Bogoslovlje-KJV1611

The King James Controversy can be a very sore subject for Christians of different denominations. I stand for the King James Bible of 1611 because of clear evidence of God's hand on the preservation of His Word by this version.

Fables And Facts
About The King James Bible

FABLE: The King James Bible was revised several times before 1800, so modern translations are just additional revisions of the original King James Bible of 1611.
FACT: The so-called "revisions" of the King James Bible prior to 1800 were to correct typographical errors, add notes, and omit the Apocrypha from between the Testaments. There were no changes in the actual TEXT of the King James Bible. The REAL changes (over 36,000 of them) didn't start until the modern revisionists came on the scene.

FABLE: The modern translations are more accurate because they have been translated from older and better manuscripts.
FACT: It is truly amazing how so many Christians have bought into this lie without ever checking to see WHAT these manuscripts are, WHERE they came from, and WHO wrote them. Its also strange that no one seems to be asking the question, "Has God honored these 'older' and 'better' manuscripts throughout Church History?"
The modem translations are based on the work of two nineteenth century Greek scholars from England--B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort. Westcott and Hort, who were deeply involved in the occult, hated the Textus Receptus Greek text, from which the King James Bible was translated, so they conjured up THEIR OWN Greek text. This Westcott and Hort Greek text was based primarily on two very corrupt fourth century ROMAN CATHOLIC manuscripts: Codex Vaticanus (discovered in the Pope's library in 1481) and Sinaiticus (discovered in 1859 in a trash can at St. Catherine's monastery on Mt. Sinai). These are usually the "older" and "better" manuscripts that we keep hearing so much about. These manuscripts support most of the attacks in the new versions.
The Vaticanus is considered to be the most authoritative, although it is responsible for over thirty-six thousand changes that appear today in the new versions. This perverted manuscript contains the books of the pagan Apocrypha, which are not scripture; it omits the pastoral epistles (I Timothy through titus), the Book of Revelation, and it cuts off the Book of Hebrews at Hebrews 9:14 (a very convenient stopping point for the Catholic Church, since God forbids their priesthood in Hebrews 10!). The attacks on the word of God found in these manuscripts originated in Alexandria, Egypt with the deceitful I work of such pagan Greek "scholars" as Origen and Clement of Alexandria. Then in 313 A.D. the Roman emperor Constantine ordered fifty copies of "the Bible" from Eusebius, the Bishop of Caesaria. Eusebius, being a devout student of Origin's work, chose to send him manuscripts filled with Alexandrian corruption, rather than sending him the true word of God in the SYRIAN text from Antioch, Syria. So the corrupt Alexandrian text (also called the "Egyptian" or "Hesychian" type text) found it's way into the Vatican manuscript, then eventually into the Westcott and Hort Greek Text, and finally into the new "Bible" versions in your local "Christian" bookstore. Therefore, when you hear or read of someone "correcting" the King James Bible with "older" or "more authoritative" manuscripts, you are simply hearing someone trying to use a ROMAN CATHOLIC text to overthrow the God-honored text of the Protestant Reformation and the great revivals. God has never honored this corrupt text and He never will.

FABLE: New translations are needed to correct the errors and contradictions in the King James Bible.
FACT: No one has ever proven that there are errors and contradictions in the KJV. Many "Christian" colleges and preachers have a nasty habit of pointing out APPARENT contradictions to their people, but these arguments have been disproven so many times that it is nothing less than disgusting to hear them still being used.

FABLE: New Translations are needed to bring the archaic Old English language up to date. People have trouble understanding the language of the King James Bible.
FACT: The King James language is NOT hard to understand. Most of the so-called "archaic" words are explained by the context of the passage or by comparing the passage with other passages in the Bible where the same word is used. Heady and high-minded people resent the King James language because it is plain and simple, and it isn't in tune with their high-minded vocabulary. In fact, the Grade Level Indicator of the Flesch-Kincaid research company says the King James language is EASIER to understand than the new versions.
We certainly agree that the language of the King James Bible is a unique language, but why shouldn't it be? It's the WORD OF GOD!

FABLE: The King James Bible cannot be infallible because the translators were only men, and all men are sinners. The human element prevents the KJV from being infallible.
FACT: If this is true, then even the ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPHS in Hebrew and Greek were not infallible, because they too were penned by men!
The fact of the matter is that the King James translators were only INSTRUMENTS of preservation (which is exactly what they called themselves in the Dedicatory to the A.V. 1611) God has always been the Divine Preserver of His word (Psa. 12:6-7), but He has used men as tools and instruments of preservation, just as He uses men to teach and preach His words. When men humbly yield themselves to the will of God, God can use them to accomplish His will (Rom. 12:1 2), and this is precisely what happened between 1604 and 1611.

FABLE: The King James translators added to the word of God, because the italicized words in the KJV were not in the originals.
FACT: The Italics in the KJV prove that the translators were HONEST in their work. They set the words in italics so we'd know they were not in the manuscripts they were using.
Besides, no one has a copy of the original manuscripts today, so no one knows for certain that the italicized words aren't in them. In fact, there are many cases where we know that the italicized words are justified. For example, notice in Deuteronomy 8:3 that the word "word" is in Italics. However, when Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew 4:4 he INCLUDES the italicized word! If the italicized word does not belong in the Bible, why did the Lord Jesus quote it?

FABLE: The original King James Bible included the Apocrypha in the Old Testament.
FACT: The King James translators knew the Apocrypha was not scripture, so they placed it BETWEEN the Old and New Testament as a HISTORICAL DOcumENT, not as scripture.
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Why the King James Version?

The King James Version(KJV) of the Holy Bible is 391 years old (in 2002). Some may wonder why Drew's Animals chose this version for their site since many more modern versions are available. While these versions are easier to read there are two principles that our decision was based on.
First: Copyright Permission
All modern translations have been developed through the hard work of translators and scholars. In order to protect the time, money, and effort invested in these works, they have been copyrighted. Without written pemission it is illegal for anyone to reprint these versions, even for free purposes like the Drew's Animals site.
Since the King James Version was completed in 1611, copyright laws had not been developed yet and, therefore, the text of the King James has never and will never be copyrighted. This means we don't need any permission to reprint the text of this Bible. There is no royalty to pay and no terms under which we must comply to publish this text online.

Second: Wide-spread Use
Even after more than 300 years, the King James Version is still the most widely used English Bible in world. It has been printed over and over again by many different publishers and in many different formats and bindings. It is more likely that a user will have a KJV Bible in their home than any other version. This is an advantage, since users may study the Biblical text off-line or on-line without having to struggle through a "change of wording" caused by different translations.
Drew's Animals recommends that serious students follow along in multiple versions (the KJV, and others off-line in their home) to get the most out of the Biblical text. The original text of the Bible was written in Hebrew (Old Testament), Aramaic (Old Testament), and Greek (New Testament). As in any translation, there are differences between English and the original language that will be resolved differently by individual translators. The differences in wording may also help to uncover previously overlooked information simply by sounding fresh to the reader

About the King James Version

A History of the King James

The King James Version (KJV), also known as the Authorized Version of 1611, was commissioned in 1604 by King James of England. During the Hampton Court Conference, a gathering of religious leaders about religious tolerance, Dr. John Reynolds suggested attempting a new translation. The objective of this translation would be to provide a Bible that could be used by clergy and laymen alike. Upon hearing this motion, King James agreed. In fact, it was James himself that set the main rules including one very important limitation: there would be no notes added to the Bible accept those absolutely necessary for the translation of the text.
For two years and nine months, beginning in 1607, selected Hebrew and Greek scholars worked to revise the Bishop's Bible. Instead of translating directly from the original manuscripts, this earlier translation was used as the base for the KJV. The scholars, who numbered forty-eight in all, worked in six groups. Two groups each were located at one of three institutions: Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge. Books were assigned to each group. When they were completed, each section was sent to the other groups for review and the differences were worked out by chosen members of each group. This methodology prevented any one group or person from having too much influence on any one part of the new translation.

Only two years passed (1613) before the first revision was printed. This edition contained 400 some changes. Since, there have been hundreds of editions printed, most of which have changed and corrected portions of the text. The original 1611 is rare today and very much has changed in the version since its first appearance.

Source: Lightfoot, Neil R. How We Got the Bible, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1963.

The Biblical Source

The Bible was written over the course of about 1600 years*[1]*byabout 46 authors*[2]*. It was written in three languages. The majority of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew since it was authored by individuals in the Israelite nation during the course of ancient Jewish history. Portions of some Old Testament books*[3]*were written in Aramaic, which Hebrews learned during the Assyrian/Babylonian/Persian captivities (late 8thcentury to 6thcentury BC). It remained a common language for the Hebrews. So much so that Jesus spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek (common Greek).
Of all the Biblical material authored, no originals (called auotgraphs) survive. Through the years they were lost, destroyed, or simply decayed. The source on which the current Bible was based is composed of literally thousands of copies of these original documents. These copies were made by hand (since the printing press was not invented until the 15th century). Scribes spent countless hours copying page after page of the Biblical text. Eventually, copies of copies were all that was made, since the originals were lost.

Occasionally, errors occurred as scribes misread or miswrote the text. Simple mistakes like not completely forming a letter or accidentally copying words from a line above or below were common. In some cases, scribes would make notes in the margins about the source manuscript, translation problems, or interpretations. A few such notes were copied into the Biblical and treated as if they were part of the scripture.

Even in light of the human errors made in hand copies, the Biblical text remained well preserved and accurate. Due to these errors, however, the science of Textual Criticism developed. In this discipline, scholars compared the copies from different regions and schools of scribes to determine where changes and errors were made. Using a set of logical principles, the manuscripts were analyzed and the original reading was determined. This process has continued as new manuscripts are found in both Greek and Hebrew. Although much of the manuscript evidence we have today was not found until after the time of the King James Version and other early Bibles, such Bibles have now been proven to be remarkably accurate. Many modern translations have taken this new evidence into account, however, and are more accurate in some places.

The Old Testament Source

The Hebrew Bible, which has become the Christian Bible's Old Testament, was assembled by the time of Ezra (400 BC). The Jewish historian Josephus, who lived in the First Century AD, confirms that the present Old Testament was complete by about 400 BC, when the book Malachi *[4]* was added.

The original Hebrew Bible manuscripts were composed of ancient Hebrew characters. There were no spaces between the words, no vowels, and no punctuation. Sentence breaks, individual words, and pronunciation was determined largely by context. Later, manuscripts were written in the curent script*[5]*. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain the oldest fragments including almost the entire book of Isaiah. The Isaiah Scroll dates to about 150 BC while the rest of the fragments fall between 200-100 BC. The next oldest Hebrew manuscripts date in the 10th century AD, including the oldest codex from Babylon dating to AD 916. Vowel points *[6]* were added to the letters by the Massoretic scholars (600-800 AD) who carefully transcribed the Hebrew Bible with these marks in order to preserve the pronunciation and, therefore, the meaning of the original writers. There are approximately 2000 Hebrew manuscripts, most of which are just fragments of books, upon which modern translations are based.

The Hebrew Bible was translated in ancient times into several languages. Some of these translations are actually older than the Hebrew manuscripts existing today. The Hebrew Bible, which was translated into Greek in the 3rd century BC, is called the Septuagint. This was the Bible in common use among the Jews of Jesus' day. The Old Syriac was a translation made in the 2nd century AD, however, no complete copies have survived. In the 4th century AD, the Peshito Syriac was translated from the Syriac and replaced it in use. The Old Latin was made in the 2nd century from the Septuagint. Form it the Latin Vulgate was revised in 382-404 AD by Jerome by going back to the original Hebrew. The Coptic was a codex translated into Coptic, the common language of Egypt, in the 2nd century.

The Hebrew Bible is grouped differently than English versions. Since the grouping was different, so was the order of the books within each group. All the writings of the Bible were grouped in three main catergories: Law (Pentateuch), Prophets, and Writings.*[7]* The Christian Bible and English versions generally use five divisions: Law, History, Poetry, Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets.*[8]*

The New Testament Source

There are at least 2770 Greek manuscripts *[9]* and fragments of the Greek New Testament surviving today. In fact, there is more evidence for the New Testament than another writing of that time period. One of the strongest defenses for the athenticity of the New Testament is the volume of source material for it and the general agreement of all that material. There are three main groups of manuscripts: Unicals, Papyri, and Minuscules.

UNICALS: The Unicals are manuscripts made on Vellum, a type of parchment made from cured animal skins. They are usually bound in book, or codex, form. They are composed of all capital Greek letters with no spaces or punctuation. These manuscripts date back to the 4th to 10th centuries AD. They are perhaps the closest to the original Greek text and are considered very valuable. There were complete codex, or complete Bibles, at one time, but portions have since been lost of destroyed. The three best codex belong to this group: Sinaiticus, Alexandricus, and Vaticanus.

CURSIVES: Also on Vellum are the Cursive manuscripts. These are composed of small letters running together in a similar fashion was English cursive writing or what is sometimes called script in English. They were created between the 10th and 15th century and are less important because they are less old.

PAPYRI: These manuscripts are named for the paper made from pressed papyrus reeds, upon which they are written. A great deal of the oldest copies of the New Testament were written on papyrus. However, when it dried out it became brittle. If it was made damp, it would rot. Because of these factors no papyri survived except those in Egypt where the dry climate preserved them. These were not discovered until the 19th and 20th centuries. These Egyptian papyri date around 200 AD, making them the oldest New Testament evidence. However, very few manuscripts are complete, so the value of the papyri is to confirm the Unical evidence.

In 1611, when the King James was written, very few ancient copies of the Bible existed. Therefore, even the first English Versions were based on ancient versions like the Latin Vulgate. Over the years, as more manuscripts have been found, modern versions have taken them into account. One amazing thing has become apparent, however. In spite of this new evidence, even the Oldest English Versions were remarkably accurate. Somehow, God has managed for the saving message of His Word to reach people regardless of their resources or archeological advancement. This is one of the greatest modern day evidences of God's work among humankind.

[1]* Moses in 1446-1406 BC to the Apostle John in 95 AD.
[2]* Due to the more than 20 Old Testament books with no definite author identified, it is difficult to know exactly how many persons authored the Bible. Tradition has suggested authors for many books without textual evidence.
[3]* Dan. 2:4-7:28, Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26, Jer. 10:11.
[4]* Malachi was written between 433-430 BC. After its completion, 400 passed before Christ delivered the Gospel message which became the New Testament. This 400-year period is often called the Period of Silence or Inter-Testamental Period.
[5]* The first manuscript using the current characters is thought to have appeared around 2nd century BC.
[6]* The Hebrew vowels are no like European letters in that they are included in the word itself. Rather, they appear above, below, or to the left of the consonants like accent marks.
[7]* Law (Pentateuch): Gen. Ex. Lev. Deu.; Prophets: Josh. Jud. I & II Sam. I & II Kings Is. Jer. Ezek. Book of the Twelve (12 minor prophets); Writings: Ps. Prov. Job Song. Ruth Lam. Ecc. Est. Dan. Ezra-Neh. (one book) I & II Chron.
[8]* Law: Gen. - Deu.; History: Josh.-Est.; Poetry: Job-Song.; Prophets: Is.-Mal.
9Over 4000 manuscripts exist if one counts other languages besides Greek. For example, there are many ancient Latin translations.

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HISTORY OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE: When Prince James VI of Scotland became King James Ist of England upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I, the Protestant clergy approached the new King in 1604 and announced their desire for a new translation to replace the Bishop's Bible first printed in 1568. Discontent with earlier versions of the Bible in English had resulted in a conference at Hampton Court in 1604, at which the Puritan party, led by John Reynolds, convinced King James that a new Protestant translation was required. But, emblematic of the inclusiveness of approach that characterized the production of the "King James," the committee found that despite their avowedly Protestant mission, certain phrases and wordings even in the first Catholic New Testament in English (Rheims, 1585) were worthy of inclusion—as well as borrowings from the Tyndale, Wycliffite, Matthew's, Great, Geneva, and Bishops' Bibles (etc.).

About 90 per cent of Tyndale's work and a great part of Coverdale's, survive in the Authorized Version. The Geneva and Rhemes versions, in their different ways, brought a new accuracy to the translation. The Geneva provided pithy phrases, while Latinisms from Rhemes contributed to the majesty of the prose. It has been compared to a great English Cathedral: not the work of one period alone, but due to the devoted creation of several generations.

It was indeed fortunate that this Majestic translation was achieved during one of the most creative periods in English literature, when the English language as we know it was growing out of medieval usage into prose that rolls like a great cathedral organ played by a "Master- Musician". Macaulay said: 'If everything else in our language should perish it [the Authorized King James Version] alone would suffice to show the whole extent of its beauty and power.'

The translators knew that the Geneva Version had won the hearts of the people because of its excellent scholarship, accuracy, and exhaustive commentary. However, they did not want the controversial marginal notes (proclaiming the Pope an Anti-Christ, etc., etc.) Essentially, the leaders of the church desired a Bible for the people, with Scriptural references only for word clarification when multiple meanings were possible.

This "translation to end all translations" (the King James Version) was the result of the combined effort of about fifty scholars. They took into consideration: The Tyndale New Testament, The Coverdale Bible, The Matthews Bible, The Great Bible, The Geneva Bible, and even the Rheims New Testament. The great revision of the Bishop's Bible, resulting in the new King James translation, had begun.

From 1605 to 1606 the scholars engaged in private research. From 1607 to 1609 the work was assembled. In 1610 the work went to press, and in 1611 the First-Edition, first issue of "The King James Bible" came off the printing press.

The First Edition of the "King James Bible" (The Authorized Version) was printed in a black-letter "Gothic" font, in a double-column 59 line format of the era's style, and with a generous use of woodcut illustrated initials as well as head & tail-pieces.

There were two distinct issues of the 1611 First Edition printing, one called The Great "He" Bible for a mistake in the last line of Ruth 3:15 (...and "HE" went into the Citie), and the other one called The Great "She" Bible with the correct (... and "SHE" went into the Citie) both having 59 lines and both printed and issued in 1611. There has long been confusion (due to long lost printing records) as to which of the 1611 First Edition King James Bibles were printed or issued first, the 1611 "HE" Bible or the 1611"SHE" Bible, but most Scholars have now come to agree that the 1611 First Edition "He" and the 1611 First Edition "She" King James Bibles were probably printed at the SAME TIME on two different presses. Later, in 1613 leftover 59 line leaves from the 1611’s were RE-ISSUED with a 1613 General Title page (Old Testament Title Page) and their original 1611 New Testament Title page. These GREAT SHE Bibles were issued in both 1611 and later leftover leaves / Bibles were reissued in 1613. Additionally in 1613 a corrected Second Edition having smaller type and 72 lines (as opposed to the two 1611s with 59 lines) were printed after the final supply of 1611 First Edition 59 line leaves had been exhausted. The publication of the later 72 line 1613 is often called the "True She" Bible, having smaller type and 72 lines instead of the 59 lines per page of the 1611 He and She First Editions. In other words, ("Great He" 59 line Bible = 1611/1611) ("Great She" 59 line Bible = 1611/1611 and 1613/1611) and then in 1613 the ("True She" 72 line Bible = 1613/1613). The publication of the later 72 line 1613/1613 "True She" Bible (not to be confused with the 1611 "Great She" 59 line Bible) was delayed by Barker for reasons that remain unclear.

A typographical error in the King James "He" Bible in Ruth 3:15 rendered the pronoun "He" instead of the correct "She" in the last sentence of that verse. (…"and "He" went into the citie, instead of the correct "She"in the last sentence of Ruth 3:15. This caused the misprinted King James Bibles to be known by collectors as "Great He" Bibles", and the correctly printed 1611 First Editions to be known as "Great She" Bibles. Both the "He" and the "She" Bibles of 1611 had 59 lines. The 1613 Second Edition 72 line is known as the "True She" Bible. (GREAT HE OF 1611 with 59 lines, GREAT SHE OF 1611 with 59 lines, and TRUE SHE OF 1613 with 72 lines).

*Originally, the King James Bible was printed with All 80 Books (including the Apocrypha which was Officially Removed in 1885) Leaving Only 66 Books.

The King James Version of the Bible became the Bible of the English people. It became the most printed book in the history of the world. Incontestably the King James Version of the Bible has been one of the most influential books ever published, not only as a religious work, but also as a work of English literature. As the noted (now, late) Alan G. Thomas wrote in his Great Books and Great Collectors (p. 110), "No book has had greater influence on the English language or on the English character."

As another influential work notes, "It [the King James Bible] has been described as `the only literary masterpiece ever to have been produced by a committee,' and was the work of nearly fifty translators, organized in six groups"

No other book has had greater influence on the English language or, on the English character. For the next three hundred years the majority of English men and women heard the King James Bible read aloud Sabbath after Sabbath and, until recently, a very large proportion of people read the Bible with steady, life-long devotion in their own homes. This great quality was carried to America, where its influence has hardly been less!

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