There is a relatively large segment of religious "fundamentalism" that believes
in what is called KJV onlyism. King James onlyism is the belief that the King James
Version is the only acceptable English translation of the scriptures. Within this
movement is another group that believes the King James Version is perfect, that is,
free of any kind of errors. And within the latter group are men who believe the
translators of the King James Version were directly or supernaturally guided by the
Holy Spirit in their work of translating.
Congregations of Christ have their share of people who also espouse the concept
that the King James Version is the only translation acceptable for preaching from
the pulpit and use in Bible classes. A congregation in Missouri published a
bulletin for years, and on the masthead, the following statement was found, "King
James Version required for pulpit, classrooms, & scripture reading." To their credit,
the statement on the masthead has been changed and now reads, "King James
Version requested for pulpit, classrooms, and scripture reading."
One brother wrote in June 2009, that in an effort to test the reliability of the "new"
translations, he "began to compare some of these new translations to the time tested
and proven standard of the King James Version." The fact that he compared "new
translations" to another translation in order to determine reliability is striking to
say the least! It seems to imply that the KJV is the standard, and that being the
standard; it is perfect. The implications of the brother's statement are astonishing.
How can comparison of one translation to another translation be the proper means
to determine accuracy and reliability. A stream of water can be no better than its
source! Therefore, it is imperative that we ask, "Is the King James Version Perfect?"
There are grammatical, doctrinal, and lexical errors in the King James Version
of the scriptures. This statement is not intended to bash the KJV; it is simply to
state the facts. Many people are quick to point out the errors in the ASV, RSV, NASB,
NIV, NRSV, and ESV, but they often overlook or explain away the errors found in
the KJV. Error is error wherever it's found, whether in the RSV or KJV. And honesty
demands that a person address the error without partiality.
I. Examples of grammatical errors in the KJV.
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..."
(Acts 3:19) The phrase "be converted" in the KJV leaves the impression that it is
something that is done to a person, rather than something they are capable of doing;
thereby making the person passive in God's plan of salvation. But in the Greek text,
the verb (epistrepsate) is an imperative aorist active. The person is commanded to do
something; to turn ! Translations such as the ASV-1901; NASB, RSV, ESV, NRSV,
and NIV get it right.
"For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife."
(Mark 6:18) The word Mark uses is not indicating a simple past perfect as the KJV's
translation "had said" implies. The Greek uses the word (elegen) which is imperfect
indicative active. The text says "John had been saying..." Repetitive action in the past
is implied in this context. The NASB, NRSV, ESV and NIV get it right.
II. Examples of doctrinal errors in the KJV.
"And the Lord added to the church such as should be saved." (Acts 2:47) The
phrase "such as should be saved" is not what the Greek testament says. It says, "the
ones being saved." The KJV's translation of the phrase is influenced by the Calvinism
of the translators. This is an instance of the KJV teaching error because it says
something the Holy Spirit did not say. Doctrine is teaching and in this place, the KJV
does not teach the truth.
" For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these
are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
(Galatians 5:17) The text does not say one "cannot do the things that ye would."
The text says, "that you may not do..." Impossibility is not expressed in this passage.
The KJV's translation of the phrase reflects the Calvinism of the translators. The ASV
and NASB get it right.
III. Examples of lexical errors in the KJV.
"His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of
unicorns..." (Deuteronomy 33:17) The Hebrew word (reem) means "wild ox."
The ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, and NRSV get it right. "Though thou hast sore
broken us in the place of dragons..." (Psalm 44:19) The Hebrew word (tan) means
"jackal." The ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, ESV and NRSV get it right. "And the sucking
child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
cockatrice' den." (Isaiah 11:8) The Hebrew word (peten) means "cobra, serpent." The
ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, and NRSV get it right. The unicorn, dragon, and cockatrice
are mythical creatures!
The fact is, the KJV is not a perfect translation. It is a useful translation like most
others, but it has grammatical, doctrinal, and lexical errors. No translation of the
scriptures is perfect, and no translator or group of translators is supernaturally guided
by the Holy Spirit in their work of translating. If they were we would have "inspired"
errors. Who can believe it?
R. Daly
Copyright 2015
in what is called KJV onlyism. King James onlyism is the belief that the King James
Version is the only acceptable English translation of the scriptures. Within this
movement is another group that believes the King James Version is perfect, that is,
free of any kind of errors. And within the latter group are men who believe the
translators of the King James Version were directly or supernaturally guided by the
Holy Spirit in their work of translating.
Congregations of Christ have their share of people who also espouse the concept
that the King James Version is the only translation acceptable for preaching from
the pulpit and use in Bible classes. A congregation in Missouri published a
bulletin for years, and on the masthead, the following statement was found, "King
James Version required for pulpit, classrooms, & scripture reading." To their credit,
the statement on the masthead has been changed and now reads, "King James
Version requested for pulpit, classrooms, and scripture reading."
One brother wrote in June 2009, that in an effort to test the reliability of the "new"
translations, he "began to compare some of these new translations to the time tested
and proven standard of the King James Version." The fact that he compared "new
translations" to another translation in order to determine reliability is striking to
say the least! It seems to imply that the KJV is the standard, and that being the
standard; it is perfect. The implications of the brother's statement are astonishing.
How can comparison of one translation to another translation be the proper means
to determine accuracy and reliability. A stream of water can be no better than its
source! Therefore, it is imperative that we ask, "Is the King James Version Perfect?"
There are grammatical, doctrinal, and lexical errors in the King James Version
of the scriptures. This statement is not intended to bash the KJV; it is simply to
state the facts. Many people are quick to point out the errors in the ASV, RSV, NASB,
NIV, NRSV, and ESV, but they often overlook or explain away the errors found in
the KJV. Error is error wherever it's found, whether in the RSV or KJV. And honesty
demands that a person address the error without partiality.
I. Examples of grammatical errors in the KJV.
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..."
(Acts 3:19) The phrase "be converted" in the KJV leaves the impression that it is
something that is done to a person, rather than something they are capable of doing;
thereby making the person passive in God's plan of salvation. But in the Greek text,
the verb (epistrepsate) is an imperative aorist active. The person is commanded to do
something; to turn ! Translations such as the ASV-1901; NASB, RSV, ESV, NRSV,
and NIV get it right.
"For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife."
(Mark 6:18) The word Mark uses is not indicating a simple past perfect as the KJV's
translation "had said" implies. The Greek uses the word (elegen) which is imperfect
indicative active. The text says "John had been saying..." Repetitive action in the past
is implied in this context. The NASB, NRSV, ESV and NIV get it right.
II. Examples of doctrinal errors in the KJV.
"And the Lord added to the church such as should be saved." (Acts 2:47) The
phrase "such as should be saved" is not what the Greek testament says. It says, "the
ones being saved." The KJV's translation of the phrase is influenced by the Calvinism
of the translators. This is an instance of the KJV teaching error because it says
something the Holy Spirit did not say. Doctrine is teaching and in this place, the KJV
does not teach the truth.
" For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these
are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."
(Galatians 5:17) The text does not say one "cannot do the things that ye would."
The text says, "that you may not do..." Impossibility is not expressed in this passage.
The KJV's translation of the phrase reflects the Calvinism of the translators. The ASV
and NASB get it right.
III. Examples of lexical errors in the KJV.
"His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of
unicorns..." (Deuteronomy 33:17) The Hebrew word (reem) means "wild ox."
The ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, and NRSV get it right. "Though thou hast sore
broken us in the place of dragons..." (Psalm 44:19) The Hebrew word (tan) means
"jackal." The ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, ESV and NRSV get it right. "And the sucking
child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
cockatrice' den." (Isaiah 11:8) The Hebrew word (peten) means "cobra, serpent." The
ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, and NRSV get it right. The unicorn, dragon, and cockatrice
are mythical creatures!
The fact is, the KJV is not a perfect translation. It is a useful translation like most
others, but it has grammatical, doctrinal, and lexical errors. No translation of the
scriptures is perfect, and no translator or group of translators is supernaturally guided
by the Holy Spirit in their work of translating. If they were we would have "inspired"
errors. Who can believe it?
R. Daly
Copyright 2015
Hi all. Mr. Daly is his own authority and he is wrong on just about everything he stated concerning the King James Bible.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Unicorns is correct. His "wild ox" is just a wild guess.
"Is the word Unicorn an error in the KJB?"
http://brandplucked.webs.com/unicorns.htm
Secondly, Acts 2:47 is also a legitimate translation of the Greek - "such as should be saved" Here is why -
http://brandplucked.webs.com/acts247shouldbesaved.htm
As for his claim that "be converted" is wrong, ALL Bibles have the correct passive voice "be converted" in many places and a basic rule of grammar is that "active" voice verbs can frequently be translated as a passive in English because of context. All major versions do this same thing in many other places.
And finally, his example of Galatians 5:17 "Ye cannot do the things that ye would" is exactly what the Greek texts says - not "may not do"
ινα μη α αν θελητε ταυτα ποιητε = ινα μη ποιητε = that ye cannot not do. Just check out a multitude of different ways other versions have translated this phrase. Most of them differ from what our self appointed expert says it should read.
Ask Mr. Daly to show you a copy of what he really thinks IS the complete and inerrant words of God. Nothing printed in all of history so far. I guess he thinks this is finally up to him to bring about.
"In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes."
ReplyDeleteGalatians 5:17 KJB - “so that YE CANNOT DO the things that ye would.”
A man named R. Daly is writing his own, personalized bible version (we need another one like we need an additional hole in our heads ;-) and has taken it upon himself to criticize the King James Bible - (What a novel idea!) It seems these self appointed “experts” all have a personal beef with the King James Bible.
One of the “errors” our Bible correcting expert claims is found in Galatians 5:17. Mr. Daly writes:
" For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these
are contrary the one to the other, so that ye CANNOT do the things that ye would." Galatians 5:17)
The text does not say one "cannot do the things that ye would." The text says, "that you may not do..." Impossibility is not expressed in this passage. The KJV's translation of the phrase reflects the Calvinism of the translators. The ASV and NASB get it right. [End of R. Daly’s comments]
First of all, the poor man doesn’t understand Greek grammar and a host of Bible translations, both old and modern, disagree with how our “expert” thinks it should be translated.
The Greek text for the words “so that ye CANNOT DO the things that ye would.” reads: “ινα μη α αν θελητε ταυτα ποιητε”
Here we have a subjunctive phrase caused by the word “hina” ινα , which means “so that” or “in order that”, then we have the negative “not” μη accompanied by the main verb “to do” ποιητε. The verb poieeo means such things as “to do, to make, to commit, to work.”
The NASB concordance shows they have translated this single verb as “to do, to make, to act, to appoint, to bear, bring about, become, bring to pass, call, carry out, cause, commit, dealt, execute, form, gave, have, held, indulging, keep, observe, offer, perform (20 times), practice (17 times), produce, provide, put, setting, show, spend, and to treat.”
Agreeing with the “ye CANNOT DO” of the King James Bible are Tyndale 1534, Coverdale 1535, The Great Bible 1540, Matthew’s Bible 1549, the Bishops’ Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, Whiston’s N.T. 1745, Webster’s Bible 1833, The Calvin Version 1856, The Twentieth Century N.T. 1904 - “YOU CANNOT DO what you wish.”, Weymouth’s N.T. 1912, Godspeed’s An American Translation 1923 - “so that YOU CANNOT DO anything you please.”, the New Life Version 1969, The New English Bible 1970 - “so that what you will to do YOU CANNOT DO.”, The Revised English Bible 1989 - “so that YOU CANNOT DO what you want.”, The Third Millennium Bible 1998, The Family of Yah 1993, The Tomson N.T. 2002, The Evidence Bible 2003, The Resurrection Life New Testament 2005 (Vince Garcia) - “and YOU CANNOT DO the things you really want to do.” NET version 2006, Bond Slave Version 2009, the Jubilee Bible 2010, Conservative Bible 2010, The Easy English Bible 2010, Interlinear Hebrew-Greek Scriptures 2010 (Mebust) - “so that YOU CANNOT DO the things that you please.”, Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011 - “with the result that the things you wish YOU CANNOT DO.”
Other Translations
ReplyDeleteDan Wallace NET version 2006 - “so that YOU CANNOT DO what you want.”
Weymouth’s New Testament 1912 - “so that YOU CANNOT DO everything to which you are inclined.
The Good News Translation 1992 - “and this means that YOU CANNOT DO what you want to do."
NIV 2011 - “so that you are not to do whatever you want.”
The New Century Version 2005 - “so YOU CANNOT DO just what you please."
The Hebraic Roots Bible 2012 - “so as you are not able to do as you desire.”
The Spoken English New Testament 2008 - “so that YOU CAN’T just DO whatever you want.”
The Easy English Bible 2010 - “and so YOU CANNOT DO the things that you really want to do.”
The Message 2002 - “so that YOU CANNOT live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day."
Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010 - “so to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
The Faithful N.T. 2009 - “lest you do those things you want.”
Biblos Interlinear Bible 2013 - “in order that you should not do those things if you might wish.”
NRSV 1989, The Voice 2012 - “to prevent you from doing what you want.”
Amplified Bible 1987 - “so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.”
The New International Reader’s Version - “That's what makes you do what you don't want to do."
Darby 1890- “that ye should not do those things which ye desire”
ESV 2001 - “to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
Common English Bible 2011 - “so you shouldn’t do whatever you want to do.”
Complete Jewish Bible 1998 - “so that you find yourselves UNABLE to carry out your good intentions.”
Holman Standard 2009 - “so that you don’t do what you want.”
J. B. Phillips 1962 - “and that is why you are NOT FREE TO DO what you want to do.”
Mounce Interlinear Greek 2011 - “to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
The King James Bible is absolutely correct, and our "also ran but not sent" Bible corrector does not know what he is talking about.
Hi Mr. Daly. Sir, I would like to address another one of your alleged "errors". It has to do with Acts 3:19 and "be converted". You inspired me to look into this some more and I spend several hours studying this thing out. You might like to be aware of these things too.
ReplyDelete“BE CONVERTED” - A Closer Look at Matthew 13:15; Matthew 18:3; Luke 22:32; John 12:40; Acts 3:19 and 1 Peter 2:25
http://brandplucked.webs.com/beconverted.htm
ReplyDeleteRon writes: Mr. Kinney:
Are you affirming or do you believe the King James Version is perfect, that is, without or free of any doctrinal and/or translationa errors?
Thanks,
Ron
Hi Ron. Yes, sir, that is exactly what I affirm. Now, if you wish to join us on Facebook King James Bible Debate, we will be glad to allow you to post your stuff if you wish. We will try to answer your questions, but you must in turn be willing to honestly answer ours. Are you up for it? I hope so.
Here is the link.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/21209666692/
God bless,
Will Kinney