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The article below was found at faithfulwordbaptist.org/kingjamesbible.html, but it has since been removed. We retrieved this from https://web.archive.org/web/20130103041613/http://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/kingjamesbible.html to document its existence.
Correcting the King James Bible
by Steven Anderson, 2006
1. Is the King James Bible the Word of God?
2. Do the Original Greek and Hebrew Manuscripts Still Exist?
3. Why Do Preachers Correct the King James Bible?
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” – Proverbs 30:5, 6
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” – Matthew 24:35
“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” – I Corinthians 13:9, 10
1. Is the King James Bible the Word of God?
Somewhere on the face of the earth today, there must be a book that is 100% without error, the very words of God. God promised repeatedly throughout the Bible to preserve his word forever on the earth. “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 forever.” – Psalm 12:6, 7. If man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, then surely God has made his every word available to us. But where is God’s word?
The obvious choice is the King James Bible. God’s word has been available in many forms in the past, of course (i.e. before 1611, etc.), but for our generation God has provided the King James Bible. The King James Bible is not only the best-selling and most translated book in the history of mankind, but is also the Bible that God has used unlike any other in history.
In the Old Testament God chose the nation of Israel to be His tool to bring the gospel and the word of God to the world. This is why he chose to deliver the Old Testament scriptures in the Hebrew language. In the New Testament God chose the Gentiles to be his chosen vessels to carry the gospel to the world, which is why he delivered the New Testament to mankind in the Greek language. Shortly thereafter Antioch and other Syrian-speaking areas became a great hub of the gospel; therefore multitudes of copies of the Bible in the Syrian language were produced.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the nation God was using the most was the nation of England. Over time, the United States of America picked up the torch of the gospel and has been used by God unlike any other nation. The United States has mightily been used by God to take the gospel to the world. English has also become the universal second language of the world. In God’s foresight, he supplied the English-speaking people with a perfect preservation of his word, the King James Bible. Since then, the King James Bible has been translated directly into hundreds of languages and has been the standard for numerous other foreign language translations.
If the King James Bible is not God’s word, then where is God’s word? It must be somewhere, and there is no parallel to the magnificent perfection of the King James Bible. Nor is there any other Bible that has been used anywhere close to as much as the King James Bible has been used to further God’s work.
2. Do the Original Greek and Hebrew Manuscripts Still Exist?
Many believe that God’s preservation and perfection only exist in the “original” Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. There are several problems with this. First of all, the original manuscripts no longer exist. There is no manuscript of any book of the Bible that is even within a hundred years of the original age. This is because paper decomposes and does not last through the centuries. Therefore, the Greek and Hebrew texts we have today are copies of copies, translations, compilations, etc.
This lends the question, “which Greek text is correct?” The ready answer is, “The Textus Receptus, of course!” Yes, but which of the 38 versions of it? “The one the King James Bible was translated from!” Wrong. The King James Bible was not translated from any one edition of the Textus Receptus, but from all available manuscripts as well as heavy reliance on Syrian editions. The edition of the Textus Receptus used today by the majority of King James Bible-believing colleges and seminaries was produced in 1633 - after the King James Bible (1611). It was actually produced from the King James Bible. Not only that, but a fire destroyed all the notes of the King James Bible translators shortly after the work was completed, so we are left with almost nothing as to which texts they actually translated from but pure guesswork.
“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” – I Corinthians 13:9, 10. This verse was written by the apostle Paul, who only had a partial Bible (the Old Testament). The word “perfect” in the Bible means complete (see James 1:4 et al). Today we have the complete, perfect King James Bible, and as God promised, that which was in part has been done away (i.e. the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts used in time past, which were only a part of the Bible respectively).
3. Why Do Preachers Correct the King James Bible?
If God has not preserved the original manuscripts, then why in the world do fundamentalist preachers all over America go back to “the” Greek to correct or augment the King James Bible? They are correcting the perfect Bible with a copy of a copy (the 1633 so-called Textus Receptus). By correcting the Bible, they become the authority for their congregation by dictating to their people what the Bible “really” says. This reminds me of the Dark Ages when the Catholic Church told the masses that they could not understand the Bible for themselves but needed the Church to interpret it for them.
Perhaps pride has something to do with it. Going back to “the Greek” puts the pastor on a pedestal above the laymen in his congregation and gives him a way to seem more intelligent to his people. If a pastor wants his people to respect his knowledge, perhaps he should increase his study of the King James Bible and find the “hidden manna” to give to his people, rather than producing bogus revelations by going to a foreign language which he does not even speak anywhere close to fluently.
After speaking with scores of “Greek experts” and preachers who frequently reference the Greek, and having been fluent myself in 3 foreign languages, I have never met one who could even say, “Hello, how are you doing?” in Greek, much less have a complete knowledge of the language. What they do know is how to use a Greek/English dictionary or lexicon to tell them what the Bible “really means.” It would appear then that the dictionary has become their final authority rather than God’s word. Who wrote this lexicon that supersedes the King James Bible in their mind? The lexicon was certainly not inspired by God.
The King James Bible is God’s word and does not need any additions or corrections. We ought to thank the Lord that we are privileged to have been born in America and have such easy access to the pure word of God. Many people throughout the world are not even privileged to have a part of the Bible or any translation of the Bible, but we in America have the perfect, complete King James Bible. Let us appreciate this gem for what it is and work to reach the rest of the world with its saving power and life-changing truths.
Here is an audio sermon dealing with this subject:
The following file is in mp3 format. You must right-click on this file and "save target as" to download it to your computer.
Pastor Steven L Anderson "The King James Bible" 06/04/06am Sunday