By: David Olson
2 TIMOTHY 3:16a ~ "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God"
2 TIMOTHY 3:16a ~ "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God"
1 THESSALONIANS 5:21 ~ "Prove all things; hold fast to what is good."
Of all the hundreds of Bible translations around today and in different generations past, some people select the King James Version (KJV) as the only inspired version, just as the originals were. This is certainly a claim, the translators never made for themselves. The Bible says inspiration stopped when the book of Revelation was complete (Revelation. 22:18-19). Some KJV only people will say that they believe in perfect preservation, not inspiration for the KJV. This is playing with words and is not being completely honest, or just not knowing. The bottomline is, if something is perfect and without error, it has to be inspired. Inspiration in the Bible refers only to the original manuscripts. Every translation has to be judged on its own merits, or lack of them. This includes the KJV which is really only a revised version itself, being based on William Tyndale’s translation, the Bishop Bible, the Geneva Bible, the Rheims New Testament (Catholic version), and other translations.
The historic Fundamental Baptist position has always been that inspiration is claimed only for the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. Dr. Robert L. Sumner, in his booklet on Bible Translations quotes some great Bible preachers and leaders in Fundamental circles. These are: Dr. George S. Bishop, Dr. William Bell Riley, R.A. Torrey, Charles H. Spurgeon, Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, Dr. John R. Rice, Dr. C.I. Scofield, Dr. Louis T. Talbot, Dr. William Graham Scroggie, Dr. Arthur T. Pierson, Dr. B.H. Carroll, Dr. John A. Broadus, Dr. Carl McIntire, Dr. Richard V. Clearwaters, and Dr. James M. Gray, etc. All of these men believed that only the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts were inspired of God, and not any translation or copy.
The paradox of our time is that some say only the KJV is perfect and they are the only real Fundamentalists. The fact is that this KJV only group is a "new fundamentalism". The history of KJV Onlyism is an interesting study. This error started with a man named Benjamin G. Wilkinson (a Seventh-day Adventist). It was he who first misapplied Psalms 12:6-7 to the KJV, which if studied, applies to the persecuted saints of verse 5. Even the translators of the original 1611 KJV agree to this translation in a note in the margin. Then J.J. Ray read Wilkinson’s book and wrote his own book, "God Wrote Only One Bible". Another disseminator of Wilkinson’s misinformation was David Otis Fuller, a Regular Baptist Pastor. He wrote "Which Bible", which grossly misrepresents the views of Spurgeon, Robert Dick Wilson, and Anglican priest John William Burgon. Pastor Fuller bears the brunt of stirring up strife among the brethren ( Proverbs 6:19 ). Then came Peter S. Ruckman who has promoted much more false teachings, and a really bad spirit in KJV Onlyism. Others influenced by Fuller are: D.A. Waite, E.L. Bynum, Jack Chick, Jack Hyles ( who says that "you have to be saved by a KJV." ). This is adding to the gospel and is heresy. May the Lord help us in these days of much confusion, to be wise, to search things out for ourselves, unless we find ourselves following men, and not God. There are many bad translations in the KJV. If this makes your faith waver, then your faith is very shallow and weak. All translations by godly and scholarly men show that salvation is by Grace alone ( Ephesians 2:8-9), Faith alone, and through Christ alone (John 14:6). The Spirit of God can convict anyone of their sin and draw them to Christ. I thank God for all the men who seek with God’s help to be as accurate as they can, to learn Greek and Hebrew, and to make their translation as accurate as possible, and readable to those who would read it. Because even the original manuscripts in Greek used 'Koine Greek', which was the language for the common ordinary people of that time.
To mention a few translation problems with the KJV:
1) KJV call the Holy Spirit an "it" in Romans 8:16, 26. The third Person of the Holy Trinity is not an “it”. This is why some cults use the KJV.
2) Acts 12:4, KJV has Easter instead of Passover. KJV translates this word 26 other times as Passover.
3) Revelation 22:14, teaches salvation by works. This verse is taken from the Latin Vulgate and inserted by Erasmus because he did not have a complete Greek manuscript of the book of Revelation. There is no Greek manuscript in existence today that has this reading.
4) Acts 19:2, much false teaching has been built upon this verse. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) has it right, which reads, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed."
On the other hand, some people make a big deal about the KJV has no copyright like all other versions have today. In 100 hundred years from now, all of the new versions today will also have no copyright and can be printed by anyone. But the KJV can only be printed in England by Oxford and Cambridge printers. But outside of England it can be printed by anyone. The 1611 KJV has copyright which was enforced under the British Law.
It’s really a miracle that we have over 5,000 copies of bits and whole books of the New Testament, but during the process of copying, there was no doctrine compromised. God in His sovereignty has protected His Word. Praise the Lord!
Some Questions to think about by John R. Rice:
1) Where in the Bible does God guarantee that any translator, anyone who copies the Bible, anyone who preaches the Bible, or anyone who teaches the Bible, will be infallibly correct? Where in the Bible? THERE IS NONE.
2) If the KJV is the only perfectly translated version without errors in the English language, then what about the Bishop Bible and other translations that superseded it in the English language? If the KJV of 1611 was now perfect, then what about the Geneva Bible? (The Bible that the Pilgrims brought over to America). America was founded on the Geneva Bible, not KJV. Just a side note.
3) One great edition of KJV left out the word "not" in the commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," but read, "Thou shalt commit adultery," Did God protect that version from error? In the first 100 years the KJV has had many corrections and revisions. If it was right the first time, it did not need corrections. If it is perfect now, then it was not perfect then.
It is interesting, that those who claim that the KJV is perfectly preserved, sound like the Catholics who believe their version is perfect also.
Most people have never seen the copy of an original KJV of 1611. It includes the Apocrypha and has a preface to the readers, which if read today, would clear up a lot of things people say about the KJV. The KJV translators were simply trying to make one good translation out of the many back then. They never claimed to be inspired, but said that, they may have made some errors in translation and hoped that other translators in the future would maybe even correct them.
Does all of this ruin my Faith in God’s Word? NO, I don’t put my Faith in man’s translations. They could be wrong! "Study to show yourself approved of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." (2 Timothy 2:15).
May God help us to be discerning in these days and to prove all things.
To Christ be the glory!
To mention a few translation problems with the KJV:
1) KJV call the Holy Spirit an "it" in Romans 8:16, 26. The third Person of the Holy Trinity is not an “it”. This is why some cults use the KJV.
2) Acts 12:4, KJV has Easter instead of Passover. KJV translates this word 26 other times as Passover.
3) Revelation 22:14, teaches salvation by works. This verse is taken from the Latin Vulgate and inserted by Erasmus because he did not have a complete Greek manuscript of the book of Revelation. There is no Greek manuscript in existence today that has this reading.
4) Acts 19:2, much false teaching has been built upon this verse. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) has it right, which reads, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed."
On the other hand, some people make a big deal about the KJV has no copyright like all other versions have today. In 100 hundred years from now, all of the new versions today will also have no copyright and can be printed by anyone. But the KJV can only be printed in England by Oxford and Cambridge printers. But outside of England it can be printed by anyone. The 1611 KJV has copyright which was enforced under the British Law.
It’s really a miracle that we have over 5,000 copies of bits and whole books of the New Testament, but during the process of copying, there was no doctrine compromised. God in His sovereignty has protected His Word. Praise the Lord!
Some Questions to think about by John R. Rice:
1) Where in the Bible does God guarantee that any translator, anyone who copies the Bible, anyone who preaches the Bible, or anyone who teaches the Bible, will be infallibly correct? Where in the Bible? THERE IS NONE.
2) If the KJV is the only perfectly translated version without errors in the English language, then what about the Bishop Bible and other translations that superseded it in the English language? If the KJV of 1611 was now perfect, then what about the Geneva Bible? (The Bible that the Pilgrims brought over to America). America was founded on the Geneva Bible, not KJV. Just a side note.
3) One great edition of KJV left out the word "not" in the commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," but read, "Thou shalt commit adultery," Did God protect that version from error? In the first 100 years the KJV has had many corrections and revisions. If it was right the first time, it did not need corrections. If it is perfect now, then it was not perfect then.
It is interesting, that those who claim that the KJV is perfectly preserved, sound like the Catholics who believe their version is perfect also.
Most people have never seen the copy of an original KJV of 1611. It includes the Apocrypha and has a preface to the readers, which if read today, would clear up a lot of things people say about the KJV. The KJV translators were simply trying to make one good translation out of the many back then. They never claimed to be inspired, but said that, they may have made some errors in translation and hoped that other translators in the future would maybe even correct them.
Does all of this ruin my Faith in God’s Word? NO, I don’t put my Faith in man’s translations. They could be wrong! "Study to show yourself approved of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." (2 Timothy 2:15).
May God help us to be discerning in these days and to prove all things.
To Christ be the glory!
