RANDOM THOUGHTS ON BIBLE VERSIONS

This is a repost of an earlier article under a different title.

These are some of my thoughts on the many versions of the Bible. I myself prefer the King James Version above all others. I figure that if it was good enough for the past 400 years of history, it is good enough for me.

• Not so long ago, people used to bring their Bibles to church and would follow along when the Pastor/teacher read scripture. They could verify for themselves if what the Pastor/teacher was saying was true or not. Today hardly anyone brings their Bible to church as the Pastor/teacher may chose to read out of a different version. How can we know if we are being led astray or if Scripture is being taken out of context? How can we know that what the Pastor/teacher is preaching is truth? With so many different versions it is really hard to tell sometimes.

• The memorization of Scripture was of the utmost importance for many years. Jesus knew the word of God and was able to drive away Satan when tempted. King David clearly saw that knowing the word of God was the key to purity. Paul says that the word is a sword in your amour against the devil's schemes. God's word in your heart keeps your feet from slipping. Yet today we see very little emphasis on memorizing the word of God. Why is that? Could it be that we have too many Bible versions to choose from and the word we try to memorize gets confusing?

• Have you tried to share a passage of Scripture with someone only to get the line “Well, that’s YOUR interpretation!”. Why is it we can no longer agree on the basic principles of what God’s word says? Why is a lot of it left up to the individual’s interpretation? Could it be because we have so many different translations out there and each one says something just a little bit different than the next? This has caused confusion in the Body of Christ and God is NOT the author of confusion - 1 Cor. 14:33.

• Why do all the newer versions compare themselves to the King James Version? Isn't it strange that the new versions never compare themselves to one another?

• When the KJV translators had to add certain words, largely due to idiom changes, they placed the added words in italics so we'd know the difference. Why don’t the new translations do this? If something is removed from the Bible, and placed in a footnote, is that good enough? Most certainly not! This causes one to doubt if God really said that thing and it takes the focus off God’s word, most of the time for the worse. Many time references in the footnotes say, "The oldest manuscripts don't include . . ." This causes one to cast a shadow of doubt upon what they are reading. Also many times footnotes are totally ignored which can drastically change the meaning of what is being read. Why can’t all these “scholars” agree?

• The modern day “scholars” tell us that there were mistakes in the KJV and the newer versions correct these mistakes. If they have better and more accurate versions today then why are there so many of them? Is each one more accurate and better than the other? Why can’t they find all the mistakes at once and put them into one perfect new version that we can all agree on?

• If the Holy Spirit leads us into “All” truth, why did He change His mind over the years? He gave us the KJV for the last 400 years and now there are mistakes to be corrected??? Is this really how the Holy Spirit works?

• There is one true God, yet many false gods. There is one true Church, consisting of true born-again believers in Christ, yet there are many false churches. So why do we have so many different versions of the Bible? Could it be that we have one true Bible, yet many false "bibles"?

• Isn't it true that God inspired His Holy words in the "original manuscripts." Many will tell us that what we have today is not the “inspired true word of God.” Is God that small that He couldn’t preserve a perfect Bible for today? Does this sound like the character of God who says “…one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”? (Matt. 5:18) Could it be that we have the True Inspired Word of God but people today do not want to accept it? They want things their own way?

• It is claimed that the newer Bibles are easier to read. Why was the Bible translated in the first place? So the normal regular every day person could read and interpret the scriptures for themselves without the need of clergy. Have men of education somehow "evolved" and are now more qualified to translate God's word today than in 1611? If the King James Version is so difficult to read and understand by people today and yet the people 400 years ago could understand it, what does that say about our intelligence? Were those people that much more intelligent than we are today – they had no problems understanding the King James Version?

• Many claim that the “thee’s and thous” of the KJ Bible make it too hard to read. These words were not part of the vocabulary in 1611 but were added for clarity of text. They serve an important purpose. The second person in English is rendered "you" in both the singular and the plural. Thus, when "you" is employed in a modern translation, one does not know if it is to be understood as singular or plural. However, "you", "ye", and "your" are always plural in the King James Bible whereas "thy", "thou", "thee" and "thine" always denote the singular - how easy. The King James Bible reads: Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you [plural! all of the apostles] ... 32 But I have prayed for thee [singular - Peter] ... Is man getting dumber or smarter? Hmmm, I wonder.

• Because of the many Bible versions, many people are lacking in true Bible discernment. If we don’t have one true Bible then objective and absolute truth does not exist. Everything becomes a matter of personal interpretation. Seeing there are multiple readers of multiple versions, then it is easy to see why there are multiple interpretations with the end result being no universally valid interpretation. Could the many translations be part of the reason we are having so much trouble reaching the lost for Christ? They use our “many translations” against us, telling us that we can’t even agree amongst ourselves about what the truth is. I think they have a valid point.

• Why are there copyrights on the newer versions of the Bible? The text of the KJV may be reproduced by anyone. There is no copyright forbidding it's duplication.

• The majority of modern Bible publishers - not Bible Societies - are neither religious organizations nor missionary societies. They operate in the cold hard world of business. They don’t care if their product is a faithful reading of the texts or not. They do not “care for our souls” and are not deserving of our unqualified trust. Their only concern is for profit. They are anxious and ready to meet the needs of the people mentioned in 2 Tim. 3:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

What are some of your thoughts?