The King James Version of the Bible - Revision history

Admin: /* What is the best Bible translation? */

2022-03-01T22:08:45Z

What is the best Bible translation?

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:08, 1 March 2022
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	Translations may be located anywhere between the two poles of formal equivalence (word for word) and dynamic equivalence (thought for thought). Click on the chart to the left to get an understanding of where various translation lie.		Translations may be located anywhere between the two poles of formal equivalence (word for word) and dynamic equivalence (thought for thought). Click on the chart to the left to get an understanding of where various translation lie.

	A strictly literal translation would be largely unintelligible, but ~~traditional~~ translations, such as ~~KJV, RSV~~, and ~~NIV~~, have tended to translate sentence structures and figures of speech literally. These are usually perceived as intelligible and often normal, if sometimes a bit unusual for English. Dynamic equivalence (NLT, GNT) makes little if any attempt to preserve original sentence structure, but seeks to state the meaning of the text in natural contemporary idiom. Original metaphors may be retained if their meaning is clear to a contemporary readership~~. Today it seems clear that both types of translations have their place~~. Formal equivalence versions are convenient for deeper study, dynamic equivalence for day to day reading.<ref>Roger A. Bullard, “Bible Translations,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 183.</ref>		A strictly literal translation would be largely unintelligible, but formal equivalence translations, such as the NASB, ESV and KJV, have tended to translate sentence structures and figures of speech literally. These are usually perceived as intelligible and often normal, if sometimes a bit unusual for English. Dynamic equivalence (NLT, GNT) makes little if any attempt to preserve original sentence structure, but seeks to state the meaning of the text in natural contemporary idiom. Original metaphors may be retained if their meaning is clear to a contemporary readership. Formal equivalence versions are convenient for deeper study, dynamic equivalence for day to day reading. There are also some translations that try to strike a balance between the two types of translations. The NIV and NET would be included in this group. Beyond dynamic equivalence translations are the paraphrased versions which aren't direct translations but can still be useful for everyday reading if you understand their limitations (the Message Bible is an example).<ref>Roger A. Bullard, “Bible Translations,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 183.</ref>

	It is interesting that the King James translators faced all the same resurrected issues that modern translations are faced with. There were those, for instance, who felt that a new translation implied that the church had been without the Word of God until then. In the preface already quoted the translators report their critics’ concerns.		It is interesting that the King James translators faced all the same resurrected issues that modern translations are faced with. There were those, for instance, who felt that a new translation implied that the church had been without the Word of God until then. In the preface already quoted the translators report their critics’ concerns.

Admin: /* If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me! */

2022-01-18T21:14:42Z

If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me!

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	A Wycliffe Bible translator once told me that "the only thing worse than no scripture in your own language is badly translated scripture.” That is exactly what [[Cloverdale Bibleway\|Cloverdale Bible Way]] has done and it is a sin!		A Wycliffe Bible translator once told me that "the only thing worse than no scripture in your own language is badly translated scripture.” That is exactly what [[Cloverdale Bibleway\|Cloverdale Bible Way]] has done and it is a sin!

			This video is by a Canadian scholar, Wesley Huff, who is a friend of BelieveTheSign:

			<youtube>https://youtu.be/nlqh43ozuxs</youtube>

	=Original Language of the New Testament=		=Original Language of the New Testament=

Admin: /* Did William Branham believe the KJV was the only inspired English Bible? */

2018-07-11T05:36:53Z

Did William Branham believe the KJV was the only inspired English Bible?

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	:''In the studying of the Scripture, I have been accused, and do a great deal of typology. Which typology is typing the Old with the New. I'll tell you why I do that. It's because of this. Maybe sometimes the--the great words that scholars and so forth try to give the Bible Its--Its terms or pronouncing... I'm satisfied to take the King James for mine. It's waved the storms longer than any translation yet, and I just believe it that way.''<ref>53-0325 ISRAEL.AND.THE.CHURCH.1_ JEFFERSONVILLE.IN</ref>		:''In the studying of the Scripture, I have been accused, and do a great deal of typology. Which typology is typing the Old with the New. I'll tell you why I do that. It's because of this. Maybe sometimes the--the great words that scholars and so forth try to give the Bible Its--Its terms or pronouncing... I'm satisfied to take the King James for mine. It's waved the storms longer than any translation yet, and I just believe it that way.''<ref>53-0325 ISRAEL.AND.THE.CHURCH.1_ JEFFERSONVILLE.IN</ref>

			He also believed there were errors in the KJV:

			:''“And we noticed what that woman said. She turned with startled eyes, and she said, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.’” Now, that… Really, in the King James is mistranslated.<ref>William Branham, 62-0726 - A Testimony Upon The Sea, para. 46</ref>

	Though William Branham did preach and quote primarily from the King James Version, '''he never claimed the King James Version was the only real Bible''', and in fact, used several different versions, including the Darby Translation, and the Amplified Bible. His quote above simply states that he was satisfied to keep the KJV, because it had stood the test of time. That is a personal preference, and, especially in 1953 when he said it, an understandable position. Regardless, the Bible itself did not need vindicating, by William Branham or anyone else. Christians have always, and will always, believe the original manuscripts to be the divinely inspired and authoritative Word of God. Therefore, any faithful translation into English is, by definition, also the Word of God. So what constitutes a faithful translation?		Though William Branham did preach and quote primarily from the King James Version, '''he never claimed the King James Version was the only real Bible''', and in fact, used several different versions, including the Darby Translation, and the Amplified Bible. His quote above simply states that he was satisfied to keep the KJV, because it had stood the test of time. That is a personal preference, and, especially in 1953 when he said it, an understandable position. Regardless, the Bible itself did not need vindicating, by William Branham or anyone else. Christians have always, and will always, believe the original manuscripts to be the divinely inspired and authoritative Word of God. Therefore, any faithful translation into English is, by definition, also the Word of God. So what constitutes a faithful translation?

	There are a number of translations available today, that are not only much clearer to read, but also more faithful to the original texts than the King James Version.		There are a number of translations available today, that are not only much clearer to read, but also more faithful to the original texts than the King James Version.

	=What is the best Bible translation?=		=What is the best Bible translation?=

Admin: /* Where did the KJV come from? */

2018-04-07T22:48:03Z

Where did the KJV come from?

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	=Where did the KJV come from?=		=Where did the KJV come from?=

			The translation work of what we now refer to as the KJV of the Bible was commissioned by King James 1 in 1604.

	==Who translated the KJV?==		==Who translated the KJV?==

	The ~~translation work of~~ what we now ~~refer to~~ as the ~~KJV~~ of ~~the Bible was commissioned by King James 1 in 1604 and~~ was carried out by a group of 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. The ~~Old Testament~~ was ~~translated largely from the Hebrew Masoretic Text~~, and the ~~New Testament~~ was ~~translated from what~~ is ~~now known~~ as the ~~'''Textus Receptus'''~~.		The Old Testament was translated largely from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, and the New Testament was translated from what is now known as the '''Textus Receptus'''. The work of translation was carried out by a group of 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England.

			The completed translation was first published in 1611, and became the third official translation into English. By the mid-18th century, this Authorized Version was the undisputed leading English version of the Bible. It underwent a revision in 1769, resulting in the text that is commonly referred to as the King James Version, even today.

	==The Textus Receptus==		==The Textus Receptus==

	The Textus Receptus came from the work of Erasmus, a Catholic priest, ~~who compiled five or~~ six ~~very late~~ Greek ~~manuscripts dating from~~ the ~~tenth to~~ the ~~thirteenth centuries~~. ~~Earlier~~, ~~more accurate~~, ~~manuscripts had not yet been discovered~~. ~~The completed translation was first published~~ in ~~1611~~, and ~~became~~ the ~~third official translation into English~~. By the ~~mid-18th century~~, ~~this Authorized Version~~ was the ~~undisputed leading English version~~ of the ~~Bible. It underwent~~ a ~~revision~~ in ~~1769~~, ~~resulting in~~ the ~~text~~ that ~~is commonly referred to as~~ the ~~King~~ James ~~Version~~, ~~even today~~.		The Textus Receptus came from the work of Erasmus, a Catholic priest.

			Erasmus was not the first to print an edition of the Greek New Testament. In 1514, the first of six volumes of the Complutensian Polyglot was the Greek New Testament with a Greek glossary. However, the last volume of the Old Testament did not appear until 1517, and the entire project did not attain the sanction of Pope Leo X until March 1520; even then distribution did not occur until about 1522.

			Meanwhile Froben, a printer at Basle, Switzerland, heard of the work of Francisco Ximenes de Cisneros (1437–1517), the cardinal primate of Spain, on the Complutensian Polyglot and determined to anticipate its publication by hiring Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469–1536), the finest Greek scholar of the day.

			These men agreed on this project in March of 1515; Erasmus began his work in July of 1515, finishing by March of 1516! Such speed was detrimental to both thorough research and accuracy. Erasmus had only seven very late manuscripts (none earlier than the eleventh century) for his research and primarily relied upon two of them. He simply entered corrections in these manuscripts where he believed necessary and sent them to the printer for typesetting. In fact, Erasmus himself admitted that his edition had been “thrown together rather than edited.”

			Erasmus’ single copy of the book of Revelation was missing its last leaf containing the final six verses of the book; for these verses as well as for a few others throughout the book Erasmus translated from the Latin Vulgate into Greek! The result was the invention of some Greek readings found nowhere else in any Greek manuscripts. The Baptist Greek scholar A. T. Robertson remarked, “If Erasmus had known that he was working for the ages, instead of getting ahead of Ximenes, he might have taken more pains to edit his Greek Testament.” Moreover, the printed edition contained hundreds of typographical errors; Scrivener declares that Erasmus’ first edition was “in that respect the most faulty book I know.”<ref>James B. Williams and Randolph Shaylor, eds., God’s Word in Our Hands: The Bible Preserved for Us (Greenville, SC; Belfast, Northern Ireland: Ambassador Emerald International, 2003), 169.</ref>

	==Manuscript discoveries since the Textus Receptus==		==Manuscript discoveries since the Textus Receptus==

Admin: /* Manuscript discoveries since the Textus Receptus */

2018-03-19T01:06:37Z

Manuscript discoveries since the Textus Receptus

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	==Manuscript discoveries since the Textus Receptus==		==Manuscript discoveries since the Textus Receptus==

	Over the last few centuries, since the publication of the original King James Version, ~~many~~ Greek manuscripts from as early as the second and third century have surfaced, ~~showing the improved consistency and accuracy one would expect from much older manuscripts. In fact, it is widely believed amongst Bible scholars~~ that ~~this compilation of manuscripts~~ is ~~far superior, both in reliability and accuracy,~~ to the Textus Receptus. Most translations completed in the last 100 years have made full use of ~~the~~ superior Greek texts, for both the Old and New ~~testaments~~, and often use a hundred or more scholars, from many different church backgrounds, to ensure that the original meaning is faithfully transferred into the current English language.		Over the last few centuries, since the publication of the original King James Version, thousands of Greek manuscripts from as early as the second and third century have surfaced, resulting in an overall Greek manuscript that is a lot more closer to the original text than the Textus Receptus. Most translations completed in the last 100 years have made full use of these superior Greek texts, for both the Old and New Testaments, and often use a hundred or more scholars, from many different church backgrounds, to ensure that the original meaning is faithfully transferred into the current English language.

	=How is the Bible translated?=		=How is the Bible translated?=

Admin: /* Who translated the KJV? */

2018-03-19T01:00:45Z

Who translated the KJV?

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:00, 19 March 2018
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	==Who translated the KJV?==		==Who translated the KJV?==

	The translation work ~~that~~ was commissioned by King James 1 in 1604 was carried out by a group of 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. The Old Testament was translated largely from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, and the New Testament was translated from what is now known as the '''Textus Receptus'''.		The translation work of what we now refer to as the KJV of the Bible was commissioned by King James 1 in 1604 and was carried out by a group of 47 scholars, all of whom were members of the Church of England. The Old Testament was translated largely from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, and the New Testament was translated from what is now known as the '''Textus Receptus'''.

	==The Textus Receptus==		==The Textus Receptus==

Admin: /* If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me! */

2018-03-19T00:59:18Z

If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me!

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	=If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me!=		=If the KJV was good enough for Paul, it's good enough for me!=

	First of all, it is important to understand that there is no “original” English Bible. All English versions of the New Testament have been translated from the Greek manuscripts, or in some cases, from a previous Latin or English translation.		First of all, it is important to understand that there is no “original” English Bible. All English versions of the New Testament have been translated from the Greek manuscripts, or in some cases, from a previous Latin or English translation.

	[[Cloverdale Bibleway\|Cloverdale Bible Way]] has translated the KJV into Chinese because they believe that the KJV best reflects the doctrines of [[The Message\|the Message of William Branham]]. Rather than going to the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, they used an archaic English translation that is over 500 years old. How does that even make sense?		[[Cloverdale Bibleway\|Cloverdale Bible Way]] has translated the KJV into Chinese because they believe that the KJV best reflects the doctrines of [[The Message\|the Message of William Branham]]. Rather than going to the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, they used an archaic English translation that is over 500 years old. How does that even make sense?

			A Wycliffe Bible translator once told me that "the only thing worse than no scripture in your own language is badly translated scripture.” That is exactly what [[Cloverdale Bibleway\|Cloverdale Bible Way]] has done and it is a sin!

	=Original Language of the New Testament=		=Original Language of the New Testament=

Admin: /* What is the best Bible translation? */

2016-05-11T22:05:42Z

What is the best Bible translation?

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:05, 11 May 2016
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	[[Image:Bible translations-620x250.png\|thumb\|right\|250px]]		[[Image:Bible translations-620x250.png\|thumb\|right\|250px]]

	Translations may be located anywhere between the two poles of formal equivalence (~~literal~~) and dynamic equivalence (~~free~~). A strictly literal translation would be largely unintelligible, but traditional translations, such as KJV, RSV, and NIV, have tended to translate sentence structures and figures of speech literally. These are usually perceived as intelligible and often normal, if sometimes a bit unusual for English. Dynamic equivalence (~~NEB~~, ~~TEV~~) makes little if any attempt to preserve original sentence structure, but seeks to state the meaning of the text in natural contemporary idiom. Original metaphors may be retained if their meaning is clear to a contemporary readership. Today it seems clear that both types of translations have their place. Formal equivalence versions are convenient for ~~academic~~ study, dynamic equivalence for ~~private~~ reading~~. Both are used in public worship~~.<ref>Roger A. Bullard, “Bible Translations,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 183.</ref>		Translations may be located anywhere between the two poles of formal equivalence (word for word) and dynamic equivalence (thought for thought). Click on the chart to the left to get an understanding of where various translation lie.

			A strictly literal translation would be largely unintelligible, but traditional translations, such as KJV, RSV, and NIV, have tended to translate sentence structures and figures of speech literally. These are usually perceived as intelligible and often normal, if sometimes a bit unusual for English. Dynamic equivalence (NLT, GNT) makes little if any attempt to preserve original sentence structure, but seeks to state the meaning of the text in natural contemporary idiom. Original metaphors may be retained if their meaning is clear to a contemporary readership. Today it seems clear that both types of translations have their place. Formal equivalence versions are convenient for deeper study, dynamic equivalence for day to day reading.<ref>Roger A. Bullard, “Bible Translations,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 183.</ref>

	It is interesting that the King James translators faced all the same resurrected issues that modern translations are faced with. There were those, for instance, who felt that a new translation implied that the church had been without the Word of God until then. In the preface already quoted the translators report their critics’ concerns.		It is interesting that the King James translators faced all the same resurrected issues that modern translations are faced with. There were those, for instance, who felt that a new translation implied that the church had been without the Word of God until then. In the preface already quoted the translators report their critics’ concerns.

Admin at 22:02, 11 May 2016

2016-05-11T22:02:42Z

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	There are a number of translations available today, that are not only much clearer to read, but also more faithful to the original texts than the King James Version.		There are a number of translations available today, that are not only much clearer to read, but also more faithful to the original texts than the King James Version.

			=What is the best Bible translation?=
			[[Image:Bible translations-620x250.png\|thumb\|right\|250px]]

			Translations may be located anywhere between the two poles of formal equivalence (literal) and dynamic equivalence (free). A strictly literal translation would be largely unintelligible, but traditional translations, such as KJV, RSV, and NIV, have tended to translate sentence structures and figures of speech literally. These are usually perceived as intelligible and often normal, if sometimes a bit unusual for English. Dynamic equivalence (NEB, TEV) makes little if any attempt to preserve original sentence structure, but seeks to state the meaning of the text in natural contemporary idiom. Original metaphors may be retained if their meaning is clear to a contemporary readership. Today it seems clear that both types of translations have their place. Formal equivalence versions are convenient for academic study, dynamic equivalence for private reading. Both are used in public worship.<ref>Roger A. Bullard, “Bible Translations,” ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck, Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 183.</ref>

			It is interesting that the King James translators faced all the same resurrected issues that modern translations are faced with. There were those, for instance, who felt that a new translation implied that the church had been without the Word of God until then. In the preface already quoted the translators report their critics’ concerns.

			:''Hath the Church been deceived, say they, all this while?… We hoped that we had been in the right way, that we had had the oracles of God delivered unto us.… Hath the bread been delivered by the Fathers of the Church?… Was their translation good before? Why do they now mend it? Was it not good? (p. xvii).

			Their reply was that,

			:''We do not deny, nay, we affirm and avow, that the very meanest translation of the Bible in English set forth by men of our profession … containeth the word of God, nay, is the word of God: as the King’s speech which he uttered in Parliament, being translated into French, Dutch, Italian, and Latin, is still the King’s speech, though it be not interpreted by every translator with the like grace, nor peradventure so fitly for phrase, nor so expressly for sense, everywhere.… No cause therefore why the word translated should be denied to be the word, or forbidden to be current, notwithstanding that some imperfections and blemishes may be noted in the setting forth of it (p. xix).

			If, even the “meanest” (lowest in quality) of the existing translations could be rightly called the Word of God, to what purpose did the King James translators attempt yet another one? Here they actually quote Jerome (“Hierome” is their spelling), among others, as a worthy example for their own approach of returning yet again to existing Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. They respond to the question of “what they had before them” when they translated the Authorized Version.

			:''If you ask what they had before them, truly it was the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the Greek of the New. These are the two golden pipes, or rather conduits, wherethrough the olive branches empty themselves into the gold. Saint Augustine calleth them precedent, or original, tongues; Saint Hierome, fountains. The same Hierome affirmeth, and Gratian hath not spared to put into his decree, That as the credit of the old books (he meaneth of the Old Testament) is to be tried by the Hebrew volumes; so of the New by the Greek tongue, he meaneth by the original Greek. If truth be to be tried by these tongues, then whence should a translation be made, but out of them. These tongues therefore (the Scriptures, we say, in those tongues) we set before us to translate, being the tongues wherein God was pleased to speak to his Church by his Prophets and Apostles (p. xxiii).

			In addition, the King James translators included in their margins alternate translations for words or expressions whose precise meaning was unknown to them despite their diligent consulting of every text and translation available. They anticipated that this practice of giving multiple translations would be unsettling to some.

			:''Some peradventure would have no variety of senses to be set in the margin, lest the authority of the Scriptures for deciding of controversies by that show of uncertainty should somewhat be shaken (p. xxiii).

			But their own view was that the variety of translations was good, not evil. In support of their position they quoted Augustine, who had said that “variety of translations is profitable for the finding out of the sense of the Scriptures” (p. xxiv). And they argued that it was better not to dogmatize about some of the uncertain words of the original languages.

			:''There be many words in the Scriptures which be never found there but once, (having neither brother nor neighbor, as the Hebrews speak) so that we cannot be holpen by conferences of places. Again, there be many rare names of certain birds, beasts, and precious stones, &c. concerning which the Hebrews themselves are so divided among themselves for judgment, that they may seem to have defined this or that, rather because they would say something, than because they were sure of that which they said, as S. Hierome somewhere saith of the Septuagint. Now in such a case doth not a margin do well to admonish the Reader to seek further, and not to conclude or dogmatize upon this or that peremptorily? (p. xxiv).<ref>James B. Williams and Randolph Shaylor, eds., From the Mind of God to the Mind of Man: A Layman’s Guide to How We Got Our Bible (Greenville, SC; Belfast, Northern Ireland: Ambassador-Emerald International, 1999), 77–79.</ref>



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Admin: /* Did William Branham believe the KJV was the only inspired English Bible? */

2016-01-20T19:09:24Z

Did William Branham believe the KJV was the only inspired English Bible?

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	=Did William Branham believe the KJV was the only inspired English Bible?=		=Did William Branham believe the KJV was the only inspired English Bible?=

	Some message believers apply the following logic: if Brother Branham used the KJV, and he was vindicated of God, then, surely God was vindicating the version of the Bible that Brother Branham used. ~~But what did William Branham believe?~~		Some message believers apply the following logic: if Brother Branham used the KJV, and he was vindicated of God, then, surely God was vindicating the version of the Bible that Brother Branham used.

	~~53-0325 ISRAEL.AND.THE.CHURCH.1_ JEFFERSONVILLE.IN IC 1-34 WEDNESDAY_~~		But what did William Branham believe?
	:''In the studying of the Scripture, I have been accused, and do a great deal of typology. Which typology is typing the Old with the New. I'll tell you why I do that. It's because of this. Maybe sometimes the--the great words that scholars and so forth try to give the Bible Its--Its terms or pronouncing... I'm satisfied to take the King James for mine. It's waved the storms longer than any translation yet, and I just believe it that way.''
			:''In the studying of the Scripture, I have been accused, and do a great deal of typology. Which typology is typing the Old with the New. I'll tell you why I do that. It's because of this. Maybe sometimes the--the great words that scholars and so forth try to give the Bible Its--Its terms or pronouncing... I'm satisfied to take the King James for mine. It's waved the storms longer than any translation yet, and I just believe it that way.''<ref>53-0325 ISRAEL.AND.THE.CHURCH.1_ JEFFERSONVILLE.IN</ref>

	Though William Branham did preach and quote primarily from the King James Version, '''he never claimed the King James Version was the only real Bible''', and in fact, used several different versions, including the Darby Translation, and the Amplified Bible. His quote above simply states that he was satisfied to keep the KJV, because it had stood the test of time. That is a personal preference, and, especially in 1953 when he said it, an understandable position. Regardless, the Bible itself did not need vindicating, by William Branham or anyone else. Christians have always, and will always, believe the original manuscripts to be the divinely inspired and authoritative Word of God. Therefore, any faithful translation into English is, by definition, also the Word of God. So what constitutes a faithful translation?		Though William Branham did preach and quote primarily from the King James Version, '''he never claimed the King James Version was the only real Bible''', and in fact, used several different versions, including the Darby Translation, and the Amplified Bible. His quote above simply states that he was satisfied to keep the KJV, because it had stood the test of time. That is a personal preference, and, especially in 1953 when he said it, an understandable position. Regardless, the Bible itself did not need vindicating, by William Branham or anyone else. Christians have always, and will always, believe the original manuscripts to be the divinely inspired and authoritative Word of God. Therefore, any faithful translation into English is, by definition, also the Word of God. So what constitutes a faithful translation?