. ... New revisals of Scripture were thus formed, which were interpolated with the peculiar readings of scholiasts and fathers. NOR DID THIS SYSTEMATIC CORRUPTION TERMINATE HERE; BUT WHEN NEW TEXTS WERE THUS FORMED, THEY BECAME THE STANDARD BY WHICH THE LATER COPIES OF THE EARLY WRITERS WERE IN SUCCESSION CORRECTED’ (Nolan, An Inquiry into the Integrity of the Greek Vulgate, 1815, pp. 35, 326-332).” (David Cloud, The Bible Version Issue, pp.88, 89)
6) Arius (280 A.D.–336 A.D.)
a) Arius was an influential heretic in Alexandria. His teachings have lived on and found a home in what is commonly known today as the Jehovah’s Witness.
b) Arius taught that Jesus Christ was a created being that was adopted by God.
c) Arius taught that Jesus was not equal to the Father.
d) Arius denied the existence of a triune God.
e) Arius was exiled from Egypt, but later reinstated by the emperor Constantine after falsely swearing about what he truly believed. The emperor was quoted as saying, “If your faith is orthodox, you have done well to swear; but if your beliefs are heretical, and you have sworn falsely, may God judge you according to your oath.”
f) Arius died under extraordinary circumstances.
· Arius was reinstated to the church by the emperor, but Alexander, the Bishop, opposed this action and prayed earnestly that Arius would not be able partake of communion with the church. As Arius’ friends were deriding the bishop, Arius became sick and fell down and died. This occurred the evening before he was to be reinstituted to the presbytery at Alexandria by the emperor’s command.
d. Alexandrian mindset—the Bible has errors and can always be improved upon.
· It is easy to see the blatant attack of false teachers upon the Word of God by examining the source of the texts that have become so popular in the world of Christian academia today. This is an attack on the written revelation of God that reveals to us the Person of our salvation, Jesus Christ. This is the thrust of textual criticism. It is an attack on the Person of Jesus Christ by Satan and his rulers of the darkness of this world. If the Person of Christ can be put into question, there is no salvation for souls. The Scriptures are clear concerning the teaching of these early heretics.
“For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”—II John 1:7
III. The Texts Concerning the King James Bible
A. Textual Transmission
· Textual Transmission is the process by which God used men to copy the Scriptures, thus preserving Them for future generations.
· The issue with the King James Bible is not inspiration, meaning the method God used when the Scriptures were given. The issue is our belief in God’s ability to preserve His Word through textual transmission of these original, inspired Manuscripts and also the translation of these transmitted Texts into the English language.
B. Definition of terms
1. Autographs—the original documents as penned by the New Testament writers under the direction of the Holy Spirit. There are no Autographs in existence today.
2. Apographs—exact copies of the Autographs.
3. Manuscript(s)—is any type of document that has Scripture written on it. These are manuscripts from different time periods and styles. A manuscript can refer to the original Autographs or Copies of the Originals.
· Scripture fragments
· Some contain chapters of a text.
· Some contain whole Books.
· Bible commentaries
· Portions of sermons
· Scripture from hymnals
· Any written source that reproduced some part of a biblical passage
4. Text—is a compilation of manuscripts, compiled and edited to make one unified document or book.
· There are two main texts that have to do with the battle over the King James Bible. There is the text based on Manuscripts that originated in Antioch and was used for the King James Bible. It was originally compiled and edited by Erasmus, who will be discussed later. There is also the text based upon manuscripts complied by Westcott and Hort consisting of Greek manuscripts that originated in Alexandria. This text is corrupt and is being used for all other English translations today.
5. Versions—this refers to a copy of a manuscript in another language. Ancient versions were translations from the Greek in the early days. There are several that are based upon the Received Text.
6. Translations—copies of the Apographs written in another language. The word “translation” means, "to carry over". Websters’ 1828 Dictionary of the English Language defines it as "The act of removing or conveying from one place to another." Vines Dictionary defines it: "to transfer to another place."
· Translation is not interpretation. The object of translating a Greek manuscript into another language is to pick up the words of the Greek and drop them into another language. This is the literal method of translation.
a. The word “translation” and forms of it are used four times in the Scripture.
1) The translation of the kingdom from Saul to David (II Samuel 3:10).
2) The translation of those who are saved from the darkness to the kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13).
3) The translation of Enoch—referring to the change that took place in an instant as Enoch walked with God and was not found (Hebrews 11:5).
b. There are two main translation methods
· Just as there are two different philosophies that are represented by two different localities, which in turn produce two different Greek Texts, there are also two main methods of Bible translation.
1) Literal translation—this correct method of translation seeks to translate the word in the Greek language to the word or words in another language. The translator is concerned with the language being translated, rather than interpreted. This method of translation is concerned about literal equivalency. There are some new English versions that boast literal equivalency, but the text used is the wrong text.
2) Dynamic equivalency—This method of translation leans more to the translators finding a dynamic or energetic equivalent of the Greek word, but not necessarily one that is most accurate to the original word. The translator becomes more of an interpreter than a translator. This is the method used today in most English translations. The dynamic equivalency method violates the three warnings in Scripture regarding changing the Word of God.
a) Deuteronomy 4:1–2
b) Proverbs 3:5–6
c) Revelation 22:18–19
C. Different materials used
1. Papyrus
· Made from the Papyrus plant found alongside the rivers of Egypt. Wafer thin strips were laid side by side with the fibers of the pith running parallel. Another layer with the strips running at a right angle was laid over top of the first layer and moistened. They were then pressed together and smoothed out. They would be pasted together to make scrolls up to ten meters in length. Papyrus was used from the 1st to 10thcenturies.
2. Parchment or Vellum
· Parchment was made of animal skins. Parchment is a word derived from the name of the city “Pergamos” noted for the quality of parchment it produced. Vellum comes from calfskin (veal), though it is used to represent other skins as well, like sheep or goatskin. These were employed after the 4thcentury.
3. Paper
· The earliest MSS existing that was written on paper came from the 9th century; however, paper was most commonly used after the 12th century.
· 1300 of the extant MSS are written on paper.
· Paper and parchment would be placed in a volume or book, which is referred to as a codex.
D. Different styles of manuscripts
· Over the course of time, different types of text styles and materials were used to copy the Scriptures. It is the changeover from the majuscule’s to the minuscule type text in the 9th century and the change over from the minuscule to the cursive script that offers proof in the preservation of the Traditional Text. Every time a change like this took place, those transcribing would carefully select the text that was widely used and accepted. Each changeover shows that the Traditional Text was the choice made. The cursive manuscripts in existence today are 99 percent Traditional Text.
1. 📷Papyrus fragments—these are manuscripts that are made from the papyrus plant located in Egypt.
· They are brittle.
· They contain smaller portions of Scripture.
· There are 88 of these manuscripts in existence today.
· 85% of these manuscripts agree with the Textus Receptus.
2. 📷Majuscules or uncial manuscripts
· Uncials mean “large, long letters.”
· They are written in capital letters.
· There are no spaces between the words.
· There are 267 uncials existing today.
· 97% of existing uncials agree with the Textus Receptus.
📷
3. Cursive or minuscule manuscripts
· They are written in longhand or cursive.
· There are 2, 764 preserved today.
· 99% of existing cursive manuscripts agree with the Textus Receptus.
4. Lectionary manuscripts
📷
· Lection comes from the Latin, meaning “to read.”
· These are portions of Scripture in the Greek and Latin Bibles that were read on certain days in churches.
· Over 2,143 lectionaries exist today.
· 100% of the lectionaries in existence agree with the Textus Receptus.
5. Early church leaders’ writings
· Most of the early writings agree with the Received Text—there are over 80,000 documented quotations or allusions to Scripture by the early church fathers going back to 100 A.D., proving the authenticity of the Textus Receptus. The greater percentages of these refer directly to the Majority Text. However, there is a smaller group that had within hand the Alexandrian texts. Of course, with the onslaught of false doctrine in the early centuries, it must be expected that corrupt writings would find their way into the main stream.
[2]Type
Totals
# of MSS
% of MSS
WH/TR
WH/TR
Papyrus Fragments
81 (88)
13/75
15%/85%
Uncial
267
9/258
3%/97%
Cursives
2764
23/2741
1%/99%
Lectionaries
2143
0/2143
0%/100%
Totals
5255
45/5210
1%/99%
E. Hebrew Old Testament
1. God used the Jews to keep the Scriptures (Romans 3:1–2).
· The Jews were responsible for the guarding of the “oracles” or utterances of God. The Jews copied and canonized the Old Testament Scriptures.
2. Jesus Christ authorized the Hebrew Text that He had at His disposal during His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:4; 5:17–18; Luke 24:27, 44).
3. Rules the copyists followed: (Waite, DTKJB, pp. 24–26)
a. The parchment must be made from the skin of clean animals; must be prepared by a Jew only, and the skins must be fastened together by strings taken from clean animals.
b. Each column must have no less than forty-eight, nor more than sixty lines. The entire copy must first be lined.
c. The ink must be no other color than black, and it must be prepared according to a special recipe.
d. No word or letter could be written from memory; the scribe must have an authentic copy before him, and he must read and pronounce aloud each word before writing it.
e. He must reverently wipe his pen each time before writing the word for “God” (Elohim) and he must wash his whole body before writing the name “Jehovah.”
f. Strict rules were given concerning forms of letters, words and sections as well as the use of the pen, the color of parchment, etc.
g. The revision of a role had to be made within thirty days after the work was finished; otherwise it was worthless. One mistake on a sheet condemned the sheet; if mistakes were found on any page, the entire manuscript was condemned.
h. Every word and every letter was counted, and if a letter was omitted and extra letter inserted, or if one letter touched another, the manuscript was condemned and destroyed at once.
4. The Masoretes
· The Masoretes were a group of Hebrew scholars that were given the responsibility of guarding the Old Testament text. They flourished from 500 A.D. to 1000 A.D.
a. “Masoretic” is from the Hebrew word masar which means “traditional, or to hand down.”
b. Their Hebrew text is called the Masoretic Text (M.T.).
c. The Masoretes standardized the Hebrew Text by inserting vowel markings called “matres lectiones” as a safeguard to insure correct reading of Hebrew words by non-Hebrews.
5. The Hebrew Text used in the King James Bible
a. The Daniel Bomberg edition
1) The first edition was called the First Rabbinical Bible (1516–1517).
2) The second edition was edited by Ben Chayyim and was called the Second Great Rabbinical Bible (1523-1525).
a) This edition was the standard Hebrew Text for the next 400 years.
b) This edition was used in the King James Bible translation.
c) This edition was used in the first two editions of Rudolf Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica (1906, 1912).
· In 1937, Kittel’s Hebrew text was changed based upon the Leningrad Manuscript dated 1008 A.D., not the Traditional Text that was used for four hundred years. This would be known as the Ben Asher Masoretic Text.
· This change occurred because of the same error that many follow in regards to the Greek New Testament texts, that the older manuscripts are somehow purer.
· Most universities and seminaries today will use this changed Kittel text. In addition to the already changed text, footnotes are added to suggest some twenty thousand to thirty thousand changes throughout the Old Testament.
· A major revision was made of Kittle’s Biblia Hebraica called the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, the Stuttgart edition of 1967/77 based on the Ben Asher text. This is the Hebrew text used for the New King James Bible as well as modern translations.
b. The translators of most of the modern English translations use other manuscripts to correct the Masoretic Text that is used in the King James Bible.
1) The Septuagint—a deficient translation of the Hebrew into the Greek
2) The Syriac Version
3) A few Hebrew manuscripts
4) The Latin Vulgate—a Roman Catholic version written in Latin
5) The Dead Sea scrolls—Scrolls found in a cave in the care of the Essenses, a cultic group that left the teachings of the Hebrew faith.
6) Aquila—a Greek Old Testament translation
7) The Samaritan Pentateuch—the Samaritans were a mixed people with their own version of the Old Testament Law.
8) Quotations from Jerome—a Roman Catholic scholar who translated the Latin Vulgate
9) Josephus—a lost Jewish historian
10) Ancient Scribal Tradition
11) Biblia Hebraica
12) Variant Hebrew marginal readings
13) Symmachus—Greek translation of the Hebrew Text
14) Theodotion—Greek translation of the Hebrew Text
15) The Targums—explanations and comments made by Rabbis concerning the Old Testament Scripture
16) The Juxta Hebraica of Jerome for the Psalms—a commentary of the Psalms by Jerome.
F. The Greek New Testament
1. The language of the Autographs and their copies was Koine Greek.
· The original Autographs and successive Manuscripts were written in the Koine Greek Language. This was the common Greek language at the time the Autographs were written. Alexander the Great in his conquest of the world brought the Greek language to the world. This language became the language most commonly understood through the then known world. God saw fit to have the writers of the New Testament use the Greek language, though Greek was not their own language. The time period and the language God used to bring us the New Testament was no mere coincidence. God providentially set up the circumstances to bring mankind the Bible, in Hebrew, in Greek and in English. The universality of the Greek language at this time made the Scriptures clear to understand and to distribute throughout the world.
2. The original Autographs
a. They were given by inspiration—God-breathed (II Timothy 3:16).
b. They are the words of Christ (Hebrews 1:1–3).
c. The Holy Spirit guided the New Testament writers (II Peter 1:19–21).
1) The Holy Ghost reminded the apostles concerning things they witnessed Jesus do when He was on earth (John 15:26).
2) The Holy Ghost showed the apostles things to come(John 16:13).
3) The apostles preached and taught the early church the words of God in tradition, which was later written in letter form and received and believed as inspired (I Thessalonians 2:13).
· Paul (I Corinthians 14:37; II Corinthians 10:1–16; Galatians 1:6–12; II Thessalonians 3:6–14; II Peter 3:15, 16)
· Peter (II Peter 3:2)
· Luke (I Timothy 5:18, cf. Luke 10:7; Deuteronomy 25:4)
d. The churches became the guardians of the New Testament texts.
1) Churches are commanded to hold up the absolute standard of the Truth (I Timothy 3:14–15). The Scriptures are clearly this standard of truth (John 17:17).
2) The original Autographs were carefully copied before They wore out and were disposed of. There are no original Autographs in existence today.
· The need to read the Epistles that were written to specific churches in other churches necessitated the copying of the originals. This was expected to occur and must be superintended by the Holy Ghost (Colossians 4:16; I Thessalonians 5:27 cf. Luke 4:16).
· Irenaeus, a pastor in a second century church, wrote concerning copying—“I adjure you who shall copy out this Book, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by His glorious advent when He comes to judge the living and the dead, that you compare what you transcribe, and correct it carefully against this Manuscript from which you copy; and also that you transcribe this adjuration and insert it in the copy.” (Pickering, The Identity of the New Testament Text, p. 102)
b. These letters were copied with care and distributedthroughout the churches of the world, and accepted as the Word of God (I Thessalonians 2:13).
3. The Textus Receptus
· The Textus Receptusis the Greek Text that represents the Antiochan line of Manuscripts. The Term receptus means “received.” This refers to the fact that the churches throughout the ages have held to the line of manuscripts that are represented by the Textus Receptus, as opposed to the line that are Alexandrian in origin. The Textus Receptus is the Text that underlies the translation of the King James Bible.
a. The Textus Receptus is a Greek text that consists of various Manuscripts that had their origin in Antioch.
b. The Greek text has been called the Textus Receptus (Latin) or the Received Text since 1633 A.D. It was called this because it was the Text that was widely accepted since Its compilation by Erasmus.
c. The Textus Receptus is also referred to by different titles:
1) The Majority Text—this title refers to the fact that the majority of existing manuscripts agree with this text.
2) 📷The Byzantine Text—describes the textual character used, commonly used in the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was the eastern half of the Roman Empire, lasting from 452–1453 A.D. The early churches that stood most soundly for the faith were from this area and thereby produced the true copies of the Scripture.
o The Greek language died out in most parts of the world long before the Byzantine Empire, where it was guarded by Orthodox Greeks. The Scripture Text was preserved in the Byzantine Empire for more than 1,000 years, until the time of the printing press. It was only then that the Orthodox Greeks were driven out. This was also a part of God’s preservation plan for the Scriptures.
3) The Traditional Text—describes the fact that the text was passed down from the churches throughout the ages. It is well accepted that churches that held to Baptistic principles also held to the tradition of the Textus Receptus, rather than the Alexandrian line of manuscripts.
4) The Reformation Text—the Text was instrumental in stirring up the reformation and was used by the reformers when exposing Roman Catholic error.
5) The Universal Text—describes the overall acceptance of the Text by the churches throughout all ages.
d. The Textus Receptus was initially compiled and edited by Erasmus.
1) The life of Erasmus (1466–1536)
a) Erasmus was a Roman Catholic, but never practiced its doctrine. The argument that he was a Roman Catholic does not annul the Text that he compiled for obvious reasons, as we will see.
b) Erasmus was the son of a Roman Catholic priest. His parents died of the plague when he was a lad.
c) Erasmus and his brother were placed in the care of his uncle, who in turn sent them to a monastery to be rid of them.
d) Erasmus chose to become an Augustinian to have access to the finest libraries in Europe.
e) Erasmus was an unwilling member, refusing to keep vigils. He ate meat on Fridays and never functioned as a priest.
f) Erasmus wrote a tract called “Against the Barbarians,” which was directed at exposing the wickedness of the Roman Catholic Church.
g) Erasmus rejected the Roman Catholic teachings.
h) Erasmus was offered a bishopric by the pope as a bribe to silence him, but he refused it. This was a position affording wealth and power.
i) Twenty-three years after Erasmus’ death his writings were placed on the index of books forbidden to be read by Roman Catholics by Pope Paul IV.
2) Erasmus’ Greek Text.
a) Erasmus’ burden—he desired the common man to have a copy of the Scriptures since the only Bible available was the Catholic Bible that was Alexandrian in origin. Erasmus was quoted saying that he longed to the see the Bible in the hands of “the farmer, the tailor, the traveler and the Turk.”He also later added, “the masons, the prostitutes and the pimps.” This caused quite a stir with the Catholic “elite.”
b) Erasmus’ conclusion—he was convinced that the common text of the Roman Catholic Church was of corrupt Alexandrian origin and therefore, rejected it.
· It was corrupt in its translation, favoring Roman Catholic doctrine.
One such example is where Jerome translated Matthew 4:17 as, “Do penance, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
c) Erasmus' preparation—he worked for 15 years on collecting the writings of early church fathers, which predated the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus by hundreds of years. These writings contained many Scripture portions.
· Erasmus further verified his Greek New Testament with Scripture quotations seen in the writings of early Christian writers. His Greek Text is perfect, because he spent the first fifteen years of his studies almost wholly given to translating the early Christian writers of the first few centuries after Christ. In these writings from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries, one finds evidence for the Bible's oldest readings. They usually predate, by several hundred years, the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus manuscripts, from which modern translations get their readings. Froben published Erasmus' work on the ‘Fathers,’ as a series which included, Cyprian, Irenaeus, Chrysostom, Basil, Ambrose and numerous others. Being a theologian, Erasmus knew the origin of heretical omissions. “[I]n many places the virus still lurked of...Marcion,” he noted (Bainton, p. 264).
d) Erasmus' labor—he gathered all the texts available and carefully examined them to ascertain whether they were reliable. This was a task that would require Erasmus’ attention for his whole life.
· Due to the extensive resources available to him, he spent years gathering and cataloging texts of different styles to ascertain their origin as either being Alexandrian or Antiochan.
e) Erasmus’ colleagues—he had colleagues that supplied insight and manuscripts that aided his work.
f) Erasmus’ collection—he had his own collection of manuscripts that were second to none.
· Erasmus’ edition of the Greek text was simply a collection of the preserved Scripture that was once given to the saints through inspiration.
3) Erasmus’ publications
a) The first edition was published in 1516.
· Done hurriedly
· Erasmus was not satisfied with it.
· Not used by any translator nor is any translation based on it
b) The second edition was published in 1519.
· A revision of the first edition in both the Greek and Hebrew
· About 400 changes were made from this first edition, but it still suffered from many typos. Considering the state of printing technology of the day, typos were to be expected in any publication.
· He also used: Codex Aureus loaned to him by the King of Hungary, two manuscripts from the Austin Priory of Corsidonk, a Greek manuscript borrowed from the Monastery at Mt. Saint Agnes.
· Luther used his second edition for his New Testament, although not exclusively.
c) The third edition was published in 1522.
· [3]Included I John 5:7, due to P61
· Used by Tyndale
· The basis for Stephanus' First Edition of 1546
d) The fourth edition was published in 1527.
· 3 Columns—the Greek, the Latin Vulgate and his own Latin translation
· Used 7 manuscripts, including the readings in the Complutensian Polyglot
e) The fifth edition was published in 1535, a year before he died.
· Omitted the Vulgate
· Nearly identical with the 3rd and 4theditions of Stephanus; differs little from his 4th edition
· The Authorized Version can be traced from this edition through Stephanus, not through the "hastily done" first edition.
· The new and revised printings went through a total of 69 printings before Erasmus died.
4) Erasmus’ text revised
a) Robert Stephanus (1503–1559 A.D.)
· He published four revisions of Erasmus’ text (1546, 1549, 1550, and 1551).
· It was Stephanus that was responsible for the verse divisions in the Bible.
· He was also the first to use italic to differentiate the words that are not in the original language, but added to give the sense of it.
· His son testified that his father printed the Bible because of his burning with the love of God.
b) Theodore Beza (1519–1605 A.D.)
· He published ten revisions of Erasmus’ text (1565, 1582, 1588, 1589, 1598). It was Beza’s fifth edition that became the text for the King James Bible.
· He traveled to many cities representing the persecuted Waldenses of Italy, who he considered faithful Christians who had held to the New Testament faith through the Dark Ages.
c) Elzevir brothers were printers that published two editions of the Greek Received Text in 1624 and 1633. It is in the second edition that the phrase Textus Receptus is used. It reads, “You have therefore the text received by all (textum ab omnibus receptum) in which we give nothing changed or corrupt.”
d) It is important to note that there are only slight variations of all of these editions. David Cloud comments:
“There is only a very slight difference between any of these various editions. According to the comparison done by Reuss in 1872, Beza’s 3rd edition of 1582 only departs from Stephanus’ 4th edition of 1551, 38 times in the entire New Testament (Hills, p. 206). And, according to Frederick Scrivener’s research, the King James translators departed from Beza’s 5th edition only 190 times. In contrast, of three of the chief Alexandrian manuscripts, Sinaiticus and Vaticanus and Codex D, Vaticanus disagrees with Vaticanus 652 times and with Codex D 1,944 times in Mark alone. Sinaiticus and Vaticanus disagree with one another in more than 3,000 places in the four Gospels alone! Jack Moorman makes this important observation about the Received Text: ‘These ... differences for the entire New Testament, many of which are very small, are a striking demonstration of the narrow limits of variation within the Received Text tradition. There is, in fact, just enough variation to show the independence of witnesses. Their work reflects a refining process in the providential preservation of the Word of God.’—Moorman, 8000 Differences Between the Textus Receptus and the Nestle-Aland NT Greek Texts, 2002, p. vii.”(David Cloud, The Bible Version Issue, p.134, 135)
e. The Textus Receptus is a pure Text that has been compiled from Manuscripts of Antiochan origin. God used men to compile these Manuscripts and place them into one Text. This gave the King James translators a consistent base to translate into the English language.
f. Fundamental Bible believers all the way to the 20th century have always accepted the Textus Receptus. It had been translated into over 900 languages by the end of the 19th century.
2. The Westcott and Hort Greek Text (1881 A.D.)
· In the 19th century, Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901 A.D.) and Fenton John Hort (1828–1892 A.D.), during a time of the rising tide of textual criticism, were instrumental in challenging the Textus Receptus that had long been accepted as the Word of God. Though they were not the first to attack the foundation of truth, they are noted as the ones that brought the corrupt text that underlies corrupt modern translations and have turned the hearts of once sound Bible believers into Bible doubters. Their Greek text was based upon the Alexandrian philosophy of not possessing a perfect Bible, therefore, opening the door to criticize the Text received for hundreds of years and the Text that was the basis for the King James Bible. Their success is seen in mainstream Christianity’s accepting the corrupted English translations based on this text.
a. Around 1853 A.D., Westcott and Hort began their work on a revised Greek New Testament.
b. Westcott and Hort based their New Testament on Alexandrian manuscripts because of their disdain for the Traditional Text. The two main manuscripts used were the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus.
1) They accepted these manuscripts because they believed them to be earlier copies of the originals.
· Here it is clear to see that their standard of authenticity is that the older the manuscripts the more authentic it is. This is an erroneous assumption, knowing the vast array of false teaching and textual corruption that occurred in the early centuries.
2) They adopted theories to justify their hatred for the Textus Receptus and to accept the manuscripts that omitted many words and passages.
a) Conflation theory—combining different readings to make one
· Hort explained the variations within text types as a special kind of mixture. When two manuscripts differed, the accusation was that a combination of the two would be incorporated rather than going with one reading. Hort would suggest that this accounted for the Textus Receptus being a longer reading than his Alexandrian based text. This was an attempt to post-date the Manuscripts of the Textus Receptus.
b) Recension theory—the pure Text was hidden in the 4thcentury to protect It from corruption, and It resurfaced in the 19thcentury.
· Westcott and Hort, defending the lack of usage of the Alexandrian texts in the 4thcentury, proposed that due to widespread tampering of the Bible texts, true copies were hidden away to maintain their purity. These hidden copies are in their estimation, the Vaticanus and the Sinaiticus that resurfaced in the mid-nineteenth century.
c. Westcott and Hort were not sound in faith.
1) They denied the sufficiency of Christ’s death for atonement of sins.
2) They were in opposition to the evangelical positions in doctrine and were sympathetic to Roman Catholicism.
3) They had a weak view on the authority of Scriptures.
4) They denied the literal days of Creation and believed Darwin’s theory of evolution.
5) They denied the infallibility of the Scriptures.
d. Events surrounding the publication of Westcott and Hort’s text
1) In 1881 A.D., The Southern Convocation of the Church of England sanctions a revised revision of the Authorized King James Bible. The Northern Convocation rejects it.
2) Westcott and Hort secretly distribute their Greek New Testament among the revisers chosen for the new Revised Version of the Bible.
· Westcott and Hort began circulating their text under the radar, maximizing on the fact that English clergy were weak on their faith in the infallibility of the Bible.
3) Westcott and Hort publish the “The New Testament in the Original Greek” Volume I on May 12, 1881.
4) The Revised Version being submitted to the Southern Convocation by Bishop Ellicott of the Church of England is published on May 17, 1881.
5) In October of 1881, Dean Burgon, a staunch defender of the Textus Receptus, writes the first of three articles in the Quarterly Review against the Revised Version.
6) In May of 1882, Bishop Ellicott publishes a pamphlet in response to Burgon, defending the Westcott and Hort Greek New Testament.
7) In 1883 Burgon publishes his book “The Revision Revised,” which included a reply to Ellicott.
e. Various Titles given to Westcott and Hort’s Greek New Testament
1) Minority Text—this title describes the fact that a minority, one percent of existing manuscripts, supports this text.
2) Egyptian Text—this describes the text as being derived from manuscripts originating in Egypt.
3) Alexandrian Text—this describes the fact that the text is based on manuscripts originating out of Alexandria, Egypt.
f. Westcott and Hort’s manuscripts
1) 📷Codex Sinaiticus
· This manuscript is also called “Aleph,” which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
a) Constantine von Tischendorf discovered this manuscript at St. Catherine’s Monastery.
· At the apex of German textual criticism, God-hating professors were teaching students, much like today. Tischendorf is the fruit of men like this. He was taught that the Bible was erroneous and that the content of the original, inspired, apostolic letters could not be known. This fueled his quest to improve the text, which was available to him.
i. He believed the Textus Receptus was riddled with error, yet, was never able to prove any of these errors.
ii. He believed the church had been deceived for 1800 years. He substituted the Received Text with other Greek texts.
iii. The manuscript was found in the wastepaper basket in preparation to be burned. Tischendorf paid hundreds of dollars for it.
· Dr. James Qurollo said, “I don’t know which of them had a truer evaluation of its worth—Tischendorf, who wanted to buy it, or the monks, who were getting ready to burn it!”(D.A Waite, Defending the King James Bible, p.59)
b) It is an uncial written in four columns.
c) It contained the heretical Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.
d) It contained many transcriptional errors.
i. Common errors were what are called in the Greek di homoeoteleuton. That means ”because of a similar ending.” An example is as follows (the bold is omitted from the Sinaiticus):
1 Corinthians 13:1–2 "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. [2] And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."
ii. At least ten different scribes have tampered with this manuscript over centuries before it was discovered at St. Catherine’s.
e) Tischendorf first published the Sinaiticus in 1862.
f) The Sinaiticus was one of the main MSS used by Westcott and Hort in their Greek New Testament.
g) The Sinaiticus omitted Mark 16:9–20. It was later written in and then erased by a different scribe.
2) 📷Codex Vaticanus (codex B)
a) The Vaticanus was a 4th century Greek uncial found in the unholy Vatican library in 1475 A.D.
b) Westcott and Hort preferred the Vaticanus to the Sinaiticus, making it their chief manuscript.
c) The Vaticanus is believed to be one of the fifty copies that Eusebius was commissioned to make from Alexandrian texts.
d) The Vaticanus was forbidden to be read, by the pope, until Rome was captured by Napoleon in 1809. It was brought to Paris where it was studied until 1815.
e) In 1533 A.D. Erasmus was sent 365 readings of the Vaticanus in an attempt to show its superiority. Erasmus rejected this manuscript.
f) A lot of Scripture is omitted from the manuscript.
· In the Gospels it leaves out 749 entire sentences and 452 clauses, plus 237 other words, all of which are found in hundreds of other Greek manuscripts. The total number of words omitted in B in the Gospels alone is 2,877 as compared with the majority of manuscripts.
“It contains most of the Old Testament (except Genesis 1:1–46:28; II Kings 2, 5–7, 10–13; and Psalm 105:27–137:6) but lacks large portions of the New Testament, such as Matthew 3, the Pastoral Epistles (I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon), Hebrews 9:14–13:25, and all of Revelation.” (David Cloud, The Bible Version Issue, p. 147)
· Vaticanus omits Mark 16:9–20. Interestingly enough, space was left on the manuscript to place the missing portion between the Gospels of Mark and Luke. This was a strange omission considering the cost of parchment.
g) The doctrine the Vaticanus reflects is that of Arianism.
· In John 1:18, “the only begotten Son of God” is changed to “the only begotten God.” This breaks the association between God and Jesus Christ as the Word.
h) The Vaticanus contains the Roman Catholic apocryphal books of Judith, Tobias, and Baruch.
3) The Aleph and B differ in 3,036 places not counting the minor errors such as spelling.
“Aleph B D [Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Bezae] are three of the most scandalously corrupt copies extant: exhibit the most shamefully mutilated texts which are anywhere to be met with: have become, by whatever process (for their history is wholly unknown), the depositories of the largest amount of fabricated readings, ancient blunders, and intentional perversions of Truth which are discoverable in any known copies of the Word of God” (Burgon, The Revision Revised, 1883, p. 16).
4) The Vaticanus and the Sinaiticus are two false witnesses that do not stand together and owe their survival to their evil character.
“We suspect that these two Manuscripts are indebted for their preservation, SOLELY TO THEIR ASCERTAINED EVIL CHARACTER; which has occasioned that the one eventually found its way, four centuries ago, to a forgotten shelf in the Vatican library: while the other, after exercising the ingenuity of several generations of critical Correctors, eventually (viz. in A.D. 1844) got deposited in the waste-paper basket of the Convent at the foot of Mount Sinai. Had B and Aleph been copies of average purity, they must long since have shared the inevitable fate of books which are freely used and highly prized; namely, they would have fallen into decadence and disappeared from sight” (Burgon, The Revision Revised, p. 319; see also pp. 30-31).
5) Below are listed the changes made in the Vaticanus (B) and the Sinaiticus (Aleph) as compared to the Traditional Text (taken from David Cloud’s book, The Bible Version Issue pp. 96–97):
· Mark 9:24—“Lord” is omitted in both Sinaiticus (Aleph) and Vaticanus (B)
· Mark 16:9-20—These verses are omitted in Aleph and B, thus ending Mark’s Gospel with the disciples in fear and confusion, with no resurrection and glorious ascension.
· Luke 2:33—“Joseph” is changed to “the child’s father” Aleph, B
· Luke 23:42—“Lord” changed to “Jesus” in Aleph and B, thus destroying this powerful reference to Christ’s deity.
· John 1:18—“the only begotten Son” changed to “the only begotten God” in Aleph and B. John Burgon proved that this reading, which appears in only five Greek manuscripts, could be traced to the heretic Valentinus, who denied the Godhead of Jesus Christ by making a distinction between the Word and the Son of God. In the Received Text there is no question that the Word is also the Son and that both are God. The Word is God (Jn. 1:1); the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:14); the Word is the Son (John. 1:18). By changing John. 1:18 to “the only begotten God,” Valentinus and his followers broke the clear association between the Word and the Son.
· John 1:27—“is preferred before me” omitted in Aleph, B
· John 3:13—“who is in heaven” omitted by Aleph and B
· John 6:69—“the Christ, the Son of the living God” is changed to “the Holy One of God” in Aleph and B
· John 9:35—“Son of God” changed to “Son of man” in Aleph and B.
· John 9:38—“Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him” omitted in Aleph, thus removing this powerful and incontrovertible confession of Christ as God
· John 10:14—“am known of mine” is changed to “mine own know me,” thus destroying “the exquisite diversity of expression of the original, which implies that whereas the knowledge which subsists between the Father and the Son is mutually identical, the knowledge the creature has of the Creator is of a very different sort; and it puts the creature’s knowledge of the Creator on the same level as the Father’s knowledge of the Son, and the Son’s knowledge of the Father” (Philip Mauro, Which Version: Authorized or Revised?).
· Acts 2:30—“according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ” omitted in Aleph and B, thus destroying this clear testimony that Christ Himself fulfills the promise of David
· Acts 20:28—“church of God” changed to “church of the Lord” in Aleph and B; the Traditional Text says plainly that it was God Who died on the cross and shed His blood, whereas the Alexandrian text allows for the heretical view that Jesus is the Lord but that He is not actually God. Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, follow in the footsteps of ancient 2nd century heretics, claiming Jesus as Lord but not as God.
· Acts 14:10—“judgment seat of Christ” changed to “judgment seat of God” in Aleph and B, thus destroying this plain identification of Jesus Christ with Jehovah God (Isaiah 45:23)
· I Corinthians 15:47—“the Lord” omitted in Aleph, B
· Ephesians 3:9—“by Jesus Christ” omitted in Aleph, B
· I Timothy 3:16—“God” is omitted and replaced with “who” in the Sinaiticus (the Vaticanus does not contain the epistle to Timothy)
· I John 4:3—“confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” changed to “confesseth not Jesus” in B; every false spirit will “acknowledge Jesus” in a general sense (even Unitarians, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses), but the spirit of antichrist will not “confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh,” meaning that Jesus Christ is the very Messiah, the very God manifest in the flesh, promised in Old Testament prophecy.
6) The Westcott and Hort text based upon the corrupt manuscripts of Vaticanus and Sinaiticus is used in every English translation to date excluding the King James Bible.
7) Some would like to pit the two lines of manuscripts against each other saying they are two families feuding. The only family of manuscripts is those that consist of the Traditional Text. These agree with one another. The manuscripts that make up the Alexandrian “family” are in major disagreement in many places. This would make one dysfunctional family! It is easy to see by historical, and doctrinal evidence that the Textus Receptus is the Text to be used in the translation of the King James Bible and any Bible translated using the Westcott and Hort text cannot be trusted.
8) The Nestle/Aland Greek Text
· The most prominent Greek Text touted today is the Nestle Text. It is the text of the Unitarian Bible Society. David Cloud explains this text on page 27 of his book, “The Bible Version Issue”
“The Nestle’s Greek New Testament was developed by Eberhard Nestle and first published in 1895. It was based on the Greek New Testaments published by Tischendorf (8th edition), Westcott and Hort, and D. Bernhard Weiss. Since Tischendorf preferred the Sinaiticus and Westcott and Hort preferred the Vaticanus, the Nestle Text is founded largely upon the witness of these two manuscripts. The Nestle’s Text has gone through 27 editions and has been widely used in Bible College and seminary classrooms and translation work. Eberhard’s son Erwin succeeded to the editorship of the Nestle Text after Eberhard’s death in 1913, and in 1950 Kurt Aland became associated with the Nestle project and later editions of the Nestle’s Text are called the Nestle-Aland Text.”
IV. Evidences of the Usage of the Traditional Text
A. Ancient Bible Versions Supporting the Traditional Text
1. The Old Latin or Vetus Itala (157 A.D.)
a. No later than 157 A.D. a Latin version was made of the Antiochan texts called the “Latin Vulgate” which means “vulgar” or “common.” It was a Version to be freely used by the common man. It was accepted throughout Europe and was a reliable translation of the Greek manuscripts from Antioch.
b. There are only 60 Fragments from this version existing today dating from the 4th to 13thcenturies.
c. Around 380 A.D. The Roman Catholic Church commissioned one of their loyal subjects by the name of Jerome to translate a new Latin translation that would be based on the Alexandrian texts. It was a highly Catholic influenced version that reflected their doctrines. They labeled this new Latin translation the “Latin Vulgate” in order to confuse the common man to receive their Bible and reject the old Latin Vulgate. This is the tactic of most peddlers of new English translations as well. This version was largely rejected by the people until 1280 A.D. It stayed among the Roman Catholics for over 900 years unused by the general scope of Christianity who refused to bow to Rome.
2. Syriac Peshitta (150 A.D.)
a. A translation from Syria, where the early Christian missionary center of Antioch existed.
b. 350 ancient manuscripts exist today and they all represent the Traditional Text.
3. The Old Georgian Bible
a. The Georgians were from the mountainous district of the Black and Caspian Sea.
b. The “Old Georgian” translation came about in the 4thcentury out of the Traditional Text.
4. The Gothic Bible (350 A.D.)
a. A missionary Bible translated by Ulfila (311–383 A.D.), to reach the Goth people who had in their invasion into Asia Minor taken his grandparents captive. It became the vernacular Bible of a large portion of Europe.
b. Ulfila had to invent an alphabet from the Greek, Latin and Germanic runic and also extended the language to include many Bible terms.
c. The Gothic language was all but wiped out after the 6th century.
d. Only a few fragments remain of this Bible and these are largely palimpsests, meaning the original Gothic has been scraped off and overwritten with something else.
5. The Slavonic Bible (850 A.D.)
a. A 9th century translation of the Traditional type text by two brothers who were missionaries to the Slavonians.
b. They invented the Cyrillic alphabet
B. Early and early modern churches that used Bibles based on the Traditional Text.
1. The apostolic churches (first century)
2. The churches in Palestine
3. The Syrian Church at Antioch
4. The Italic Church in Northern Italy (157 A.D.)
5. The Gallic Church of South France (177 A.D.)
6. The Celtic Church in Great Britain
7. The Church of Scotland and Ireland
8. The Pre-Waldensian churches
9. The Waldensians (120 A.D. and onward)
10. The Greek Orthodox Church
11. The churches of the Reformation
12. The present Greek Orthodox Church
C. Early Modern Period Bibles Using the Traditional Text
1. The Erasmus Greek New Testament (1516)
2. The Complutensian Polyglot (1522)
3. Martin Luther’s German Bible (1522)
4. William Tyndale’s Bible (1525)
5. The French Version of Oliveton (1535)
6. The Coverdale Bible (1535)
7. The Matthew’s Bible (1537)
8. The Taverner’s Bible (1539)
9. The Great Bible (1539-1541)
10. The Stephanus Greek New Testament (1546–1551)
11. The Geneva Bible (1557–1560)
12. The Bishop’s Bible (1568)
13. The Spanish Version (1569)
14. The Beza Greek New Testament (1598)
15. The Czech Version (1602)
16. The Italian Version of Diodati (1607)
17. The King James Bible (1611)
18. The Elzevir Brothers’ Greek New Testament (1624)
V. The Enemy of the King James Bible—the Roman Catholic Church
· It is important to understand somewhat the role that this false church has had in the translation of Bibles into languages of the common man. It has always been Rome’s position to withhold the script of the Bible from the common man in order to continue its power hold over them. Millions of sincere Christians were murdered and numberless copies of the Word of God were burned by the Roman Catholic Church in an effort to stop the Word of God from getting into the hands of the people. The Scriptures as a spiritual Light would reveal the utter darkness at the heart of this wicked movement. The pope had such power that he could even control the kings of nations, holding over them the power to damn them to Hell. It is in England that the battles were fought for Bible translation. After the dark ages of Catholic rule, the eyes of the people were being opened, and the Roman Catholic Church was struggling to maintain power in England. This led to the Reformation, where people rose up against the Roman Catholic heresies and began exposing them for what they were in a public fashion. It was within this atmosphere that men of God arose with a burden to see the common man have a copy of the Bible in their hands, not just when the reigning King was in favor, but as God led them. Many faced death as a result.
VI. English Translations preceding the King James Bible
· 📷The preface to the King James Bible reveals that the translators for the King James Bible used former translations for comparison in the translation of the King James Bible. It states:
“The Holy Bible containing the Old and New Testaments translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared and revised by his majesty’s special command.”
· The original Greek texts, namely the Antiochan texts as complied and edited by Erasmus, were used for the translation of the King James Bible. There were also a few forerunners to the King James that were translated from the traditional texts into English. It was these translations that the King James translators were referring to in the preface of the Bible. Much work had been accomplished in preparation for the King James Bible that could not be neglected by Its translators.
A. There were portions of the Scripture translated into Anglo-Saxon English. One such portion is the translation work of Bede of Jarrow who is recorded to have translated the Book of John. It is said that he completed the translation of John with his dying breath in 735 A.D.
B. The WycliffeBible (1384 A.D.)—translated by John Wycliffe (1324–1384).
· 📷Wycliffe was a professor at the Oxford University. He also was a Roman Catholic priest. He began to preach against the false doctrines of Catholicism and began to oppose the friars and Catholic clergy in 1360 A.D. He upheld tenaciously the liberty of the individual soul to interpret Scripture and refused to advocate the authority of the Catholic Pope. He was noted to have compared the pope to the antichrist. Though Wycliffe was charged and brought before the Catholic bishops, the Lord delivered him through men like the Duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, aiding him. Another time, the London government and the people stood at his defense after the pope had issued five bulls against him, seeking to cause authorities to carry out the work of arrest and conviction.
1. The significance of Wycliffe’s Bible is that It was the first real translation effort of the whole Bible to the English language.
2. The Wycliffe Bible was translated from the Latin Vulgate. The Latin Vulgate was not a trustworthy Bible. But due to the dying out of the Greek language, it was significant in that it freed the Bible text from the hands of the Catholic Church, making it available for the common people to interpret. It was a victory for the doctrines of the priesthood of the believer (I Peter 2:9), and individual soul liberty (Romans 14:4–7).
3. John Wycliffe was called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” It was his efforts that began the spiritual awakening that spurred on the reformation period.
4. It was a handwritten translation that was distributed in handwritten copies.
5. Though John Wycliffe escaped the grip of the Roman Catholic Church, his bones were exhumed and burnt and scattered in the River Swift that runs through Lutterworth as a statement of defiance of his work almost 44 years after his death. The next two hundred years were filled with persecution and martyrdom. The followers of John Wycliffe, called Lollards, were imprisoned, tortured and killed with their Bibles tied around their necks. What a price was paid by many for us to have a Bible in our hands today! Let us honor the men and women that sacrificed, and let us honor God by believing that through His providential care this Book has been preserved.
C. 📷The Gutenburg printingpress (1439 A.D.)
· Johannes Gutenburg‘s invention of the printing press with movable type brought a new dimension to the distribution and preservation of the Bible. From this point on, the Bible would be reproduced by printing rather than handwritten. This was also a strategic piece of God’s providential plan to bring the Word of God to the English-speaking world. The Gutenburg Bible was printed on this press, which was a rendition of the Latin Vulgate.
D. The Tyndale Bible (1535 A.D.)—translated by William Tyndale (1490 –1535 A.D.)
· 📷No other English translation work had taken place until William Tyndale, a graduate from Oxford University in 1512. While in exile in Europe he commenced his translation of the Greek text into English. The translation of the Bible into English was illegal as the Roman Catholic Church had a strong influence over England.
1. Tyndale’s Bible was the first English Bible translated from the Greek. Tyndale used Erasmus’ third edition of his Greek text.
2. By 1525 A.D., Tyndale had completed the translation of the New Testament. It was first printed in 1526 A.D.
3. In 1535 A.D., Tyndale published a third edition of his New Testament, which was revised substantially.
4. Tyndale began translating the Old Testament.
a. He published the Pentateuch as a pocket book in 1530 A.D. He revised Genesis in 1534 A.D.
b. He published the Book of Jonah around 1531 A.D.
c. He completed the Historical Books from Joshua to II Chronicles. These appear in the Matthew’s Bible.
5. Tyndale’s New Testaments were smuggledback into England. As quickly as they were confiscated, they were burned.
6. Tyndale was martyred on October 6, 1536 A.D., after he was hunted down and kidnapped in Antwerp, Germany. Tyndale’s dying words were, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”
7. King Henry VIII broke free from the Catholic Church and had newfound freedom to have the Bible translated into English. It seems that God was working out the prayer of Tyndale.
8. Tyndale’s contributions to the King James Bible:
a. Phrases
1) “Let there be light, and there was light.”
2) “Male and female created he them.”
3) “Who told thee that thou wast naked?”
4) “The Lord bless, and keep thee: and make His face to shine upon thee.”
5) “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul and with all thy might.”
6) “The powers that be”
7) “A law unto themselves”
8) “Filthy lucre”
9) “Fight the good fight”
10) “Apple of his eye”
11) “The salt of the earth”
12) “The powers that be”
13) “My brother’s keeper”
14) “Lick the dust”
b. Words
1) Jehovah was used from the Hebrew word YHWH, referring to the name of God.
2) Passover
3) Atonement
4) Scapegoat
5) Mercy Seat
6) Shewbread
E. The Coverdale Bible (1535 A.D.)—complied and translated by Miles Coverdale, Tyndale’s assistant
1. The Coverdale Bible consisted of Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament and his incomplete Old Testament. Coverdale translated the remaining Books from German and Latin translations.
2. The Coverdale Bible was the first completeBible in the English language based on the Traditional Greek texts.
3. Coverdale’s contributions to the King James Bible:
a. “Winebibber”
b. “Tendermercies”
c. “lovingkindness”
F. The Matthew’s Bible (1537 A.D.)—John Rogers
1. John Rogers used Tyndale’s translation and Coverdale’s translation with a fresh revision of the Book of Job.
2. The Matthew’s Bible was the first state licensed English Bible translation.
G. The Great Bible (1539 A.D.)—Myles Coverdale was commissioned to publish this Bible.
1. The Great Bible was commissioned for the newly founded Church of England. One copy was placed in every parish.
2. It was called the Great Bible because of Its size. Each page was 14 inches high by 9 inches wide. King Henry VIII issued a proclamation that only the biggest Bibles could be used in the churches, and therefore, this Bible was made larger than the Matthew’s Bible to qualify Its replacement.
3. The Great Bible was in essence the same translation as the Matthew’s Bible.
4. Portions of the text were taken from the Latin, due to many clerics holding the Latin version authoritative.
H. The Geneva Bible (1557, 1560 A.D.)
· After Henry VIII died, his son Edward VI kept the reformation in full swing. His reign did not last long. In 1553 A.D., Mary I became Queen of England. She reversed what Edward was doing, and imposed Catholicism upon England once again and subsequently persecution against the Protestants and their Bible. John Rogers, the translator of the Matthew’s Bible, was the first martyr to be executed under Mary’s reign.
1. Persecuted Protestants fled to Geneva, Switzerland, the power hold of John Calvin, and began a translation work that would be called the Geneva Bible. William Whittingham (John Calvin’s brother in law) completed his translation of the New Testament. Three years later in 1560, he along with other reformers finished the Old Testament and a revised New Testament.
2. It was based on Tyndale’s translation work.
3. It was the first English translation translated entirely from the Greek and Hebrew texts.
4. It was Calvinisticin Its marginal notes.
5. It was the first English Bible with verse divisions. Stephanus’ fourth edition of the Greek text was used in this translation that included these divisions.
6. It was the first Bible to extensively use italics for words not in the original text.
7. It was the Bible brought with the Pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth.
8. It was the Bible Shakespeare used.
9. It had small print and was a much smaller Bible than Its predecessor.
10. It became known as the “Breeches Bible” due to Adam and Eve sewing fig leaves together and making them into “breeches.”
11. It was a very popular Bible in England, and during the 45-year reign of Queen Elizabeth, there were nearly one hundred editions published.
I. The Bishop’s Bible (1568 A.D.)
· In 1558, Queen Elizabeth I took the throne and restored the religious freedoms that were denied by Mary. The Geneva Bible was the most popular Bible during this time, but it was not the Church of England’s “official” Bible as was the Great Bible.
1. The superiority of the Geneva Bible and the dislike of the Geneva Bible’s Calvinistic marginal notes stimulated the need for a new “official” Bible, for the Church of England.
2. It was called the Bishop’s Bible due to the Bishop’s involvement in the translation process. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, oversaw the translation process.
3. This became known as a Tyndale fourth edition.
4. It never gained popularity with the people, and the Geneva Bible continued to dominate until the translating of the King James Bible in 1611 A.D.
J. Douay Rheim’s Bible (1582, 1609, 1610)
· It is important to note this Bible version, not for Its theological input, but since It was an attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to uphold Catholic tradition while facing the Protestant Reformation. The tactics of withholding God’s Word from the people had failed. After centuries of abuses of power by the Catholic Church in murdering Christians and burning Bibles, they now acquiesce by making an English translation of their own.
1. It was translated from the Latin Vulgate, making it a translation of a translation.
2. The Latin Vulgate was based upon Alexandrian texts.
3. Its readability was not good, because of its Latinate vocabulary.
K. The King James Bible (1611 A.D.)
📷
· King James VI of Scotland was born in 1566 A.D., the son of Mary Queen of Scots. James began to rule in 1603 A.D. as King James I of England. King James was an educated man that had personally published his own writings. One of these publications was an essay called, “A Counterblast to Tobacco”(1604). Other writings include “Meditations of the Lord’s Prayer” and a couple of books expounding on the topic of the divine right of rulers. King James was concerned with theology and was noted to have a close walk with God.
1. In 1603, King James faced mounting pressure to spiritually reform the Church of England. A group of Puritans led by John Reynolds, who was the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, presented King James with the “Millennium Petition.” It was named such, as there were signatures from an estimated 1,000 ministers.
2. In 1604, a conference was held at Hampton Court to discuss the petition. Jon Reynolds suggested a new Bible Version to represent this new spiritual reformation since the “official” Bishop’s Bible was not commonly used and the Church due to its Calvinistic influences did not accept the Geneva Bible. King James granted approval of the request for the new translation.
3. Within six months of the conference, a list of 54 translators was compiled. Due to death and withdrawals, it appears 50 were actually involved in the translation process.
4. In 1607, the translation work began, and in 1608 a final draft was produced.
5. In 1611, the King James Bible was published.
6. Three minor revisions were made to the King James Bible (1629, 1638, 1769).
· Most of the changes made to the King James Bible in Its revisions were:
a. Spelling
b. Printing errors
c. Modernizing obsolete words—examples of these changes are blindeto blind, sinne to sin, and borne to born.
d. There were 136 different word changes out of the 791,328 total words.
7. The King James Bible Translators commended the work of the past translators like Tyndale. This commendation is found in the preface to the King James Bible.
“And to the same effect say we, that we are so far off from condemning any of their labors that travailed before us in this kind, either in this land or beyond sea, either in King Henry's time or King Edward's (if there were any translation or correction of a translation in his time), or Queen Elizabeth's of ever renowned memory, that we acknowledge them to have been raised up of God, for the building and furnishing of his church, and that they deserve to be had of us and of posterity in everlasting remembrance. . . . Therefore blessed be they, and most honoured be their name, that break the ice, and give the onset [i.e., beginning] upon that which helpeth forward to the saving of souls. Now what can be more available [beneficial] thereto, than to deliver God's book unto God's people in a tongue which they understand? . . . . if we building upon their foundation that went before us, and being holpen [helped] by their labours, do endeavor to make that better which they left so good, no man, we are sure, hath cause to mislike us; they, we persuade ourselves, if they were alive, would thank us.”
L. There is a continuity between the Tyndale Bible, the Geneva Bible and the King James Bible as shown by the comparison below of John 14:1–9. These are close reproductions of the Tyndale and the Geneva Bibles. The Tyndale Bible did not have verse divisions. These were added for illustration of the continuity of the three versions.
Tyndale
John 14:[1-9]
Geneva
John 14:1-9
KJV
John 14:1-9
And he sayde unto his disciples: let not youre hertes be troubled. Beleve in God, and beleve in me. [2] In my fathers housse are many mansions. If it were not so, I wolde have tolde you. I go to prepare a place for you. [3] And yf I go to prepare a place for you, I will come agayne, and receave you even unto my selfe that where I am, there maye ye be also. [4] And whither I go ye knowe, and the waye ye knowe. [5] Thomas sayde unto him: Lorde we knowe not whither thou goest. Also how is it possible for us to knowe the waye? [6] Jesus sayde unto him: I am the waye, the truthe and the lyfe. And no man commeth unto the father, but by me. [7] If ye had knowen me, ye had knowen my father also. And now ye knowe him, and have sene him. [8] Philip sayde unto him: Lorde shew us the father, and it suffiseth us. [9] Jesus sayde unto him: have I bene so longe tyme with you: and yet hast thou not knowen me? Philip, he that hath sene me, hath sene the father. And how sayest thou then: shew us the father?
Let not your heart be troubled: ye beleeue in God, beleeue also in me. 2 In my Fathers house are many dwelling places: if it were not so, I would haue tolde you: I goe to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I goe to prepare a place for you, I will come againe, and receiue you vnto my selfe, that where I am, there may ye be also. 4 And whither I goe, ye knowe, and the way ye know, 5 Thomas said vnto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest: how can wee then know the way? 6 Iesus said vnto him, I am that way, and that trueth, and that life. No man commeth vnto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had knowen me, ye should haue knowen my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and haue seene him. 8 Philip said vnto him, Lord, shew vs thy Father, and it sufficeth vs. 9 Iesus said vnto him, I haue been so long time with you, and hast thou not knowen me? Philip, he that hath seene me, hath seene my Father: how then sayest thou, Shewe vs thy Father?
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
“Thus it came to pass, that the English Bible received its present form, after a fivefold revision of the translation as it was left in 1537 by Tyndale and Rogers. During this interval of seventy-four years, it had been slowly ripening, till this last, most elaborate, and thorough revision under King James matured the work for coming centuries” (Alexander McClure, The Translators Revived, 1855, p. 59).
VII. The Translation of the King James Bible
A. The Translators
· King James had no part of the translation of the Bible. He simply authorized the work to proceed and agreed to the standards of translation. Fifty-four men were chosen to translate the King James Bible at a time when the English language existed in its purest and fullest form. These men of learning were the cream of the crop. It probably is a true statement to say that in our modern world today, one would not find men that would equal the learning combined with a genuine faith in God. The King James Bible translators as a whole were masters not only of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin but also of all of the cognate or associate languages that are necessary for research into ancient documents relative to the Bible. These include Persian, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, and Chaldee. The ancient languages are much more difficult to read than the modern. These men could read ancient unprinted Manuscripts written in Greek, Latin, Aramaic, German, modern German, Latin and modern Latin.
It is well known these men excelled in these languages. Alexander McClure, the author of “Translators Revived” in 1855 A.D. comments on the quality of these men:
“It is confidently expected that the reader of these pages will yield to the conviction that all the colleges of Great Britain and America, even in this proud day of boastings, could not bring together the same number of divines equally qualified by learning and piety for the great undertaking.”
“As to the capability of those men, we may say against that by the good Providence of God, their work was undertaken in a fortunate time. Not only had the English language, that singular compound, then ripened to its full perfection, but the study of Greek, and of the oriental tongues ... had then been carried to a greater extent in England than ever before or since. ... It is confidently expected that the reader of these pages will yield to the conviction, that all the colleges of Great Britain and America, even in this proud day of boastings, could not bring together the same number of divines equally qualified by learning and piety for the great undertaking. Few indeed are the living names worthy to be enrolled with these mighty men. It would be impossible to convent out of any one Christian denomination, or out of all, a body of translators, on whom the whole Christian community would bestow such confidence as is reposed upon that illustrious company, or who would prove themselves as deserving of such confidence.” (Alexander McClure, author of Translators Revived, 1855)
· John Burgon wrote:
“... the plain fact being that the men of 1611 produced a work of real genius: seizing with generous warmth the meaning and intention of the sacred Writers. ... Verily, those men understood their craft! ‘There were giants in those days.’ ... the Spirit of their God was mightily upon them” (John Burgon, The Revision Revised, 1883, pp. 167, 196).
Edward F. Hills, who had a doctorate in textual criticism from Harvard: “Judged even by modern standards, their knowledge of the biblical languages was second to none” (The King James Version Defended, p. 114).
· These men received no wage for this grand task. The final committee of twelve translators received a nominal pay for expenses incurred.
· The Scholasticism of these men did not play upon their ego. These men though superior in learning where humble men. The preface to the King James Bible reveals the true trust of these men that God used to translate this Bible.
“To that purpose there were many chosen, that were greater in other men’s eyes than in their own, and that sought the truth rather than their own praise . . . And in what sort did these assemble? In the trust of their own knowledge, or of their sharpness of wit, or deepness of judgment, as it were an arm of flesh? At no hand. They trusted in him that hath the key of David, opening, and no man shutting; they prayed to the Lord, the Father of our Lord, to the effect that St. Augustine did, O let thy Scriptures be my pure delight; let me not be deceived in them, neither let me deceive by them. In this confidence and with this devotion, did they assemble together; not too many, lest one should trouble another; and yet many, lest many things haply might escape them.”
· Below are listed some translators and the extent of their qualification for this translation work:
1. Lancelot Andrews—mastered 15 languages
2. Miles Smith—an expert in Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Latin, Greek, and Arabic. They were as familiar to him as his mother tongue.
3. Henry Saville—a Greek scholar that was the first to edit the complete works of Chrysostom. Alexander McCluren comments concerning him, “Sir Henry Saville was one of the most profound, exact, and critical scholars of his age.”
4. John Bois—read the whole Bible in Hebrew at age five.
5. William Bedwell—the best Arabic scholar of his time.
6. Edward Livlie—Religious professor of Hebrew at Cambridge.
7. John Rainolds—highly recognized for his memory and reading which was noted as being unparalleled by any in his day.
8. Richard Brett—was a linguist in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic, and Ethiopic
B. The Translation Method
· Every part of the Bible was translated and examined at least 14 times. Below is the process used by the translators:
1. The translators were divided into six companies, and each company was assigned a portion of Scripture to translate.
2. “Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or chapters; and having translated or amended them severally by himself, where he thinks good…” (rule #8)
3. “…all to meet together, to confer what they have done, and agree for their part what shall stand.” (rule #8)
4. The company of translators would meet together and as the newly translated portion was read aloud verse by verse, each member of the company would compare it to a Bible in some language that they would have in their hand. If anything would strike any of the men as needing alteration they would stop and discuss it, otherwise they would read on.
· If there was any special obscurity or difficulty found, the companies were authorized by rule number eleven to send to any learned in the land for his judgment in such a place.
· Learned men were invited to submit their opinions even if they were not on the translation committee (rule #12).
5. When a company completed a Book, it was sent to the other five companies. Each Book of the Bible was reviewed by all six companies.
“As any one company hath dispatched any one book in this manner, they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of seriously and judiciously; for his Majesty is very careful in this point.” (rule #9)
6. The finished product from each company was submitted to a twelve-man committee that was composed of the two chief men of each company. It would be reviewed and prepared for the press. The final committee would settle any differences that were noted by the different companies.
· The King James Bible went through at least fourteen different examinations. Some portions went through fifteen or sixteen examinations. The basic translation of the companies took two years to complete. The final committee required nine months for the final revision.
The King James Bible was well-received by the public. The popular Geneva Bible lost much popularity since the time of the King James Bible’s publication. Between 1611 and 1614, at least seventeen editions of the King James Version were published, as opposed to only six of the Geneva Bible. Between 1611 and 1644, there were 182 editions of the King James Bible published as opposed to only fifteen Geneva Bibles. By 1618, the Geneva Bible ceased to be printed in England because of the small market, and by 1640 it ceased to be imported from Holland.
C. The rules implemented to guide the translators of the King James Bible.
· Fifteen general rules were advanced for the guidance of the translators:
1. The ordinary Bible read in the church, commonly called the bishops Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the Truth of the original will permit.
2. The names of the prophets, and the holy writers, with the other names of the text, to be retained, as nigh as may be, accordingly as they were vulgarly used.
3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept, viz. the word church not to be translated congregation.
4. When aword hath divers significations, that to be kept which hath been most commonly used by the most of the ancient fathers, being agreeable to the propriety of the place, and the analogy of the faith.
5. The division of the chapters to be altered, either not at all, or as little as may be, if necessity so require.
6. No marginal notes at all to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words, which cannot without some circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be expressed in the text.
7. Such quotations of places to be marginally set down as shall serve for the fit reference of one Scripture to another.
8. Every particular man of each company, to take the same chapter or chapters, and having translated or amended them severally by himself, where he thinketh good, all to meet together, confer what they have done, and agree for their parts what shall stand.
9. As any one company hath dispatched any one Book in this manner they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of seriously and judiciously, for His Majesty is very careful in this point.
10. If any company, upon the review of the Book so sent, doubt or differ upon any place, to send them word thereof; note the place, and withal send the reasons, to which if they consent not, the difference to be compounded at the general meeting, which is to be of the chief persons of each company, at the end of the work.
11. When any place of special obscurity is doubted of, letters to be directed by authority, to send to any learned man in the land, for his judgement of such a place.
12. Letters to be sent from every bishop to the rest of his clergy, admonishing them of this translation in hand; and to move and charge as many skilful in the tongues; and having taken pains in that kind, to send his particular observations to the company, either at Westminster, Cambridge, or Oxford.
13. The directors in each company, to be the Deans of Westminster, and Chester for that place; and the King's Professors in the Hebrew or Greek in either University.
14. These translations to be used when they agree better with the Text than the bishops Bible: Tyndale's, Matthew's, Coverdale's, Whitchurch's, Geneva.
15. Besides the said directors before mentioned, three or four of the most ancient and grave divines, in either of the universities, not employed in translating, to be assigned by the vice-chancellor, upon conference with the rest of the Heads, to be overseers of the translations as well Hebrew as Greek, for the better observation of the 4th rule above specified.
D. The language of the King James Bible
· The style of the King James Bible is not that of the 17th century but is an English style influenced by the Hebrew and Greek.
· The English language at the time of the King James translation was at an apex. Alexander McClure observed:
“The English language had passed through many and great changes, and had at last reached the very height of its purity and strength. The Bible has ever since been the grand English classic. It is still the noblest monument of the power of the English speech. It is the pattern and standard of excellence therein” (The Translators Revived).
1. The King James Bible is written at an 8–10 grade level.
· Dr. Donald Waite ran several books of the King James Bible through the “Right Writer” program. He found Genesis chapter one, Exodus chapter one and Romans chapter eight are on the eighth grade level, while Romans one and Jude are on a tenth grade level.
2. In 1946 Rudolph Flesch analyzed the reading level of various documents from a scale of easy to difficult. He stated that the best example of very easy prose is the King James Bible.
3. The words used in the King James Bible are mostly only one or two syllable words.
· When considering Psalm 23, of the 119 English words, ninety-five are only one syllable; nineteen are are two syllables and only five have three syllables.
4. The King James Bible has a vocabulary of 6,000 words (Albert Cook, The Authorized Version of the Bible and Its Influence, 1910). The Hebrew Old Testament has a vocabulary of 5,642 words and the vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, is about 4,800 words.
· In comparison, Shakespeare had a vocabulary of 21,000 words. The New English Dictionary of the early twentieth century had 113, 677 words.
5. The use of the “thees” and the “thous”
· One of the arguments of those that defend new English translations is the antiquation of the language used in the King James Bible. They do not like the use of “thee” and the “thou.” The language used in the King James Bible was in reality not even used in 1611, but was taken from the older English which kept these words for purity sake, reflecting the singular and plural aspects of the language.
a. Singular—thee, thou, and thine
b. Plural—you, ye, and your
“Marvel not that I said unto THEE, YE must be born again.”—John 3:7
· The message was spoken to an individual, Nicodemus [THEE], but it applies to all men [YE].”
“Jesus saith unto him, THOU hast said: nevertheless I say unto YOU, Hereafter shall YE see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”—Matthew 26:64
· THOU refers to the high priest, but YOU refers to the nation Israel as a whole and to all who will see Him in the day of His glory (Revelation 1:7).
6. Contributions of the King James Bible to the English language
a. “Gave up the ghost”— from Genesis 35:29
b. “Take root” —from II Kings 19:30
c. “Out of the mouth of babes”— from Psalm 8:2
d. “A fly in the ointment”— from Ecclesiastes 10:1
e. “No peace for the wicked”— from Isaiah 57: 21
f. “Put words in your mouth”— from Jeremiah 1:9
g. “Feet of clay”— from Daniel 2:33
h. “Wheels within wheels”— from Ezekiel 10:10
i. “Salt of the earth”—from Matthew 5:13
j. “The blind leading the blind”— from Matthew 15:14
k. “Turned the world upside down”— from Acts 17:6
l. “God forbid”— from Romans 3:4
m. “The powers that be”— from Romans 13:1
n. “Filthy lucre”— from I Timothy 3:3
o. “Fight the good fight”— from II Timothy 4:7
7. Italics
· Italics were the words that were added to the Text that were not found in the Greek or Hebrew text, but needed to insure the correct understanding of the original writing. The use of italics to show the addition of words in translations was not new to the King James translators. It was used in Greek Texts and earlier English translations such as the Geneva Bible.
· Some say they should not be there. If we make such a call, which ones should be removed and which ones left? It would be that either we leave them all or we remove them all. For one man to say leave one and remove another would be to claim they are divinely commissioned to accept or reject the right or wrong words.
a. The italics show the honesty of the King James Bible translators.
· The translators had no problem openly showing which words had to be added to the Text to make the readability good and keep the context right.
· Modern English translations do not italicize added words. Psalm 23:1 says, “The LORD is my shepherd…” The King James translators italicize is while the NIV translation does not, yet, maintains the same translation. The King James translators are just honest about what had to be done.
b. The italics keep the Text in context. All translations need to have words added to maintain the sense of the translation into another language.
· It is obvious and well-accepted by those that know anything about translation work that words must be added to make the sense in a translation from one language to another.
1) Psalm 3:8
a) No italics—"Salvation unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah."
b) Italics—"Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah."
2) Psalm 7:11
a) No italics—"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry every day."
b) Italics—"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day."
3) Psalm 34:16–17
a) No italics—"The face of the LORD against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles."
b) Italics—"The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles."
c. The New Testament writers quote from the Old Testament Italics.
1) The italics of Psalm 16:8 are quoted by Paul in the Greek text of Acts 2:25.
“I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”—Psalm 16:8
“For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved…”—Acts 2:25
2) The italics of Isaiah 65:1 are quoted by Paul in the Greek Text of Romans 10:20.
“I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.”—Isaiah 65:1
“But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.”—Romans 10:20
3) The italics of Psalm 94:11 are quoted by Paul in the Greek text of I Corinthians 3:20.
“The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”—Psalm 94:11
“And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain”.—I Corinthians 3:20
4) The italics of Deuteronomy 25:4 are quoted by Paul in the Greek text of I Corinthians 9:9.
“Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.”—Deuteronomy 25:4
“For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?”—I Corinthians 9:9
5) The italics of Deuteronomy 8:3 are quoted by Jesus in the Greek text of Matthew 4:4.
“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”—Deuteronomy 8:3
“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”—Matthew 4:4
Conclusion:
The King James Bible has not just affected the world in which we live, I believe It has changed the world in which we live. It has motivated missionary efforts, starting in England at the time of Its publication and continues to influence English and non-English speaking countries of the world. England became a nation that sent missionaries all over the world with this glorious Book in their hands. The King James Bible has become the cornerstone Bible to translate the Word of God into numerous other languages. The principles of religious freedom as laid out initially in the governing documents of the United States were directly influenced by the King James Bible. The King James Bible is not a product of the English language, but is in itself a contributor to the development of the English language. No other Bible can make such a claim.
It has been my desire by the showing of the truths in these lessons that every individual can make an educated and spiritual decision on what they believe concerning the place the King James Bible has in their life. If God has promised a perfect Bible, Is the King James Bible that Bible? Or is there another? I do not think that any other Bible makes the claim to perfection, nor can claim it due to the inferiority of the texts, theology, translators, and techniques used. The King James Bible was accepted by God’s ordained institution, the church, authorized by God’s ordained leaders, the government, and has been strengthening God’s ordained institution, the family for centuries. No other Bible has been produced and guided in such a way. God’s Word is revealed, inspired, preserved and inerrant, and I trust that you believe that it is in your hands when you hold a King James Bible. May Its words sink deep in your heart and change you as only God’s words can.
Bibliography
Burgon, Dean John William, Revision Revised, The Dean Burgan Society Press, Collingswood, New Jersey, July 1999
Cloud, David, For the Love of the Bible, Way of Life Literature, Port Huron, MI, USA, 48061-0368, 2002
Cloud, David, The Bible Version Issue, Way of Life Literature, Port Huron, MI, USA, 48061-0368, 2006
Cloud, David, Rome and the Bible, Way of Life Literature, Port Huron, MI, USA, 48061-0368, 2001
Gipp, Samuel, C., The Understandable History of the Bible, Daystar Publishing, Northfield, Ohio, 44067-0587
McClure, Alexander, Translators Revived, website: http://www.wilderness-cry.net/bible_study/translators
Mooreman Jack, Forever Settled, The Dean Burgan Society Press, Collingswood, New Jersey, July 1999
Ray, James, Jasper, God Wrote Only One Bible, The Eyeopener Publishers, Junction City, Oregon, USA, 97448, 1970
Sorenson David, God’s Perfect Book, Northstar Ministries, 1820 W. Morgan Street, Duluth MN, 5811-1878
Waite, Donald, A., Defending the King James Bible, The Bible for Today, INC., 900 Park Avenue, Collingswood, New Jersey, 08108 2002
Westcott, Arthur, Life and Letters of Brooke Foss Westcott, Vol II; Macmillan and Co. Ltd. New York, 1903
[1] Constantine became Emperor in 331 A.D. and sought to have a Bible written that would be acceptable to the Pagans as well as Christians. He made the Roman Catholic Church the state church and established Sunday worship.
[2] Defending the King James Bible D.A. Waite p.56
[3] Erasmus’ first two editions did not contain I John 5:7 because a lack of manuscript evidence; however, the Latin Vulgate did contain the text. He would not include it without strong Greek manuscript evidence. Two texts were produced containing the verse which was enough proof to add the verse in his next edition in 1522.