The King James Vs Modern Versions
The King James Vs Modern Versions
The King James Vs Modern Versions
BY VANCE FERRELL
Harvestime Books
PB–402
The King James Bible
and the Modern Versions
by Vance Ferrell
Published by Harvestime Books
Beersheba Springs, TN 37305 USA
Printed in the United States of America
Cover and Text Copyright © 2003
by Harvestime Books
Contents
Something to Think About 6 A Problem Deeper than the Sinaiticus
Our Precious King James Version 8 and Vaticanus 42
How it all Began 10 Sinaiticus and Vaticanus Both
Bible Abbreviations 11 Severely Flawed 43
Glossary of Terms 12 Origin of the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus
Glossary of Proper Names 18 43
The Lucian Recension Theory 46
— 1 — The Manuscript Family Theory 54
THE ATTACK INTENSIFIES Most Sources Support the KJV 55
19th-Century Efforts 1 - Greek Manuscripts 55
to Destroy the Bible Chester Beatty Papyri 48
Codex Alexandrinus 49
Introduction 23 Codex Bezae 50
Continental Higher Criticism 24 Codex Ephraemi 51
British Textual Criticism 25 Aquila’s Version 52
Westcott and Hort 27 Codex Washington / Koridethi 53
Picture: Wescott and Hort 29 2 - Lectionaries 56
3 - Quotations 56
— 2 — 4 - Papyri 57
THE EARLY CENTURIES 5 - Translations into other
The Best Manuscripts Languages 58
Support the KJV (1) Syrian Translations 58
(2) Gothic Translation 58
The Warning Was Given 33 (3) Armenian Translation 64
The Early Manuscript Evidence 33 (4) Georgian Translation 64
1 - Manuscripts 34 (5) Coptic Translations 64
(1) The Uncials (Majuscules) 34 [1] Sahidic Translation 64
(2) The Cursives (Minuscuals) [2] Bohairic Translation 64
34 (6) Ethiopian Translation 64
(3) The Papyri 34 (7) Latin Translations 64
2 - Quotations 34 [1] The Italia (Old Latin) 64
3 - Lectionaries 36 [2[ The Latin Vulgate 65
4 - Translations 36 Codex Argenteus and Coptic 59
The Westcott-Hort Theory 36 Syriac Peshitta / Armenian 60
The Sinaiticus 36 Ethiopic 61
Monastery of St. Catherine 35 Samaritan Pentateuch / Old Syriac 62
Sinaiticus 39 Jerome’s Latin Vulgate / Codex
The Vaticanus 41 Amiatinus 63
Vaticanus 40 The Majority Text Is the Earliest 66
90% of the Manuscripts Support the — 4 —
KJV 67 THE KING JAMES BIBLE
Only a 1% Minority Supports the The Crowning Result
Modern Versions 68 of Tyndale’s Sacrifice
This 1% Represents Only One Small,
and Most Corrupt, Locality 70 James 1 (1566-1625) 101
Errors Were Introduced Early 70 Authorization of the King James Bible
The Pseudopigrapha 73 102
The True Church Flees with the Preparation of the King James Bible
Manuscripts into the Wilderness 104
73 The Completed Book 106
God’s Guidance in the Selection of the The King James Bible 105
Majority Text 74 Later Revisions 107
Additional Statements on this Answering the Critics’ Complaints
Controversy 75 about the King James Bible 107
Effects of the King James Bible 110
— 3 —
THE CENTURIES BETWEEN — 5 —
Pre-King James Bibles Are Made THE COUNTER REFORMATION
The Threefold Effort to Destroy
The Waldensian Bible 77 Protestant Bibles
The Wycliffe Bible (1384) 80
John Wycliffe / Wycliffe’s Bible 82 The Jesuits (1534) 111
Wycliffe’s Bible (larger view) 83 The Council of Trent (1545-1563) 113
The 15th-Century Greek Texts 85 The Rheims-Douai (Douay) Bible
The Reformation Translations 86 (1582-1610) 115
Translations from the Vulgate to The Rheims-Douai Bible 114
Counter Protestant Bibles 88 The Jesuit Effort to Regain England
The Tyndale Bible (1526) 89 117
William Tyndale / Tyndale’s New
Testament 90 — 6 —
Tyndale’s New Testament (larger view) TEXTUAL CRITICISM BEGINS
91 The Manuscript Sources Are Attacked
Rome Ruined by Printed Bibles 94
Henry VIII Breaks with Rome 94 Textual Criticism 120
The Coverdale Bible (1535) 97 19th-Century Catholic-British
The Matthew Bible (1537) 97 Penetration 121
Miles Coverdale / Coverdale Bible 95 The Secret Lives of Wescott and Hort
Great Bible / Geneva Bible / Bishops’ 121
Bible 96 The Westcott-Hort Theory 124
The Great Bible (1539) 97 The Revision Committee Is Appointed
The Taverner Bible (1539) 98 126
The Catholic Reaction of 1543-1547 The Revision Committee Conducts Its
98 Work 126
Edward VI (1547-1553) 99 The English Revised Version (1881,
Bloody Mary (1553-1559) 99 1885) 130
The Geneva Bible (1560) 99 The Modern Critical Greek Texts 132
Queen Elizabeth I (1553-1603) 100 Another Look at the Manuscript
The Bishops’ Bible (1568) 100 Evidence 132
An Analogy to Explain a Ridiculous
Theory 133 New International Version (NIV) 162
The Nestle-Aland Greek Text 134 The Watchtower Bibles 164
The United Bible Societies Greek Text New World Translation (NWT) 164
135 Bible in Living English (BLE) 167
Joint Protestant-Catholic Translation Joint Catholic-Protestant Bibles 168
Teams 135 Revised Standard Version: The
Kittel’s Greek Dictionary 136 Apocrypha 168
The Majority Greek Text 136 Revised Standard Version: Catholic
The Manuscript Codes and Assigned Edition 168
Dates 137 The Common Bible 169
How Many Changes in a Critical Greek The Roman Catholic Bibles 170
Text? 138 Knox Bible 170
United Bible Societies Critical Greek Jerusalem Bible 170
Text 140 New American Bible 171
Nestle-Aland Critical Greek Text 141 The Present Situation 172
Septuagint Critical Greek (OT) Text /
Biblia Hebraica Critical Hebrew (OT) — 8 —
Text 142 APPENDIX
Ellen White and Bible Inerrancy 143 A Variety
Ellen White and the Modern Versions of Additional Information
144
200 Special Errors in the Modern
— 7 — Versions 174
MOST FREQUENTLY USED 1 - Old Testament 174
MODERN VERSIONS 2 - New Testament 175
The Translators Follow The Truth about Mark 16:9-20 179
the New Greek Texts Doctrinal Factors in the King James
183
Inferior Translations 150 A List of Archaic Words in the King
Based on Westcott and Hort 150 James 186
The Men Appointed to the Translation The Lord’s Prayer in Three English
Committees 151 Translations 188
The Four Types of Modern Bibles Adventist Approval of Modern
152 Versions 189
The English Revised Version (ERV) The Old Testament Apocrypha 190
[RV] (1881, 1885) and American Special Report on the Apocrypha
Standard Version (ASV) [ARV] (1901) 191
152 From the ERV to the NIV: A List of
Two Modern Versions 153 134 Bible Translations 195
The Conservative Bibles 153
Revised Standard Version (RSV) 153 — 9 —
Changes in Later RSV Editions 155 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS
New American Standard Version
(NASV) 155 Scripture Index 201-208
New King James Version (NKJV) 156 Topical Index 209-220
The Paraphrase Bibles 157 Battle Over the KJV (221-232)
Phillips 157 [WM–1175-1177]
The Living Bible (LB) (Taylor) 158 NIV vs. KJV (233-240)
New English Bible (NEB) 160 [WM–1178-119]
6 The King James and the Modern Versions
“But found none: yea, though many false “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the
witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate . . So
came two false witnesses.” “But neither so did hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of
their witness agree together.”—Matthew 26:60, the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.”—Revela-
Mark 14:59. tion 2:6, 15.
“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: “Yea, hath God said . . ?”—Genesis 3:1.
the Lord shall have them in derision.”—Psalm “The words of the LORD are pure words: as
2:4. silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven
times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou
Something to Think About 7
shalt preserve them from this generation for “And they that be wise shall shine as the
ever.”—Psalm 12:6-7. brightness of the firmament; and they that turn
“The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, many to righteousness as the stars for ever and
Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; ever.”—Daniel 12:3.
and as I have purposed, so shall it stand . . For “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy
the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall patience, and how thou canst not bear them
disannul it? and His hand is stretched out, and which are evil: and thou hast tried them which
who shall turn it back?”—Isaiah 14:24, 27. say they are apostles, and are not, and hast
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowl- found them liars.”—Revelation 2:2.
edge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in
will also reject thee.”—Hosea 4:6. the latter times some shall depart from the faith,
“And that from a child thou hast known the giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their
unto salvation through faith which is in Christ conscience seared with a hot iron.”—1 Timothy
Jesus. 4:1-2.
“All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God, “But it is happened unto them according to
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own
correction, for instruction in righteousness: That vomit again; and the sow that was washed to
the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly fur- her wallowing in the mire.”—2 Peter 2:22.
nished unto all good works. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the and persecute you, and shall say all manner of
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick evil against you falsely, for My sake.”—Matthew
and the dead at His appearing and His king- 5:11.
dom; Preach the Word; be instant in season, out
of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long- “And they shall turn away their ears from the
suffering and doctrine. truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”—2 Timo-
“For the time will come when they will not thy 4:4.
endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts “A false balance is abomination to the
shall they heap to themselves teachers, having Lord.”—Proverbs 11:1.
itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue
of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not,
fables.”—2 Timothy 3:15-4:4.
but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and
“And the things that thou hast heard of me worship before thy feet, and to know that I have
among many witnesses, the same commit thou loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of
to faithful men, who shall be able to teach oth- My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour
ers also.”—2 Timothy 2:2. of temptation, which shall come upon all the
“And they went forth, and preached every world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
where, the Lord working with them, and con- Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou
firming [including protecting] the Word.”—Mark hast, that no man take thy crown.”—Revelation
16:20. 3:9-11.
Our Precious
King James Bible
The King James Bible is universally ac- the Authorized Version; all others are inferior.”—
knowledged as the most wonderful literary Ladies Home Journal, November 1921 [state-
work and the most life
life-- changing power in ment made twenty years after the American
the history of the English- speaking peoples.
English-speaking Standard Version was published].
Here is what others have said about this “Priests, atheists, skeptics, devotees, agnos-
hallowed book and its influence in history: tics, and evangelists, are generally agreed that
the Authorized Version of the English Bible is
“For nearly four hundred years and through- the best example of English literature that the
out several revisions of its English form [changes world has ever seen . .
in spelling and punctuation], the King James “Every one who has a thorough knowledge
Bible has been deeply revered among the En- of the Bible may truly be called educated; and
glish-speaking people of the world.”—Samuel no other learning or culture, no matter how ex-
C. Gipp, The Answer Book, p. 26. tensive or elegant, can, among Europeans and
“The Elizabethan period—a term loosely Americans, form a proper substitute. Western
applied to the years between 1558 and 1642— civilization is founded upon the Bible . . I thor-
is generally regarded as the most important era oughly believe in a university education for both
in English literature. Shakespeare and his mighty men and women; but I believe a knowledge of
contemporaries brought the drama to the high- the Bible without a college course is more valu-
est point in the world’s history; lyrical poetry able than a college course without the Bible.”—
found supreme expression; Spencer’s Faerie Ibid.
Queene was an unique performance; Bacon’s “The birth of the King James Bible was a
Essays have never been surpassed. But the death stroke to the supremacy of Roman Ca-
crowning achievement of those spacious days tholicism. The translators little foresaw the wide
was the Authorized Translation of the Bible, extent of circulation and the tremendous influ-
which appeared in 1611. ence to be won by their book. They little dreamed
“Three centuries of English literature fol- that for three hundred years it would form the
lowed; but, although they have been crowded bond of English Protestantism in all parts of the
with poets and novelists and essayists, and al- world.”—Benjamin Wilkinson, Our Authorized
though the teaching of the English language and Bible Vindicated, p. 88.
literature now gives employment to many ear-
nest men and women, the art of English compo- “Who will say that the uncommon beauty and
sition reached its climax in the pages of the Bible. marvelous English of the Protestant Bible is not
“Now, as the English-speaking people have one of the great strongholds of heresy in this
the best Bible in the world, and as it is the most country?”—Faber, quoted in Eadie, The English
beautiful monument erected with the English al- Bible, Vol. 2, p. 158. [Faber, of the Church of
phabet, we ought to make the most of it, for it is England, was a secret Catholic who was anx-
an incomparably rich inheritance, free to all who ious to bring England back to subservience to
can read. This means that we ought invariably Rome.]
in the church and on public occasions to use “The printing of the English Bible has proved
Our Precious King James Bible 9
to be by far the mightiest barrier ever reared to the model in language, style, and dignity of some
repel the advance of Popery, and to damage all of the choicest writers of the last two centuries.
the resources of the Papacy.”—McClure, The Its phrasing is woven into much of our noblest
Translators Revived, p. 71. literature; and its style, which to an astonishing
“It [the King James Bible] has not only been degree is merely the style of the original authors
the stronghold of Protestantism in Great Brit- of the Bible, has exerted very great influence in
ain, but it has built a gigantic wall as a barrier molding that ideal of simplicity, directness, and
against the spread of Romanism.”—B.G. Wilk- clarity which now dominates the writing of En-
inson, Our Authorized Bible Vindicated, p. 88. glish. It has endeared itself to the hearts and
lives of millions of Christians and has molded
“Small wonder then that for three hundred the characters of leaders in every walk of life.
years incessant warfare has been waged upon During all these centuries the King James Ver-
this instrument created by God to mold all con- sion has become a vital part of the English-
stitutions and laws of the British Empire, and of speaking world, socially, morally, religiously, and
the great American Republic, while at the same politically.”—Ira Maurice Price, The Ancestry of
time comforting, blessing, and instructing the Our English Bible, pp. 276-277.
lives of the millions who inhabit these territo-
ries. “What is needed is a school that teaches the
“Behold what it has given to the world! The whole English Bible. What is needed is a school
machinery of the Catholic Church can never be- that will take men from the engine cab, from
gin to compare with the splendid machinery of between the plowshares and teach them the
Protestantism. The Sabbath School, the Bible Bible. What is needed is a school that is free from
printing houses, the foreign missionary socie- modernism. What is needed is a school that will
ties, the Y.M.C.A., the Y.W.C.A., the Women’s teach a man how to go out with the Bible under
Christian Temperance Union, the Protestant de- his arms, faith in his heart, and in the power of
nominational organizations—these all were the the Holy Spirit begin in a vacant lot and build a
offspring of Protestantism. Their benefits have church for the glory of God.”—J. Frank Norris.
gone to all lands and been adopted by practi- When Sir Walter Scott, the great author and
cally all nations. Shall we throw away the Bible literary expert, lay dying, he asked his son-in-
from which such splendid organizations have law to bring him “the Book.” With astonishment
sprung?”—Benjamin G. Wilkinson, Our Autho- the young man replied, “Father, your library con-
rized Bible Vindicated, pp. 88-89. tains thousands of volumes, including your own
“For almost three centuries the Authorized, works. To which book are you referring?” The
or King James, Version has been the Bible of the veteran author immediately replied, “There is
English-speaking world. Its simple, majestic only one book which we all call ‘the Book.’ Bring
Anglo-Saxon tongue, its clear, sparkling style, its me the Bible.”
directness and force of utterance have made it
Bible Abbreviations
Here are the abbreviations used in this book for Bibles. W ith the exception of the King
With
James Bible, none of the Bibles listed below are based on the Majority T ext. W
Text. ith the excep
With excep--
tion of the KJV
KJV,, Bibles published prior to 1870 are not listed below
below,, since we did not abbrevi-
ate their names.
Glossary of Terms
THE MAJORITY TEXT FAMILY the explanatory section which discussed the
theory underlying it.
The Greek manuscripts which the King
The Nestle
Nestle--Aland Text — This text is very
Text
James Bible is based have several names, but
similar to the Westcott-Hort Text.
they all mean the same thing. Lest there be con-
fusion, here they are: The United Bible Societies T Text
ext — Also
called the UBS Text, this critical text is very simi-
Majority T ext — Kurt Aland, the editor of
Text
lar to the Nestle-Aland Text. The UBS Text was
the Nestle Greek Text, correctly calls it by this
prepared by the same three-man staff which
name.
updated the Nestle-Aland Text.
Traditional T ext — Dean Burgon, who
Text
There are other critical texts, including
found and collated nearly all the manuscripts
Tischendorf, Von Soden, etc.; but we will prima-
and other sources late in the last century, called
rily refer to the Nestle-Aland and UBS Texts,
it by this name.
which all modern translations are based upon.
Received T ext — That is English for Textus
Text
However, we should also mention the Scriv-
Receptus. This is the name for the Greek text
ener Greek Text, which is in accordance with
used by Erasmus and Stephenus. Only the Ma-
the Majority Text (which the KJV is based on).
jority Text witnesses were used. The King James
Although excellent, it is never used today and
Bible was translated from this Greek Text.
probably is not obtainable.
Syrian T ext — This is the name given to the
Text
——————————
Majority Text by Westcott and Hort. They sought
to identify it as merely a local text in Syria and
Asia Minor. GLOSARY OF TERMS
Inspiration — From the Greek, theopneus- Lollards — Followers of John Wycliffe, known
tos, and literally means “God breathed.” More as the “poor priests” who suffered great perse-
specifically with application to the Bible, that su- cution for their Bible distribution and street
pernatural influence upon the sacred writers preaching.
which enabled them to receive and record, with Lucianic Recension (Antiochian) — Dr.
preciseness, the Divine revelation. Hort’s desperate conjecture that the Textus
Interpolation — An unauthorized insertion Receptus readings received an official, empire-
of a word or words into the text of any docu- wide sanction at two church councils between
ment. A.D. 250-350 at Antioch. Despite speculation
that one Lucian (d. 312) led in this venture, the
Itacism — The misspelling of a word in an theory remains destitute of any historical cor-
ancient manuscript, especially by an interchang- roboration.
Glossary of Terms 15
Majority T ext — This the great majority of
Text nal. The UBS Greek Text is similar and under
Greek manuscripts, variously estimated at 90%- the primary editorial staff of the same three men.
95%, which are read essentially the same way. orthographic discrepancies — Pertaining
The Erasmus Greek Text (the Textus Receptus), to spelling discrepancies within the various edi-
which the King James Bible was translated from, tions of the 1611 Authorized Version. These are
was based on them. Also see Textus Receptus. neither conceptual nor doctrinal errors.
manuscript — Any portion of a literary work Oxford Movement — A fruition of the ear-
that has been handwritten as opposed to a copy lier Tractarian controversy (1833-1841) which
printed from moveable type. aimed at restoring subtle Catholic principles
manuscript evidences — The true, or con- within the Church of England. Orchestrated by
servative, mode of textual criticism which would secret Vatican sympathizers, this effort exerted
seek to establish the correct text on the basis of considerable influence on Drs. Westcott and
all available data, such as the whole body of Hort.
cursive manuscripts, lectionaries, ancient ver- papyrus — A primitive paper fashioned by
sions, and the writings of the church “fathers.” cross-weaving the dried, flattened stems of the
Mariolatry — An excessive and unnatural reed-like papyrus plant. This ancient “paper”
veneration of the Virgin Mary. Drs. Westcott and was used as writing material at the time of Christ
Hort were guilty of this. and for several centuries thereafter. Due to its
Massoretic T ext — Hebrew text of the Old
Text dry climate, copies written in Egypt have been
Testament edited by Jewish scribes of the found.
Middle Ages, A.D. 775-925. They, for the first parchment — An ancient writing material
time, placed vowels in the Hebrew text (but, of prepared from the skins of sheep or goats.
course, they did not know the ancient pronun- patristic — Of or pertaining to the church
ciation). “fathers” or their extant writings.
mental reservation — Jesuit doctrine of Pentateuch — The first five books of the
deceit that allows a person to profess one thing Bible, the Mosaic books.
while secretly believing something different.
Peshitta — This is the Syriac translation,
Millenary Petition — Religious petition con- an ancient version of the Scriptures. The trans-
taining nearly one thousand ministerial signa- lation from the Greek to the Syriac was made
tures which was presented to James I, in 1603, about A.D. 145 (antedating Vaticanus and
by a Puritan delegation incensed with increased Sinaiticus by over two centuries). Most of its ex-
Catholic-inspired formalism within the Church tant readings agree with the King James Bible
of England. It resulted in the translation of the against those of the modern versions.
King James Version of the Bible.
plenary Inspiration — The doctrine which
Majuscule — Another name for a codex. It attributes Inspiration to all parts of Scripture,
means a document with all capital letters. thus holding the Bible’s declarations on science
Minuscule — Greek manuscripts of the New as being equally authoritative and infallible with
Testament written in the 9th to 15th centuries. those of a theological nature.
Also see cursive manuscript. post-Nicene — The period of church history
Nestle
Nestle--Aland Greek T ext — Named after
Text which commences with the landmark Council
the German scholar Eberhard Nestle, this Text of Nicea in A.D. 325.
represents the major adversary of the Textus probabilism — A Jesuit doctrine that re-
Receptus in our day, being used in most colleges gards an opinion as probable even if only one
and seminaries. Despite a periodic fluctuation theologian can be found in support of its accep-
throughout its twenty-six editions, the Nestles’ tance. Thus, any single Jesuit allied with the
Greek Text is basically the Westcott and Hort Pope can make a majority.
Text of 1881. The committee for the 26th edi-
tion comprised several unbelievers, including pseudopigrapha — From the Greek word,
Rev. Carlo M. Martini, a Roman Catholic cardi- pseudopigraphos, for “falsely ascribed”; the non-
16 The King James and the Modern Versions
canonical books of spurious authorship were text. But it has degenerated into a method used
composed between 200 B.C. to A.D. 200. by liberals to change the Bible. Also see “higher
Whereas the Old Testament Apocrypha gained criticism.” Properly done, textual analysis would
a limited acceptance, the pseudopigrapha writ- work with external evidence (manuscripts, lec-
ings have been rejected by everyone. Eusebius tionaries, patristic testimony, and ancient ver-
spoke of them as “totally absurd and impious.” sions) to determine the original readings. In-
Puritans — The “purifying” element within stead, we find an emphasis on so-called “inter-
the Church of England, occasioned by the po- nal testimony,” but which is actually liberal con-
litical laxity of Elizabeth I, which committed it- jectures.
self to restoring an intolerance of Catholic en- Textus Receptus — The predominant Greek
croachments, particularly in the areas of formal- tradition of the manuscript era and underlying
ism and ritual. text for most of the Authorized Version. The hon-
Reading — A specific phrase, verse, or pas- ored designation of Textus Receptus (for “re-
sage of Scripture. ceived text”) was first used by the Elzevir broth-
ers in the introduction to their second edition of
Recension — (1) An editorial revision of a 1633, but it is generally agreed that the third
literary work, especially on the basis of critical edition of Erasmus’ Greek Text is the standard
examination of the text and the sources used. Textus Receptus. Nearly all Reformation-Euro-
(2) A version of a text resulting from such revi- pean-Protestant Bibles and all English Protes-
sion. tant Bibles (with the exception of 9th-century
scribe — One who transcribes manuscripts Alfred’s and 14th-century Wycliffe’s) were trans-
in a professional or official capacity. A copyist lated from the Textus Receptus. Although some
makes copies of an existing manuscript. A scribe technical disagreements exist among scholars,
may make copies or he may take dictation in other accepted names for this text would include
the preparation of a manuscript with new con- Majority, Traditional, Byzantine and Antiochian.
tent. An amanuensis only takes dictation. (It should be mentioned that, not until the mid-
20th century was any Catholic translation made
scriptorium — A special room set aside for from anything other than than the Latin Vulgate.)
scribes to use when copying their manuscripts.
Also see “Elzevir” under Glossary of Names.
Septuagint — The earliest Greek translation
Tractarianism — See Oxford Movement.
of the Old Testament, made about 250-150 B.C.
translation — The rendering of a literary
Sinaiticus (or “Aleph”) — The 4th-century
work from one language into another; for ex-
manuscript rescued by Count Tischendorf from ample, the Peshitta translation from Greek to
eventually being burned, at St. Catherine’s mon-
Syriac or the Rheims-Douai translation of Latin
astery (situated at the base of Mt. Sinai). It is into English. Poor Bible translations result when
second only to the famed Codex Vaticanus as a
they are not made from Old Testament Hebrew
cited witness against the Authorized Version. and New Testament Greek. Also see version.
This pair of “ancient authorities” disagree with
each other in over 3,000 places in the Gospels transmission — The providentially guarded
alone. Also see Vaticanus. process by which the Scriptures have been re-
produced down through the ages.
targums — Aramaic paraphrases of the Old
Testament. UBS — The United Bible Societies consists
of all Bible societies in the world (including the
Text and text — Text is capitalized in this
American Bible Society). They produce a UBS
book, when referring to (1) a manuscript family
Greek Text which is essentially the same as the
or (2) a prepared Greek Text. Text is not capital-
Nestle-Aland Text and is produced under the
ized when referring to a reading; i.e., a specific
direction of the same three men. All Bible Soci-
phrase or verse of Scripture. In this book, we
ety translations, including those of the Wycliffe
will generally refer to Text and a reading.
Bible Translators, use the UBS Text.
textual criticism — Theoretically, the scho-
uncial manuscript (majuscule) — Derived
lastic discipline that would employ manuscript from the Latin uncia, for “twelfth part” (indicat-
evidences to determine the correct Scriptural
ing that such characters occupied roughly one-
Glossary of Terms 17
twelfth of a line of print). The word, “uncials,” mon which originate in that locality that had the
has come to depict the style of ancient printing most early Christian heretics. Also see Sinaiticus.
employing “inch high” (one twelfth) letters. Ma- vellum — The finest, most expensive parch-
juscule (which means “small major,” from the ment material. It was made from antelope or calf
Latin majusculus, “large”) refers to the exclu- skin.
sive usage of “uppercase” type. These block capi-
tal letters of such manuscripts as Vaticanus and version — Anciently, Bible translations (from
Sinaiticus were positioned together with no one language to another) were always called
break between the words. In English, this would translations. Modern Bible translations are
be comparable to GODISNOWHERE or perhaps sometimes called “translations” and, sometimes,
INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHEWORD. “versions.” We will generally use the terms in-
terchangeably in this book, when referring to
universalism — The theological position, 20th-century Bibles. However, among scholars,
that all men will eventually be saved. Espoused in regard to modern Bibles there is an actual
by liberals, such as Origen, Westcott, Peale, etc., difference: A “version” tries to remain closer to
it denies a future punishment of the wicked. A the King James and be more literal (ERV, ASV,
final restoration of Lucifer himself is also main- and RSV). Producers of a “translation” are very
tained by some. willing to veer further away and interject para-
Vaticanus (B) — The 4th-century Greek co- phrase far more often (Phillips, LB, NEB, etc.).
dex named after the library in Rome, where it Also see translation.
was kept for several centuries, down to the Vulgate — Latin translation of the Bible
present time. It is the primary ancient manu- made in the 4th century by Jerome—a Catholic
script used as the basis of the Nestle-Aland and monk, on assignment by a pope.
UBS Greek Texts which, in turn, are the basis
for all modern Bible translations. Both the Uncials — Greek manuscripts of the New
Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus were produced Testament written in the 4th to 9th centuries.
in Alexandria, Egypt, and contain errors in com- Also see codex.
THE WARNING W
WARNING AS GIVEN
WAS gan and heathen religions, their concepts had
been absorbed into the Roman system. —That
The Apostle Paul warned the early church is why Scripture declares it to be “Babylon”! It is
against heresy—and it was quick to assert a confusing hodgepodge of pagan error.
itself. In an effort to destroy the young
church, Satan caused men to arise with ev- Yet, even though gnosticism and the MysMys--
error..
ery kind of error tery Religions had penetrated the Catholic
system, God preserved the Bible manu-
Paul declared that there would come “a fall- scripts—so that the errors had not filtered
ing away” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and that “the into, what came to be known as, the “Major-
mystery of iniquity doth already work” (verse ity Text,” the great majority of manuscripts.
Text,”
7). He warned the Thessalonians not to be soon One reason this is so is because it was faith-
shaken or troubled in spirit “by letter as from ful Christians who were preparing those Bible
us” (2 Thessalonians 2:2). copies. The worldlings, modernists, atheists,
Later, on his last journey to Jerusalem, he cultists, and Catholics were not interested
warned the men from Ephesus: in doing this.
“Of your own selves shall men arise, speak- We can know that this is true, not be be--
ing perverse things, to draw away disciples af-
cause we were there but, because the Bibles
ter them. Therefore watch, and remember, that
by the space of three years I ceased not to warn translated into English were translated from
every one night and day with tears.”—Acts the Majority T ext; they do not have Gnostic,
Text;
20:30-31). atheistic, or Catholic teachings.
From prison, he wrote Timothy: That statement does not include the Catho-
“Keep that which is committed to thy trust, lic Bibles, all of which are based on the Latin
avoiding profane and vain babblings, and op- Vulgate and do have Catholic concepts interwo-
positions of science falsely so-called.”—1 Timo- ven into it. In the course of writing the book,
thy 6:20). The Magnificat, for Roman Catholics, the writer
The Greek word, in that verse, which is trans- had to read somewhat widely in the Rheims-
lated “science” is gnosis. Gnosis means “knowl- Douai (Douay), since all Bible quotations had
edge.” The apostle was condemning the false to be from that book or other Vatican-approved
knowledge and theories which were already books. The Rheims-Douai definitely contains
beginning to arise. Catholic error. More on this later.
“The later Gnostics were bolder, but more
consistent innovators on the simple scheme of THE EARLY
Christianity . . In all the great cities of the East MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE
in which Christianity had established its most
flourishing communities, sprang up this revival The earliest copies of Bible portions were
which aspired to a still higher degree of knowl- either written on papyrus (also called parch-
edge than was revealed in the Gospel, and ment) or on vellum.
boasted that it soared almost as much above Papyrus was made from the inner bark of
the vulgar Christianity as it did above the vul-
the reed-like papyrus plant found along river
gar paganism.”—Henry H. Milman, History of
Christianity, Vol. 2, p. 107. banks and marshes in Italy and elsewhere in
There were no Gnostic sects after the 5th the warmer climates. After drying, these strips
century; for, by that time, as with all other pa- of bark were laid side by side in a row with a
second layer positioned above in a crisscross
34 The King James and the Modern Versions
manner. The two layers were then gummed to- that size), usually with two and occasionally
gether, to create a primitive form of paper. three or four columns on each page.
Vellum was the shaved and scraped skins Unlike the later cursive manuscripts, uncials
of sheep, goats, and similar animals. It was more were written in capital letters without any
durable and costly. Calf and antelope skin was spaces or punctuation
punctuation. Here is an example of
the most expensive. An entire antelope would an early uncial (John 1:1-4):
only provide about two leaves (four pages) of a
large Bible manuscript. INTHEBEGINNINGWASTHEWORDANDTHE
In Bible times, these pages were connected WORDWASWITHGDANDTHEWORDWASGD
THESAMEWASINTHEBEGINNINGWITH
into long strips, called scrolls. The average pa-
GDALLTHINGSWEREMADEBYHIM
pyrus scroll (about the size of the book of Luke) ANDWITHOUTHIMWASNOTANYTHING
was 10 inches in height and about 30 feet in MADETHATWASMADEINHIMWASLIFE
length. ANDTHELIFEWASTHELIGHTOFMEN
In the 2nd century, a little after the time of
the apostles, codices began to be used. These The wording, of course, was in Greek not En-
were pages bound on one side, somewhat like glish.
our modern books. There was a horizontal line just above the
There were four types of early copies of word, “GD” (“God”; in the Greek, “THS” for
New T estament portions: Greek manuscripts,
Testament “Theos”). Certain words, known as the nomina
quotations and comments by early Christian sacra (sacred names), were abbreviated and a
writers (called the “early church fathers”), small line was placed over the letters. One of
lectionaries, and early translations. Let us these was the word, “God.” In the above uncial,
consider each of these: it would be written “GD” and have a small hori-
zontal line just above the GD.
1 - MANUSCRIPTS
(2) THE CURSIVES (MINUSCULES)
These were papyrus or vellum copies of
The second type of Greek manuscripts were
smaller or larger portions of the Bible.
the cursives, also known as minuscules. These
Just as our Bibles wear out from use, so did were written in a lower-case running hand and
those of ancient times. Fortunately, we have so look like the Greek letters in all printed New Tes-
many of those old copies, some partly worn out, tament Greek Texts, since the time of Erasmus
that we can compare them and tell when copy- in the 16th century.
ists’ mistakes occurred.
At the present time, there are over 5,000 (3) THE PAPYRI
surviving manuscripts of the Bible! Most are only
The papyri were portions of the New Testa-
a portion of it; some were made within a couple
ment which were written on paper (papyrus).
centuries after the time of the apostles while most
We can also find it in Egypt, since it has a cli-
were produced later. We have far more copies of
mate dry enough to preserve this ancient paper.
the Bible than of any other ancient writings. The
New T estament manuscripts are in Greek and
Testament
the Old T estament is in Hebrew
Testament Hebrew.. 2 - QUOTATIONS
FROM THE “FATHERS”
Copies of portions of the Bible were made to
be read, to be shared with others, to be placed fa-
The earliest Christian writers (the early “fa-
in churches, or sent with missionaries to foreign thers”) quoted extensively from the Bible. This
thers
lands. is fortunate; for their statements help us deter-
There were two types of Greek Bible mine the original wording of the Bible. It has
manuscripts: the uncials and cursive manu- been said that most of the New Testament, alone,
scripts. is found in the writings of these so-called church
“fathers!” And many of them pre-date the Sinai-
(1) THE UNCIALS (MAJUSCULES) ticus and Vaticanus by many years.
The uncials (also called majuscules) were
written on papyrus or vellum about quarto 3 - LECTIONARIES
(roughly 9 by 11 inches high) or folio size (double These are also important witnesses to the
36 The King James and the Modern Versions
original text of the Bible. Of the more than 5,000 book, we will generally not use them. When they
extant manuscripts, 2,143 are lectionaries. are used in a quotation, we will follow it in brack-
A compilation of many important portions ets with the name. A major purpose of this book
of the Bible, the lectionary was important in each is to simplify the entire subject rather than add-
local church for use in public readings during ing to the confusion.)
church services. The ones containing a daily se- In April 1844, a young German scholar,
lection were called Synaxarion while those used Constantin von Tischendorf (1815-1874), sailed
for special days (such as Easter and Christmas) to Egypt, in search of Bible manuscripts. He had
were named Menologion. just completed a two-year study of ancient man-
uscripts in Paris. In May, he arrived at the Mon-
4 - TRANSLATIONS astery of St. Catharine, at the foot of Mount Sinai.
The missionary-minded believers were He later wrote:
anxious to carry the message of salvation in “In visiting the library of the monastery . . I
perceived in the middle of the great hall a large
Christ to all the world. To do so required trans
To trans--
and wide basket full of old parchments; and
lations of the Bible into other languages. A the librarian, who was a man of information,
number of such translations were made. These told me that the two heaps of papers like these,
translations also help us know the meaning of mouldered by time, had been already commit-
the original text of the Bible. We will later dis- ted to the flames.”—I.M. Price, Ancestry of Our
cuss a number of those early Bible translations. English Bible
All of the above four types of early manu- Among these sheets, he saw a number of
script evidence are very important in estab
estab-- pages of a very old Greek uncial manuscript of
lishing the basic Bible T ext we should use
Text the Bible. The monks, perceiving that these
today! Modern Bible translations are based sheets might be important, only let him take a
on the wrong one. few. Returning to Paris, he published them. They
Later in this study
study,, we shall return to were parts of several Old Testament books.
this evidence—and show how it supports the Tischendorf returned to St. Catherine’s in
type of text which forms the basis of the 1853, but only found a fragment with eleven
King James Bible. verses of Genesis. Certain that the rest had been
destroyed, he left once again.
Yet he could not but wonder if more might
THE WESTCOTT-HORT THEORY
be available. So he went to Moscow and person-
Westcott and Hort conjectured that, of ally appealed to the Russian emperor, to pro-
the 5,000 Bible manuscripts, only two should vide funds for him to purchase whatever manu-
be given the preference: the Sinaiticus and scripts he might be able to locate. After some
the V aticanus! They said these were older
Vaticanus! delay, funds were made available for this pur-
and therefore more reliable than any of the pose.
others. It was assumed that, since it was con- Toward the end of January 1859, he re re--
error,, all vari-
jectured that they were without error turned to St. Catherine’s Monastery
Monastery.. How-
ations in the other 5,000 manuscripts must ever
ever,, several days search among manuscripts
be copyist errors of one kind or another
another.. failed to reveal that which he most sought.
That is the basic theory. But we are going to Then, on the afternoon of F ebruary 4, this
February
learn it is totally wrong in a number of ways. happened:
Let us now examine both of these manu- “I was taking a walk with the steward of the
scripts: convent in the neighborhood, and as we re-
turned, towards sunset, he begged me to take
some refreshment with him in his cell. Scarcely
THE SINAITICUS had he entered the room, when resuming our
The Codex Sinaiticus is designated by the former subject of conversation, he said, ‘And I,
first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is too, have read a Septuagint [called the LXX, an
aleph (}). ancient Greek translation of the Old Testa-
(All codices, cursive manuscripts, lection- ment].’
aries, translations, etc., have scholarly code let- “And so saying he took down from the cor-
ters or numbers. But, throughout this present ner of the room a bulky kind of volume, wrapped
The Early Centuries 37
in a red cloth, and laid it before me. I unrolled tery for 9,000 rubles. The manuscript remained
the cover and discovered to my great surprise, in St. Petersburg until 1933, when the Soviets,
not only those fragments which fifteen years who had no need of extra Bibles around, sold it
before I had taken out of the basket, but also to the British Museum for 100,000 pounds.
other parts of the Old Testament, the New Tes-
The Sinaiticus has 346½ leaves of vellum,
tament complete, and in addition, the Epistle
of Barnabus and a part of the Pastor [Shep- made from the finest quality antelope skins. If
herd] of Hermas. [The latter two were New Tes- the entire Old Testament had been included, the
tament pseudopigraphal books.] codex would have required the skins of a couple
“Full of joy, which this time I had the self- thousand animals! The leaves are 15 by 13 13½
command to conceal from the steward and the inches in size. Each page has four columns,
rest of the community, I asked, as in a careless except in the poetical books, which have two.
way, for permission to take the manuscript into It is written in large uncials with 12 to 14
my sleeping chamber to look over it more at letters to a line.
leisure. There, by myself, I could give way to
the transport of joy which I felt.”—Tischendorf, This codex is thought by the experts to
Autobiography. have been written about A.D. 340. There are
Tischendorf would never forget that night. definite reasons for dating it to that time;
“This was the most exciting moment in and we will learn that the Majority Text (the
Text
Tischendorf’s entire life; he stayed up all night, basis for the King James Bible) goes back to
fathoming his newly found treasure. In his di- an earlier date.
ary, the scholar writes, ‘Quippe dormire nefas
Of the Old T estament, only fragments re
Testament, re--
videbatur.’ (‘It really seemed a sacrilege to
sleep.’)”—David Beale, A Pictoral History of main from the earlier parts, but complete
Our English Bible, p. 54. books from the later part. The entire New
That night, Tischendorf copied part of the Testament is included.
codex, and the next morning he requested per- The entire document includes fragments of
mission to take the scroll to Cairo to have it com- Genesis 23 and 24, Numbers 5-7, 1 Chronicles
pletely copied. But the prior, who alone had the 9:27 to 19:17, Ezra 9:9 to 10:44, but also Nehe-
authority to make this decision, had left for miah, Esther, Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 4
Cairo two days earlier. Maccabees, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations
Tischendorf quickly went to Cairo and talked 1:1 to 2:20, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum to
to the prior of the Greek Orthodox monastery. Malachi, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song
The Greek Orthodox are no more willing to of Solomon, Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of ben
share Bibles with the world than are their Sira (Ecclesiasticus), and Job. Note that six of
separated brethren in Rome. But Tischendorf these were from the Old Testament Apocrypha.
hinted that a sizeable amount of money might In addition to the complete New Testament, the
be paid. Shepherd of Hermas was at the end. That is a
The young scholar was then given per- New Testament pseudopigraphal book, the first
mission to take the codex to Cairo, where he time any Westerner had ever seen it.
made a copy of the entire manuscript. Tischendorf later went on to discover other
It is doubtful whether the reader can grasp Bible manuscripts, and eventually prepared a
the amount of work required to do that! How Greek text with his findings.
would you like to copy part of the Old Testa- “From 1859 he was professor of theology at
Leipzig. Between 1840 and 1860 he visitied
ment and all of the New—not in English, but in
many libraries in Europe and the Near East in
ancient Greek capital letters without punctua-
search of manuscripts, the most famous of his
tion or spaces between letters! The task took finds being his dramatic discovery of the Co-
about eight months. dex Sinaiticus. Besides careful editions of sev-
On September 24, 1859, he returned to the eral important Biblical manuscripts (e.g., Co-
monastery and was given permission to take the dex Ephraemi, 1843-1845; Codex Amiatinus,
codex to Moscow, where it could be copied more 1850; Codex Claromontanus, 1852), he pub-
accurately. On November 19, he presented his lished between 1841 and 1869 eight editions
manuscript finds, including the Sinaiticus, to the of the Greek text of the New Testament with a
emperor at his winter palace. full critical apparatus of the variant readings.”—
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, p.
The emperor purchased it from the monas-
38 The King James and the Modern Versions
1380. tury was to make the manuscript conform to
Not all Greek Texts include apparati. The manuscripts in vogue at that time which were
apparatus is the technical name given, by ‘far nearer to our modern Textus Receptus.’ ”—
scholars, to the extensive footnotes at the Mauro, quoted in D.O. Fuller, True or False?
p. 75.
bottom of each page of some critical Greek
Texts. Those footnotes show the variants and Textus Receptus is the name given to the
tell which manuscripts, lectionaries, church “fa- third edition of Erasmus’ Greek Text, from which
thers,” and translations support them. They are nearly all European Reformation-era Bibles were
very helpful. We will personally examine this later. translated from—and all English Bibles. The
Frederick Scrivener, a firm believer in the trust- exceptions were the 9th-century Alfred’s, the
worthiness of the Majority Greek Text upon 14th-century Wycliffe’s translation, and the
which the King James Version was translated, Catholic Rheims-Douai (Douay). The T extus
Textus
later examined the Sinaiticus carefully. Scrivener Receptus (the “Received T ext
Text ”) is the Ma-
ext”)
concluded that it had been corrected repeat- jority Text which has been rejected by 20th-
Text
edly
edly,, because of copyist errors and that it century Bible translators.
was not of an early
early,, but late, date. (As we will learn later, it was not until the
“Since this document was first inscribed, it
mid-20th century that a Catholic Bible, in any
has been made the subject of no less than ten language, was translated from something other
different attempts of revision and correction [by than the Vulgate.)
later scribes]. The number of these attempts Dr. Scrivener concluded his denunciation of
is witnessed by the different chirographies the quality of the Sinaiticus with these words:
[handwriting styles] of the revisers, and the cen- “It must be confessed, indeed, that the Co-
turies in which they were respectively made can dex Sinaiticus abounds with similar errors of
be approximated by the character of the differ- the eye and pen, to an extent unparalled, but
ent handwritings by which the several sets of rather unusual in documents of first rate im-
corrections were carried out . . Many of these portance; so that Tregelles has freely pro-
corrections were contemporaneous with the nounced that ‘the state of the text, as proceed-
first writer [copyist], but far the greater part ing from the first scribe, may be regarded as
belonging to the 6th or 7th century.”—Scriv- very rough.’ ”—Scrivener, Plain Introduction,
ener Plain Introduction, p. 267. p. 267.
Based on Scrivener’s findings, Philip Mauro —Y et this is the manuscript, along with
—Yet
discusses how deeply flawed the Sinaiticus the V aticanus, which, according to W
Vaticanus, estcott
Westcott
was: and Hort ’s theory
Hort’s theory,, has become the basis for
“Here is a document which the [1870-1881] all 20th- century Bible translations!
20th-century
revisers have esteemed (and that solely because Dean Burgon, another brilliant Greek scho-
of its antiquity [said to be in the 4th century]) lar who also carefully examined the Sinaiticus,
to be so pure that it should be taken as a stan- wrote about the utter carelessness of the
dard whereby all other copies of the Scriptures
Sinaiticus’ copyists
copyists:
are to be tested and corrected. Such is the esti-
mate of certain scholars of the 19th century. “On many occasions 10, 20, 30, 40 words
are dropped through very carelessness. Letters
“But it bears upon its face the proof that
and words, even whole sentences, are frequently
those in whose possession it had been, from
written twice over, or begun and immediately
the very first, and for some hundreds of years
cancelled; while that gross blunder, whereby a
thereafter, esteemed it to be so impure [so full
clause is omitted because it happens to end in
of copyist errors] as to require correction in
the same words as the clause preceding, oc-
every part . . Considering the great value to its
curs no less than 115 times in the New Testa-
owner of such a manuscript (since it is on vel-
ment.”—Dean Burgon, Causes and Corruption
lum of the finest quality) and that he would be
of the Traditional Text, p. 128.
most reluctant to consent to alterations in it
except the need was clearly apparent, it is plain Scrivener shows in some detail how the Sinai-
that this much admired codex bears upon its ticus disagrees so frequently with all the other
face the most incontestable proof of its defec- codices
codices.
tive character. “The relation in which Cod. 2 [Codex 2, now
“But, more than that, Dr. Scrivener tells us called Codex Aleph, is the Sinaiticus] stands
that the evident purpose of the thorough-going to the other four chief manuscripts of the Gos-
revision which he places in the 6th or 7th cen- pels may be roughly estimated from analyzing
The Early Centuries 41
the transcript of four pages first published by This codex was first made known in 1533 1533,
Tischendorf, as well as in any other way. Of the when Sepúlveda called the attention of Erasmus
312 variations from the common text therein to it. But Sepúlveda was not permitted near it;
noted, forty-five stand alone, and eight agrees and Erasmus did not want to bother with it. He
with ABCD united (much of C, however, is lost preferred the Majority Text of the Greek. No P rot-
Prot-
in these passages), with ABC together thirty-
estant was permitted to study the book until
one times, with ABD fourteen, with AB thir-
teen, with D alone ten, with B alone but once
the middle of the 19th century
century..
(Mark 1:27), with C alone once: with several In 1669, Bartolocci, librarian of the Vatican,
authorities against AB thirty-nine times, with made a collection of some of its variant read-
A against B fifty-two, with B against A ninety- ings, but nothing was published.
eight.”—Scrivener, Plain Introduction, Vol. 2., When Napoleon invaded Italy, he took it to
pp. 267-268. Paris, where Hug carefully examined it in 1809.
The above four codex designations are For the first time, the world learned of its exis-
Alexandrinus (A); Sinaiticus (Aleph or }); tence.
Vaticanus (B); Ephraemi (C); Bezae (D). In 1815, after Waterloo, it was restored to
Rome, where it was once again hidden. No
Why was the Sinaiticus so sloppily pro pro--
scholar could go near it. The Catholic Church
duced? W Wee earlier said that God protected
the text as faithful Christians made copies. today claims to be the one that gave the Bible to
the world, yet history reveals that, for centuries,
Those thousands of copies became the Ma-
it tried to destroy every copy of the book it could
jority T ext which so wonderfully agrees with
Text
itself. find. Those it did not burn, it chained to walls
in dark corners of monasteries.
But the Sinaiticus and (we will learn bebe--
In 1843, after several months delay
delay,, T isch-
Tisch-
low) the V aticanus were both sloppily pre
Vaticanus pre--
endorf was permitted to look at it for six
pared. This was due to the fact that the copy-
hours
hours. How kind they were! The next year,
ists were men paid, by Constantine, to do
DeMuralt was allowed nine hours to read in it.
the job. These men had been hired through
In 1845, the English scholar Tregelles—
Eusebius, a favorite of the emperor and con-
even though he had an introduction from
fidant of P ope Sylvester
Pope Sylvester.. The scribes cared
Cardinal W iseman of England—was not al-
Wiseman
not for quality of their workmanship; and it
lowed to copy a word. If he looked too in-
shows in the finished product.
tently at any passage, the two attendants
which stood next to him, would snatch the
THE VATICANUS volume from him and turn the page! When he
The Codex Vaticanus (B) is the most com-
Vaticanus left the room where it was kept, his pockets were
plete known manuscript of the Greek Bible; searched and all writing material was taken from
it includes much of the Old T estament and
Testament him. When it comes to keeping the Scriptures
all of the New Testament while breaking off
Testament from the public, Rome has had years of experi-
at Hebrews 9:14. ence.
It was brought to the Vatican Library by Pope “They would not let me open it without
Nicholas V, who heard about it in 1448; and it searching my pocket, and depriving me of pen,
ink and paper . . If I looked at a passage too
was listed in the first catalog of the library in
long the two prelati (prelates) would snatch
1475. Its earlier history is not known. But ev-
the book out from my hand.”— Tregelles,
erything about it—the age of the vellum skin, quoted in Frederick Scrivener, A Plain Intro-
the lettering, the type of ink, etc.—identi- duction to the Criticism of the New Testament,
fies it as having been written at about the Vol. 1, p. 112.
same time as the Sinaiticus
Sinaiticus. Other scholars who traveled to Italy from
It has been said that the Vatican secretly distant lands to see the codex were, if anything,
wrote it. It is more likely that it was an ancient treated worse.
copy of the Bible. Rome did not want the world We might wonder why the V atican so
Vatican
to know about it—and did everything possible feared to have any scholar look at this co co--
to keep scholars from reading it. They did not dex. The answer probably is that they were
like Bibles being made available to people. If the frightened at what anyone might find in it!
Reformation had not occurred, the people still The ancient codex was written in capital let-
would have no Bibles!
42 The King James and the Modern Versions
ters, without spaces or periods; and, very wide by 1010½ inches high. Because of the vel-
likely
likely,, no Catholic scholars could read it! All lum and the type of print, it is dated in the
they knew was their precious dead language, first half of the 4th century
century,, to about the
Latin. year A.D. 340—the same time that the Sinai-
Rome’s refusal to let anyone see the codex ticus was copied.
created such a stir in the scholarly world; so It contains solid capital letters, with no
much so that, in order to avoid the scandalous spaces between words, no punctuation, and no
label that it was trying to keep the Scriptures divisions into chapters or sections. It is all just
from the people, the Vatican hired some folk to one solid paragraph, from start to finish!
make a copy for publication. But, since no one Tischendorf was certain that the scribe of
in Italy cared much about Bibles, the work was the New Testament portion was the same one
very sloppy and full of errors. Under the aus- who prepared a part of Codex Sinaiticus. We will
pices of Cardinal Angelo Mai, the work was done learn later that this helps explain why the end-
between 1828 and 1838. Nineteen years later, ing of Mark is gone from both codices.
someone got around to hauling it over to a print The codex originally contained the entire
shop. In 1857 it was published in five volumes. Greek Bible. In its present state, after the rav-
From the few glimpses they had been able to ages of going from place to place for centuries, it
obtain of the original, scholars throughout Eu- lacks Genesis 1:1 to 46:28; Psalms 106-138;
rope immediately recognized it to be an inferior and everything after Hebrews 9:14.
production of the original. Rome never was very
good at publishing Bibles. A PROBLEM DEEPER THAN
In 1866, Tischendorf made a third attempt SINAITICUS AND VATICANUS
to see the codex. This time he asked for permis- We have discussed these two books in
sion to edit the text; that is, to identify errors in detail, since they lie at the heart of the con-
the published copy. So, centuries after the Vatican troversy
troversy..
acquired the manuscript, Tischendorf was per- The truth is that it is not the Sinaiticus
mitted, under the supervision of a prelate, C. and V aticanus which are the problem. They
Vaticanus
Vercellone, to look at it for three hours a day. are just Bible manuscripts, howbeit, with sese--
Recalling the fabulous amount he was able rious flaws.
to accomplish at St. Catherine’s, by the end of
the eighth day he had managed, contrary to di- The problem is this: (1) The Westcott-Hort
rections, to actually copy 20 pages from the origi- theory claims that those two manuscripts should
nal! Vatican officials were incensed and almost have superiority over 5,000 other manuscripts.
threw him out of town. But, because of what he (2) All 20th-century scholars prepare Bibles in
had done seven years earlier in bringing the accordance with that theory. For this purpose,
Sinaiticus to the world in 1859, Tischendorf had modern translators use the Nestle-Aland or UBS
become world famous. It would not look right to (United Bible Societies) Greek Text, both of which
kick him out; so, Vatican officials grudgingly let favor the readings of those two manuscripts, over
him have six more days to read in it. Because he and above all others.
had a near photographic memory, when Tischen- It is not the Sinaiticus and V aticanus
Vaticanus
dorf left, he was able, in 1867, to publish the which are the problem, it is the adulation
best edition of the text up to that time. that translators give to them by preferring
Seeing the cat was out of the bag, and ashamed them above the Majority T ext. The great
Text.
that other people were publishing their book, strength of the Majority Text (used to translate
Vercellone and his successors at the V atican
Vatican the King James Version) is that it was a combi-
published a very complete edition in six fo fo-- nation of many manuscripts. As a result, the
lio volumes in 1868-1881. The W estcott-Hort
Westcott-Hort Majority Text tended to be much more free from
Text was based on that edition. But it was not the copyist errors to be found in one or a few
until 1889-1890, that a photographic facsimile manuscripts.
edition of the entire codex was prepared by Ab- Yes, there are some copyist errors in all
bate Cozza-Luzi and issued. manuscripts, but relatively few in those which
Codex Vaticanus (B) is written in uncials comprise the Majority T ext.
Text.
on 759 folios of fine vellum, three columns “Some look to us gravely and say, ‘Don’t you
(of about 42 lines each) to a page, 10 inches think there might have been some mistake in
The Early Centuries 43
the copyist or in the translators?’ This is all “One marked feature, characteristic of this
probable, and the mind that is so narrow that copy, is the great number of its omissions, which
it will hesitate and stumble over this possibil- has induced Dr. Dobbin to speak of it as pre-
ity or probability would be just as ready to senting ‘an abbreviated text of the New Testa-
stumble over the mysteries of the Inspired ment’ . . and certainly the facts he states on
Word, because their feeble minds cannot see this point are startling enough. He calculates
through the purposes of God . . that Codex B [Vaticanus] leaves out words or
“I take the Bible just as it is, as the Inspired whole clauses no less than 330 times in Mat-
Word. I believe its utterances in an entire thew, 365 in Mark, 439 in Luke, 357 in John,
Bible.”—1 Selected Messages, 16-17 [Manu- 384 in the Acts, 681 in the surviving Epistles;
script 16, 1888; written at Minneapolis, Min- or 2,556 times in all.”—Scrivener, Plain Intro-
nesota, autumn 1888]. duction, Vol. 1, p. 120.
Copyist errors did, indeed, occur from Such ommissions were very serious. The
time to time in the copying of manuscripts; problem is intensified, since the omitted words
but the Majority T ext tended to eliminate
Text or phrases occur at times in unison.
them for two reasons: (1) Those manuscripts “By what possible hypothesis will such a
were prepared by faithful, prayerful follow- correspondence of the copies be accounted for
ers of Christ and God blessed their efforts to if these words, clauses, and sentences are in-
be accurate. (2) As scholars compared manu- deed, as is pretended, nothing else but spuri-
ous accretions to the text?”—Ibid.
script with manuscript of the many in the
Majority T ext, they could the more easily
Text, Burgon recognized a common flow of er-
weed out the errors. rors, in the two codices, that pointed to an
underlying attempt to insert errors.
“Between the first two [Sinaiticus and Vati-
SINAITICUS AND VATICANUS
canus] there subsists an amount of sinister
BOTH SERIOUSLY FLAWED
resemblance, which proves that they must have
Regarding the quality of the transcrip
transcrip-- been derived at no very remote period from the
tion in the Vaticanus, upon very careful ex
Vaticanus, ex-- same corrupt original. Tischendorf insists that
amination of it, Dr.
Dr. Scrivener found that it they were partly written by the same scribe.
was not much better than the Sinaiticus: Yet they vary repeatedly from one another on
“That no small proportion of these are mere every page; as well as differing widely from the
oversights of the scribe seems evident from the commonly Received [Majority] Text, with which
circumstance that this same scribe has repeat- they have been carefully collated. On being re-
edly written words and clauses twice over.”— ferred to this standard, in the Gospels alone,
Philip Scrivener, Plain Introduction, Vol. 1, p. B is found to omit at least 2,877 words: to
120. add, 536: to substitute, 935: to transpose,
2,098: to modify, 1,132 (in all 7,578)—the cor-
If I repeated or miswrote the same thing same
responding figures for being severally 3,455,
thang, you would consder me me an incompe-
839, 1,114, 2,299, 1,265 (in all 8,972). And
tent writer. (as demonstrated in this paragraph.) be it remembered that the omissions, addi-
Yet those two codices made such mistakes re- tions, substitutions, transpositions, and modi-
peatedly. fications, are by no means the same in both. It
John W. Burgon gives an example from the is in fact easier to find two consecutive verses
Vaticanus: in which these two manuscripts differ the one
“Matthew 21:4, five words written twice over; from the other than two consecutive verses in
Matthew 26:56-57, six words; Luke 1:37, three which they entirely agree.”—Burgon, Revision
words or one line; John 17:18, six words. These Revised, p. 12.
however, are but a few of many . .
“The impurity of the text exhibited by these ORIGIN OF THE SINAITICUS
codices is not a question of opinion but of fact AND VATICANUS
. . In the Gospels . . Codex B [Vaticanus] leaves
The Sinaiticus and V aticanus are not as
Vaticanus
out words or clauses . . It bears traces of care-
less transcription on every page.”—Burgon,
old as the Majority T ext. They originated in
Text.
quoted in Scrivener, Vol. 1, p. 120. Alexandria, Egypt, a continual breeding ground
Citing a comtemporary scholar, Dr. Dobbin, for paganizing Christian error
error.. They were in-
Scrivener mentions still more omissions of the fluenced by the Alexandrian heretic, Origen.
sacred Scriptures in the Vaticanus: These two codices were extremely expensive.
44 The King James and the Modern Versions
They required the sacrifice of well-over a thou- esy of Arianism (the teaching that Christ was
sand antelopes (since each adult antelope could a created being). In referring to this error,
only provide skin for two leaves—four pages—of Burgon writes:
a codex). “It is a circumstance that cannot fail to give
Only an extremely wealthy person could af- rise to suspicion that the Vaticanus and Sinai-
ford to commission the preparation of such a tic manuscripts had their origin under a pre-
book; yet both books are very similar in a dominant influence of such evil fame. At the
number of ways. The style and handwriting very least, careful investigation is necessary to
see whether these copies were in fact free from
is quite similar; the remarkable number of
that influence which has met with universal con-
copyist errors are also! In addition, Tischen- demnation.”—Burgon, Traditional Text, p. 161.
dorf declared that part of the V aticanus was
Vaticanus This Alexandrian connection is highly signifi-
written by the same scribe which produced cant. It explains the numerous errors in the Sinai-
all of the Sinaiticus. There is no reason to con- ticus and Vaticanus, both typographically and
sider him wrong in that conclusion. doctrinally, as revealed in their 3,000 plus dis-
It is believed that both codices were com- agreements with one another in only four books.
missioned by Constantine I, as part of an When we recall that Constantine and
order for fifty copies. It is also believed that Eusebius leaned toward Arianism, the po po--
they were transcribed in Alexandria, Egypt. tential for treachery increases.
“Constantine applied to Eusebius for fifty
handsome copies, amongst which it is not im- 1 Timothy 3:16 is a shocking example of
probable that the manuscripts . . B and Aleph what happens when modern translators take
were to be actually found.”—Burgon, Tradi- two manuscripts (the Sinaiticus and V ati
Vati ca-
atica-
tional Text, p. 163. nus)—and ignore all the rest.
In order to do this, Constantine asked Eu- Under the urging of W estcott and Hort,
Westcott
sebius, bishop of Caesarea, to arrange for the Revision Committee of 1871-1881 vi-
the copying of the fifty new Bibles. Eusebius ciously attacked the Deity of Christ in 1
went to the memorial library of Pamphilus, Timothy 3:16. They altered the traditional,
where he led a team of copyists to carry out “God was manifest in the flesh,” to the cor-
this request. rupt, “he who was manifest in the flesh.”
“Most scholars believe that, like the Vati- They had the Sinaiticus and V aticanus as
Vaticanus
canus, it [the Sinaiticus] was written in Alex- support for this change.
andria, Egypt . . The New Testament text of the In response to this, Burgon wrote a letter,
codex is closely allied to that of the Vaticanus,
pleading with the committee’s chairman, Bishop
together with which it is the chief witness to
Ellicott, not to permit that to be put in the new
the ‘Neutral Text.’ ”—Oxford Dictionary of the
Christian Church, 310. Bible.
Tischendorf also believed that this was how “Behold then the provision which the Author
the Sinaiticus originated. of Scripture has made for the effectual conser-
vation in its integrity of this portion of His writ-
“Is it possible that this Bible, Aleph, could
ten Word! Upwards of 1,800 years have run
be one of the 50 copies which Emperor Con-
their course since the Holy Ghost, by His ser-
stantine ordered Eusebius to place in Constan-
vant Paul, rehearsed ‘the Mystery of Godliness,’
tinople, his new capital.”—Tischendorf, quoted
declaring this to be the great foundation fact,
in Beale, Pictoral History, p. 54.
namely, that ‘God was manifest in the flesh.’
It is very significant that there is such de- And lo! out of 254 copies of St. Paul’s Epistles,
cided evidence that these two codices were pro- no less than 252 are discovered to have pre-
duced in Alexandria, the capital at that time of served that expression. The copies whereof we
Egypt. Not only was 4th- century Alexandria
4th-century speak were procured in every part of Christen-
noted for its mixture of pagan philosophy dom, being derived in every instance from cop-
with Christianity
Christianity,, but it had a reputation for ies older than themselves; which again were
very early “textual criticism ”: i.e., trying to
criticism”: transcripts of copies older still. They have since
change the W ord of God. found their way, without design or contrivance,
Word
into the libraries of every country in Europe,
In addition, Origen, the worst Christian
where they are jealously guarded . . We submit,
apostate alive, was there. It was also the cen- as a proper and just conclusion from these
ter of the blasphemous, Christ- denying her-
Christ-denying facts, that men who, in view of the evidence
The Early Centuries 45
before them, would cast out of the Scripture at points in the same direction, and leads me to
this vital point, the word ‘God’ and replace it suspect that Alexandria was the final source of
by ‘he who’ have thereby demonstrated their the text of Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. (6) I fur-
unfitness for the work of revising the Greek text ther observe that the sacred Text . . in Cyril’s
of the New Testament.”—Burgon, quoted in Homiles on St. John is often similar to B-Aleph;
Fuller, True or False? p. 98. and this, I take for granted, was the effect of
It is truly astounding that Westcott and Hort the school of Alexandria,—not of the patriarch
would base their entire theory on those two in- himself. (7) Dionysius of Alexandria complains
ferior manuscripts! They maintained that the bitterly of the corrupt codexes of his day: and
certainly (8) Clement habitually employed cop-
Sinaiticus and Vaticanus were “pure texts” and
ies of a similar kind. He too was of Alexan-
that all others were partly corrupt—especially
dria.”—Burgon, Traditional Text, pp. 234-235.
the ones used in the preparation of the King
James Bible. There is also a linkage between the Sinai-
ticus / V aticanus—and Jerome’s Catholic
Vaticanus—and
The liberal scholars themselves recognize
translation into the Latin V ulgate.
Vulgate.
that those two codices were produced in Alex-
Another factor
factor,, linking the Sinaiticus and
andria; but it bothered them not that this city
Vaticanus to Origen through the traceable
was the polluted spring, from whence came the
similarities with Jerome’s Latin V ulgate, is
Vulgate,
deepest heresies in early Christianity. In sepa-
Jerome’s choice of Pamphilus’ library as his
rate studies (Beyond Pitcairn, for example) the
primary source of translation labors. This li-
present writer has shown that Sunday sacred-
brary was the chief depository of Origen ’s
Origen’s
ness was first philosophized into the church
writings, including his famed Hexapla (a manu-
at Alexandria and, then, commanded into the
script of the Old Testament with six translations
local churches by the bishop of Rome. Reli-
in Hebrew and Greek arranged in parallel col-
gious leaders at the new Christian centers
umns for comparative study).
worked hand in hand to introduce raw pa-
Dr
Dr.. Frederick Nolan, a careful Greek and
Frederick
ganism into the Christian church.
Latin scholar
scholar,, found that the V aticanus and
Vaticanus
(It is of interest that Constantine’s orthodox
the V ulgate have a number of remarkable
Vulgate
son, Constans, sent a similar request for Bibles;
similarities
similarities!
but to the anti-Arian Athanasius. Burgon, Tra-
“The striking coincidence of the Greek of the
ditional Text, p. 163.)
Vatican manuscript with the Latin of the Vulgate
In the following statement, Dean Burgon leads to the establishment of the same conclu-
summarizes the evidence, from the Sinaiticus sion. This version received the corrections of
and V aticanus, which marks them as pro
Vaticanus, duced
produced St. Jerome during his abode in Palestine; it is
in Alexandria: thus only probable that the Greek copies, after
“Yet I venture also to think that it was in a which he modeled it, were those, which far from
great measure at Alexandria that the text in being current in Palestine, were used in the
question was fabricated. My chief reasons for monastery into which he had retired: but these
thinking so are the following: (1) There is a he assures us were of the edition of Eusebius.
marked resemblance between the peculiar read- For this edition he had imbibed an early par-
ings of Vaticanus / Sinaiticus and the two Egyp- tiality, through Gregory of Nazianzum, who first
tian versions—the Bohairic or Version of Lower put the Scriptures into his hands, who had
Egypt especially. (2) No one can fail to have been been educated at Caesarea in Palestine.”—
struck by the evident sympathy between Ori- Frederick Nolan, An Inquiry into the Integrity
gen,—who at all events had passed more than of the Greek Vulgate, or Received Text of the
half his life at Alexandria,—and the text in ques- New Testament, pp. 83-84.
tion. (3) I notice that Nonnus also, who lived in Jerome (who translated the Catholic Latin
the Thebaid, exhibits considerable sympathy Vulgate from a Greek manuscript) mentions his
with the text which I deem so corrupt. familiarity with the manuscripts of Pamphilus
“(4) I cannot overlook the fact the Codex and Origen, particularly that of the original of
Sinaiticus was discovered in a monastery un-
the latter’s Hexapla. Jerome said that he re re--
der the sway of the patriarch of Alexandria,
lied on those documents as his unquestioned
though how it got there no evidence remains to
point out. (5) The licentious handling so char- model (see Scrivener, Plain Introduction, Vol.
acteristic of the Septuagint Version of the Old 2, p. 226).
Testament,—the work of Alexandrian Jews,— Burgon angrily declares that the modern
46 The King James and the Modern Versions
revisers have removed the words, “that ye might be unable to solve.”—Herman C. Hoskier,
should not obey the truth,” from Galatians Codex B and its Allies, p. 10.
3:1—solely on the basis of seven manuscripts We will learn later that, at the time that
(Codices A
A,, B
B,, Aleph, D
D,, F
F,, G
G,, and Papyrus
Papyrus the apostate Constantine had those large cod-
17), and says that Jerome earlier led out in ices made, faithful W aldensians in the hills
Waldensians
doing the same. Then Burgon adds: of northern Italy protested this corruption of
“But when he comes to the place in Gala- the text!
tians, he is observed, first to admit that the
clause ‘is found in some copies,’ and straight- THE LUCIAN RECENSION THEORY
way to add that ‘inasmuch as it is not found in
the copies of Adamantius, he omits it.’ The clue
This is a second part of the W estcott and
Westcott
to his omission is supplied by his own state- Hort theory
theory.. Those two men and their associ-
ment that in writing on the Galatians he had ates were embarrassed by the truly vast num-
made Origen his guide.”—Burgon, Traditional ber of manuscripts and other materials which
Text, p. 167. support the King James Bible and disagree
with the Westcott-Hort theory, that their beloved
It has been said that Erasmus’ Greek T ext,
Text,
Sinaiticus / Vaticanus are the most important
the basis of the King James Bible, is inferior
manuscripts in the Biblical world.
because he only had access to the Majority
So they invented the “Lucian Recension
Text and not to the superior V aticanus. The
Vaticanus.
Theory.” (A recension is either an editorial revi-
truth is that he was the first to reject the
sion of a literary work, especially done on the
Vaticanus as a source.
basis of critical examination of the text and the
Without taking the space to elaborate on
sources used, or a version of a text resulting from
this, there is evidence that Erasmus was told
such revision.) Their theory is keyed to the fact
about many variant readings in the Vaticanus,
that Lucian, a Christian of Samosata in Asia
by Sepúlveda, and from the papal librarian, Paul
Minor
Minor,, tried to produce a unified text, in-
Bombasius, as early as 1521 (see Wetstein’s
cluding all the Old T estament and New T
Testament es
es--
Tes
Prolegomena to the New Testament, Vol. 1, p.
tament. He gathered this from a variety of
23). But, with four editions of the Greek New
sources. Lucian had earlier studied in a Chris-
Testament already completed, the 67-year-old
tian school at Edessa in Mesopotamia and, by
accomplished scholar was not impressed with
the time he arrived in Antioch, had gained a repu-
that inferior document at the Vatican. He wanted
tation for scholarship. He worked with a Hebrew
nothing to do with papal documents. Two years
scholar in a revision of the Septuagint (the Greek
later, Erasmus published his fifth and final edi-
translation of the Old Testament, prepared over
tion (a year before his death).
a span of 150 years and completed about 100
In spite of these facts, liberals defend their
B.C.) that was more thorough than that done by
errant manuscripts, by declaring the Erasmus
Eusebius of Caesarea.
only had access to “later” manuscripts.
Lucian, who only had a friend or two to
Before concluding this comparision of the
help him, worked faithfully on his little proj-
Sinaiticus and V aticanus with Alexandria and
Vaticanus
ect. Later
Later,, he was martyred under the perse perse--
Origen
Origen’s’s Hexapla (the basic source Jerome
cution of Emperor Maximus in 312.
used in preparing his Vulgate translation), it
Westcott and Hort expanded that histori-
should be noted that, not only is the style of
cal fact into a fabulous tale, that the em-
those two codices like that of Origen ’s writ-
Origen’s
peror commanded that Lucian do his work
ings, but the content also agree with them.
and that it must be made the standard New
“The points in which we are specially entitled
Testament text of the Roman Empire!
to look for innovations are: (1) curious and inge-
nious readings, such, for instance, as those “The Syrian text must in fact be the result of
which we have noticed in St. Mark and St. Luke; a ‘recension’ in the proper sense of the word, a
(2) the removal of words, clauses, or entire sen- work of attempted criticism, performed delib-
tences which a man of fastidious taste might erately by editors and not merely by [scattered]
regard as superfluities or repetitions; (3) a fear- scribes.”—Hort, quoted in Wilbur, Pickering,
less and highly speculative mode of dealing with Identity of the New Testament, p. 37.
portions of the New Testament which might con- This is an entirely imaginative theory;
tain statements opposed to his prepossessions yet, mysteriously
mysteriously,, these ideas that Westcott
Westcott
or present difficulties which even his ingenuity and Hort secretly learned, at their séances
The Early Centuries 47
with the devil, were eagerly accepted by Burgon, Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels,
worldly scholars as truth. p. 121.
“An authoritative revision at Antioch . . was Bruce Metzger has assigned the origin of the
itself subjected to a second authoritative revi- Majority Text to Lucian of Antioch (d. 312).
sion carrying out more completely the purposes “As has been indicated in the previous pages,
of the first. At what date between A.D. 250 and his [Lucian’s] recension of the New Testament
350 the first process took place, it is impos- was adopted at Constantinople and from there
sible to say with confidence. The final process it spread widely throughout Greek speaking
was apparently completed by A.D. 350 or there- lands.”—Bruce M. Metzger, “The Lucianic Re-
abouts.”—Ibid. cension of the Greek Bible,” Chapter in his His-
According to the theory
theory,, this is the rea- tory of New Testament Textual Criticism, p.
son there are so many thousands of manu- 27.
scripts in the Majority T ext.
Text. Bruce Metzger is one of the three editors who
Westcott and Hort developed this theory in decided which readings would be accepted or
order to refute the fact that those thousands of rejected in the Nestle-Aland and UBS Greek
manuscripts all came in separate streams from Texts, used by all translators of 20th-century
the originals. They contended that this was not Bibles. When he bought the Westcott-Hort theory
true; but that Lucian made a collated text, and about the Sinaiticus / Vaticanus, he also bought
that was used almost universally. It is theorized the Lucian theory.
that some official church leader may have man- A leading American textual critic, Ernest C.
dated that his text be copied and used by all the Colwell, wrote that the Majority T ext “
Text had, in
“had,
churches, but that is a convenient conjecture. its origin, no such single focus as the Latin
The entire “Lucian Recension Theory” is er- had in Jerome” (E.C. Colwell, What is the Best
roneous; and here is the evidence: New Testament?). Many scholars recognize that
First, there is no evidence that any such the Majority T ext, as well as the other major
Text,
edict, commanding that Lucian
Lucian’s’s text be the families of the Greek text, are the result of a
only one to be copied and used, was ever process rather than a single event in textual
issued. Indeed, it is speculative as to who might history
history..
have issued such a requirement. Another scholar, Jacob Geerlings, who has
Second, a significant number of the manu- done extensive work on certain “family”
scripts, lectionaries, early church “father” branches of the Majority T ext, has stated that
Text,
quotations, and foreign translations—most of “its origins go back to the autographs [the
which support the Majority T ext—date as
Text—date originals]” (J. Geerlings, Family E and its
early or earlier than Lucian ’s research project.
Lucian’s Allies in Mark).
Historical records reveal that the Eastern
Westcott and Hort were dreaming up their
Church never officially adopted or recognized
theories under the tutelage of demons who were
a received or authorized text. The W estern
Western
talking to them during their “Ghostly Club” meet-
Church, at Rome, adopted the Latin V ulgate.
Vulgate.
ings at Oxford.
“In order to prop up his contention, Dr. Hort Oddly enough, even if the theory were cor-
is obliged to conjure up the shadows of two or rect—the theory would date the Majority T ext
Text
three ‘phantom revisions’ of which no recorded as having originated at an earlier date than
evidence exists. But Dr. Hort, as soon as he the Sinaiticus / Vaticanus. Lucian of Antioch,
Vaticanus.
found that he could not maintain his ground who is supposed to have prepared the “Lucian
with history as it was, instead of taking back Recension” which all the “late” Majority Text
his theory and altering it to square with facts, manuscripts all based on, died in A.D. 312.
tampered with historical facts in order to make
According to the W estcott-Hort “Lucian
Westcott-Hort
them agree with his theory.”—D.J.W. Burgon,
Recension theory ,” the basis of the Majority
theory,”
Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels, p. 93.
Text was prepared at Antioch between A .D..
.D
A.D
“Not the slightest confirmation is given to
Dr. Hort’s notion that a revision or recension
250 and 350. Since the Sinaiticus and V ati-
Vati-
was definitely accomplished at Antioch in the canus are dated at approximately 340, that
middle of the 4th century. There was a gradual would make the Majority T ext earlier than
Text
improvement as the traditional text gradually them!
established itself against the forward and per-
sistent intrusion of corruption.”—D.J.W. THE MANUSCRIPT FAMILY THEORY
54 The King James and the Modern Versions
In attempting to compare the 5,000 manu- other families, and to represent the nearest ap-
scripts, scholars have found tendencies for proach to the New Testament originals.
certain ones to be somewhat similar to cer- Its best representative, according to Hort,
tain others. The word, “somewhat,” is used be- was the V aticanus, with the Sinaiticus sec-
Vaticanus,
cause there are so many variables that it is im- ond best. Both were thought to be derived in-
possible to say, “This manuscript is exactly like dependently from a common original, at no great
that one.” That never happens. Yet, in an at- distance from the originals. Therefore, they were
tempt to arrive at some semblance of order order,, called “neutral” or pure. (Some editors call them
five primary manuscript “families” have been the Hesychian family, on the theory that they
accepted by modern scholars. were produced under the direction of Hesychius,
(These “families” are also spoken of as a scribe in Alexandria, Egypt.)
“T exts,” with a capital “T.” Scholars use the
“Texts,” Here is how the W estcott-Hort theory is
Westcott-Hort
terms interchangeably.) applied:
An attempt has been made to locate each of 1 - When Sinaiticus and V aticanus read-
Vaticanus
these five families to certain regions where the ings (they are the Neutral family) agree, no con-
copyists supposedly worked. tradictory readings from other manuscripts
J.A. Bengel (about 1734) suggested that the are accepted
accepted, unless internal evidence contra-
manuscripts might be divided into Asiatic and dicts this.
African. 2 - Readings not found in the Neutral,
J.S. Semler (about 1767) prepared a three- Alexandrian, or W estern T
Western exts (or families)
Texts
fold classification: Oriental, Western, and are to be rejected as “Syrian.”
Alexandrian. He was the first to call these fami- 3 - No reading from the W estern or Alexan-
Western
lies, “recensions.” drian is to be admitted without some sup sup--
J.J. Griesbach, a pupil of Semler’s (1774- port from the Neutral.
1776, 1805), introduced the names, Constant- Now, let us look at these other families:
inopolitan or Byzantine. The Alexandrian F amily
amily.. This consists of
Family
J.L. Hug said the Western text was based on manuscripts conjectured as having originated
an earlier one, and was itself split into three, the at Alexandria. Hort’s purpose in splitting the two
Palestinian by Origen, the Egyptian by Hesych- apart was to seperate his so-called Neutral fam-
ius, and the Syrian by Lucian. ily from Origen and Alexandria. (But Hort freely
Carolus Lachmann suggested the terms, admitted that his Neutral Text also came from
Oriental and Occidental. Egypt.)
The above, very brief description hardly de- The W estern F
Western amily
amily.. Included here are
Family
scribes all the speculation, squabbling, and Greek manuscripts which originated in central
changes in the various theories which occurred. Italy. Do not confuse these with Old Latin, which
Then came the F .J
F.J .A . Hort and B
.J.A .F
.F..
B.F was an ancient (4th century) translation. A pure
Westcott theory
theory.. They used the terms, W est-
West- and earlier Latin dialect was the Waldensian
ern and Syrian (Antiochian), for two of the
Italia of northern Italy, translated into Latin by
groups and divided the third into Alexandrian
the Waldenses about A.D. 157. The Italia be-
and Neutral. Hort was the principal member of
longs to the Majority Text.
the team which devised and wrote down their The Syrian F amily
amily.. This is that other text
Family
theory of families. family which Hort considered to be so utterly
This “family” theory of manuscripts is im-
worthless. Yes, you guessed it. This is the Ma-
portant, since the two 20th- century critical
20th-century jority T ext which the King James and the
Text
Greek T exts (the Nestle
Texts Nestle--Aland and the UBS) other Reformation Bibles were translated
are almost entirely based on the W estcott-
Westcott- from. Listening to the devils at their Ghostly
Hort theory
theory.. Nearly all 20th- century transla-
20th-century Club, Westcott and Hort figured out a clever
tions into English and other languages are
scheme to get rid of the purest, largest, and ear-
made from one or the other of those critical
liest manuscript source.
Greek T exts. (More on these later in this book.)
Texts. The Syrian Text is also called the Byzantine
family.. Hort considered this the
Neutral family or Antiochian family. It is also referred to as the
purest extant form. It was thought to be en- Traditional T ext
Text
ext, since it was used in preparing
tirely free from corruption and mixture with the earlier English and European Bibles. Another
The Early Centuries 55
name for it is the Received T Text
ext or Textus tions by the early church “fathers,” and (4) trans-
Receptus (which is actually the name of the lations into other languages. We have now
third edition of Erasmus’ Greek Text, based en- learned enough to return to them.
tirely on this family of manuscripts). However, We are now going to discover that the
throughout this book, we will call it by the most great majority of those four sources, when
descriptive name: the Majority T ext
Text
ext. they are very early
early,, support the Majority T ext
Text
ext,
In Hort’s opinion, Greek and Syrian church which, as you know, is the basis of the King
“fathers” produced this as a revision of existing James Bible! They also disprove the “Lucianic
manuscripts in the vicinity of Antioch in the late Recension theory ,” since they existed prior
theory,”
4th century. Hort declared it to be later than the to the time that Lucian could have prepared
other families and, therefore, essentially worth- his recension
recension.
less. Yet the Majority Text includes most of the 1 - Greek manuscripts. As mentioned ear-
uncials (which Hort arbitrarily decided must lier, there are 5,000 of these! These include
have been produced in later centuries) and nearly the following: (1) Over 200 uncials (all capital
all the thousands of cursive manuscripts. letters), counting all fragments, which range in
It is of interest that even Dr
Dr.. Hort admitted date from the 2nd to the 9th century. (2) About
that the Syrian F amily (Majority T
Family ext) was
Text) 100 papyri and ostraca (ostraca are written
as old as his so so-- called Neutral family
family. on clay tablets). These are mainly uncial. (3)
“The fundamental text of late extant Greek Approximately 3,000 cursives
cursives, dating from the
manuscripts, generally is beyond all question
9th to the 15th centuries. There are also lec-
identical with the dominant Antiochian or
Graeco-Syrian text of the second half of the
tionaries
tionaries.
fourth century.”—F.J.A. Hort, quoted in J.W. Comparatively few of these materials contain
Burgon, The Revision Revised, p. 257. the complete New Testament and many are very
According to that admission, the Majority fragmentary, especially those among the uncials
Text was at least as old as the Sinaiticus and and papyri. Yet, as far as the quality and quan-
Vaticanus! Yet, according to the Westcott-Hort tity of the evidence, the New T estament is
Testament
theory, the two codices were supposed to be by far the best-preserved ancient document
“purer” because they were said to be older! There in the world
world.
is something wrong here in someone’s thinking. The entire New Testament is substantially
Add to this the point that, according to their contained in only two uncials (Sinaiticus and
“Lucian Recension theory,” the basic Majority Alexandrinus; most of Matthew being missing
Text was prepared at Antioch between A.D. 250 in the latter) and in about 50 cursive manu-
and 350. Since the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are scripts. Approximately 120 other manuscripts
dated at approximately 340, that would make it contain all but the Revelation; and about 50
older than them! contain all but the Gospels.
Very small “families,” each with only a very The most abundant single group is the four
few manuscripts in them, have since been added: Gospels, with some 1,500 documents; and the
the “Ferrar” manuscripts (or Family 1) which in- next, in order, would be combinations of the
cludes 1, 13, 124, 346, and 69; and the Codex other groups (Acts and the General Epistles,
Theta. These manuscripts would receive but Pauline Epistles, and Revelation).
little notice, except that they exhibit some of the About 30 manuscripts contain the Acts and
strange peculiarities of the Sinaiticus and General Epistles alone. (The General Epistles are
Vaticanus. all those not written by Paul). About 35 have the
Pauline Epistles alone. Another 45 only have
Now we are ready to track down still Revelation alone.
more evidence that the Majority Text is the
Text The remainder of the 5,000 manuscripts are
purest, earliest, and best. too fragmentary to classify.
MOST SOURCES SUPPORT THE KJV Why so many fragments? —They are mute
You will recall that we earlier mentioned four testimony to the work of Satan, down through
early Bible text sources. These were (1) Greek the centuries, to destroy Christians, their homes,
manuscripts
manuscripts, (2) lectionaries (Bible compila- their churches, and their Bible portions!
tions read in churches which could not afford a —But we find that nearly all of the above
larger manuscript of a Bible portion), (3) quota- listed manuscripts support the Majority T ext!
Text!
56 The King James and the Modern Versions
The Greek papyri should also be men- “Besides establishing the antiquity of the Tra-
tioned here. They are among the very oldest ditional [Majority] T ext, the quotations in the
Text,
manuscripts of the New T estament. Because
Testament. early “fathers” reveal the streams of corruption
they were written in Egypt, they frequently which prevailed in the first ages, till they were
have some corrupt Alexandrian readings; yet, washed away by the vast current of the trans-
mission of the text of the Gospels.”—D.J.W.
much of the time, they agree with Majority
Burgon, Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels,
Text readings. It is possible to find papyri in p. 117.
Egypt, since it has a climate dry enough to pre-
“The original predominance of the Traditional
serve them. That is where these were written and [Majority] Text is shown in the list given of the
preserved. earliest “fathers.” Their record proves that in
2 - Lectionaries. The second of the four their writings, and so in the church generally,
witnesses to the original text of the Bible are the corruption had made itself felt in the earliest
lectionaries. As mentioned earlier, copyists would times, but that the pure waters generally pre-
vailed.”—D.J.W. Burgon, Traditional Text of the
assemble many choice passages into books, and
Holy Gospels, p. 121.
use them in church readings. Each one would
Hort’s entire security is based on the theory
contain selected portions of Scripture, arranged
in a particular schedule for congregational read- that the manuscripts did not exist before his
ing. Each of the lectionaries is called a lection.
preferred family of texts or before any of the
There are about 2,143 of these lectionaries. other families.
Many of these date very earlyearly,, and they “The text, found in the mass [Majority] of
existing manuscripts, does not date further
frequently favor the text upon which the King
back than the middle of the fourth century.
James V ersion is based.
Version Before that text was made up [when the so-
Here is the comment of one scholar, that the called Lucian recension was supposedly re-
lectionary evidence does not support the con- quired to be distributed], other forms of text
jecture that Lucian’s text was required of all the were in vogue, which may be termed respec-
churches: tively Neutral, Western and Alexandrian.”—
“The Lectionaries also indicate that the Tra- Hort, quoted in Dean Burgan, Traditional
ditional [Majority] T ext could not have been
Text Text, p. 91.
imposed on the church by the ecclesiastical au- But the quoted Scriptures, found in the
thorities. These, as has been stated, are manu- early Christian writers, disprove the W est-
West-
scripts containing the New Testament Scrip- cott-Hort theory!
ture lessons appointed to be read at the vari- The writings of just five early writers (Ter-
(Ter-
ous worship services of the ecclesiastical year.
tullian, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Origen, and Cle
Cle--
According to the researches of E. Colwell (1933)
and his associates, the oldest of these lessons ment of Alexandria) have provided us with
are not Traditional but ‘mixed’ in text. Westcott 30,147 Scripture citations alone! —Y et the
—Yet
and Hort’s theory was that the Traditional text great majority of their quotations agree with
from its very beginning had never enjoyed offi- the Majority T ext!
Text!
cial status.”—Edward Hills, Believing Bible And consider this: All five of those men
Study, p. 100. died between 20 and 150 years before the
3 - Quotations by early church “fathers.” approximate dates when the Sinaiticus and
The writings of early Christians (called “fathers”) Vaticanus were copied; many of them died
are also referred to as patristic (“fatherly”) testi- before the conjectured Lucian recension
mony. This is the correspondence and miscella- could have been made!
neous works of the church’s earliest writers, “It has been pointed out elsewhere that, in
and by itself, the testimony of any first-rate ‘fa-
theologians, and bishops.
ther,’ where it can be had, must be held to out-
Although some of these men believed hereti-
weigh the solitary testimony of any single co-
when they quote the New T
cal notions—when esta-
Testa- dex which can be named . . For instance the
accurately,, in
ment, they tend to quote it accurately origin and history of Codices A, B, Aleph, and
accordance with the manuscripts they had C [Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and
available to them. These quotations provide Ephraemi] is wholly unknown: their dates and
us with a valuable witness as to what the the places of their several production are mat-
Bible text was in their day and are invaluable ters of conjecture only. But when we are listen-
evidence. ing to the articulate utterance of any of the an-
The Early Centuries 57
cient ‘fathers,’ we not only know with more or papyrus (singular form), these are the very
less of precision the actual date of the testi- earliest Greek manuscript fragments of the
mony before us, but we even know the very dio- New T estament that we have. Papyri have only
Testament
cese of Christendom in which we are standing. been recovered in Egypt because the climate
To such a deponent we can assign a definite
there was consistently dry enough to preserve
amount of credibility, whereas in the estimate
of the former class of evidence [the Greek manu- them.
scripts] we have only inferences to guide us. There are very few of these earliest manu-
Individually, therefore, a ‘father’s’ evidence script sources; but, although they demonstrate
where it can be certainly obtained—caeterius some Alexandrian errors (since they were cop
cop--
paribus [Latin: other things being equal] is con- ied in Egypt), they also quite consistently
siderably greater than that of any single known support Majority T ext readings which
Text
codex.”—Edward Miller, quoted in Dean Bur- Sinaiticus and V aticanus reject.
Vaticanus
gon, Traditional Text, 57. “In Hort’s day . . the early papyri were not
Just how “early” did these “fathers” ac- extant [available]. Had they been, the Westcott-
tually live? Here are the facts: Hort theory could scarcely have appeared . .
Each of the early papyri (A.D. 300 or earlier)
“With the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) acting
vindicates some Byzantine [Majority Text] read-
as their chronological watershed, church his-
ing . . Bodmer II shows some Syrian readings
torians will generally arrange the ‘fathers’ by
to be anterior to [earlier than] corresponding
the era in which they lived; Apostolic (A.D. 75-
Aleph and B readings . . The early papyri vindi-
150); Ante-Nicene (A.D. 150-325); and Post-
cate Byzantine readings in 660 (or 885) places
Nicene (A.D. 325-500).
where there is a significant variation.”—
“However, an even more significant designa- Pickering, Identity of the New Testament Texts,
tion would be by geographical area; Western, p. 224.
Alexandrian and Antiochian. The relevance of
H.A. Sturz carried out a careful analysis of
this regional triad to the study of manuscript
evidences should be apparent by now. There- the papyri, and wrote his findings down in his
fore, the following breakdown of the most per- book, Byzantine Text-Type and New Testament
tinent ‘fathers’ is listed according to both crite- Textual Criticism. His research studies showed
rion. that the Majority T ext was quoted more fre
Text fre--
“For the Apostolic Age, we have: the West- quently by the papyri than any other manu-
ern—Clement of Rome (A.D. 30-100); the script family
family..
Antiochian—Ignatius (A.D. 35-107) and Polycarp “H.A. Sturz . . surveyed all the available pa-
(A.D. 69-155); and no major Alexandrian ‘fa- pyri . . Each new manuscript discovered vindi-
thers.’ In the Ante-Nicene Period: the Western— cated Byzantine [Majority Text] readings . .
Irenaeus (A.D. 120-192), Hippolytus (A.D. 170- “The magnitude of this vindication can be
235), Tertullian (A.D. 160-225), and Cyprian more fully appreciated by recalling that only
(A.D. 200-258); the Alexandrian—Justin Mar- about 30% of the New Testament has early pa-
tyr (A.D. 100-165), Clement (A.D. 150-215), pyri attestation . . If we had at least three pa-
Origen (A.D. 185-254), and Didymus (A.D. pyri covering all parts of the New Testament,
313-398); and the Antiochian—Lucian (A.D. all of the 5,000, plus, Byzantine [Majority Text]
250-312). readings rejected by the critical, eclectic texts
“The Post-Nicene Fathers are: In the West— would be vindicated by early papyri . .
Augustine (A.D. 354-430); in Alexandria— “Henceforth, no one may reasonably or re-
Athanasius (A.D. 293-373) and Cyril (A.D. 315- sponsibly characterize the Byzantine [Majority]
386); and finally, the Antiochian—Diodorus (d. text-type as being late . . Although modern edi-
394), Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407), Theodoret tors continue to reject these readings, it can no
(A.D. 393-458), Basil (A.D. 329-379), Gregory longer be argued that they are late.”—Op. cit.,
Nazianzen (AD. 329-390), and Gregory of Nyssa pp. 77, 184, 202.
(A.D. 330-395).”—W.P. Grady, Final Author- Klijn compared Aleph and B (both are
ity, pp. 37-38.
4th century) with the papyri (2nd century)
As stated earlier
earlier,, the majority of the “fa- and found that the papyri were closer to the
thers,” including the earliest of them, quoted Majority T ext (A.F.J. Klijn, Survey of the Re-
Text
from the Majority T ext!
Text!
searches into the Western Text of the Gospels).
4-P apyri. Consisting of Greek New Testa-
Papyri. Here are the statements of five additional
ment fragments written on ancient paper, called Biblical scholars, that the papyri do not sup
sup--
58 The King James and the Modern Versions
port the Sinaiticus / Vaticanus text; but, in-
Vaticanus something different. This indicates that at this
stead, they support the Majority T ext
Text
ext, the early period, variant readings were supplant-
basis of our King James Bible: ing the Majority Text.”—E.C. Colwell, “Origin
“[Majority Text-type] readings previously dis- of Text types of New Testament Manuscripts,”
carded as late are in Papyrus 46 . . Are all Byz- in Allen Wikgren, Early Christian Origins, ed.,
antine readings ancient? . . G. Pasquali answers pp. 128-138.
in the affirmative . . Papyrus 46 and 45 sup- Do you see it? Satan was intent on destroy-
port the Majority Text readings.”—G. Zuntz, ing the basis of the Majority Text as early as A.D.
Texts of the Epistles, p. 55. 200! That is only a hundred years after the death
“Papyrus 75 supports the Majority Text doz- of the Apostle John!
ens of times. In relation to the [Majority] text, 5 - Translations into other languages.
Papyrus 46 (about A.D. 200), shows that some
Faithful Christians were so anxious to share the
readings . . go back to a very early period . .
good news of salvation in Jesus Christ, that
Papyrus 66 [has] readings that agree with the
[Majority] . . text type.”—Bruce Metzger, Manu- rather early they began translating the New Tes-
scripts of the Greek Bible, pp. 64, 108. tament into other languages.
“Byzantine readings which most critics have (1) Syrian translations. Translations were
regarded as late, have now been proved by Pa- made for the Syrian people, dwelling northeast
pyrus Bodmer II to be early readings.”—Hills, of Palestine. There were at least four major ver-
quoted in Dean Burgon, The Last Twelve sions: the Peshitta (A.D. 145); the Old Syriac
Verses of Mark, p. 54. (A.D. 400), the Palestinian Syriac (A.D. 450), and
“Papyrus 66 supports the reading of the Ma- the Philoxenian (A.D. 508). The last one was re-
jority Text.”—Journal of Theological Studies, vised by Thomas of Harkel, in A.D. 616, and is
Vol. 2, p. 381.
known as the Harclean Syriac.
“Some of the New Testament papyri that have The earliest of these was the Peshitta—
been discovered show remarkable similarity
translated only about 50 years after the last
with later manuscripts. In fact, several of the
extant early papyri are related to many later
book in the Bible was written! The name,
manuscripts (fourth century and beyond) or at “Peshitta,” means “straight” or “rule,” and that is
least share a common ancestor.”—Philip W. what it is. The Peshitta set the standard for
Comfort, Early Manuscripts and Modern excellence and purity of text, due to its early
Translations of the Bible, p. 11. translation. It closely agrees with the Major-
From the collected research of these schol- ity T ext! This is a most powerful evidence
Text!
ars, listed below, are some sample papyrus man- that the Majority T ext is the most accurate
Text
uscripts. In each instance, they supported the text.
Majority Text more than the Sinaiticus and Because of the obvious embarrassment
Vaticanus. caused by this document, which is two centu-
PA P Y R U S ALEPH B MAJ TEXT ries earlier than the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus
P45 19 24 32 codices, modern liberal scholars went against
P66 14 29 33
the known facts of nearly two millennia and
P75 9 33 29
upped the translation date of the Peshitta to A.D.
Colwell made an interesting discovery. He 415.
found that, as early as A.D. 200 (which is
(2) Gothic Translation. This was the first
very early!) there was already evidence of
translation into a purely European language. It
tampering with the manuscripts! Men were
was prepared in A.D. 330 by Ulfilas, an earnest
already trying to change the Majority T ext
Text
soul-winning evangelist. (His name means “little
into something else!
wolf.”) This translation was prepared about
Of course, when this is done, the text is either
10 years before the Sinaiticus and V aticanus,
Vaticanus,
poorly erased and something new is written in or
and it agrees closely with the Majority T ext.
Text.
a variant reading is written above or in the mar-
“The type of text represented in it is for the
gin beside the original reading.
most part that which is found in the majority
“The Bodmer John (P66) is also a witness to of Greek manuscripts.”—Frederick G. Kenyon,
the early existence of many of the readings found Critical Text of the New Testament, 1912 edi-
in the Majority Text. Strangely enough, the con- tion.
temporary corrections in that papyrus fre-
So Ulfilas had access to King James Version
quently change a Majority Text reading to
64 The King James and the Modern Versions
readings before the Sinaiticus or Vaticanus were quently different from the Majority T ext. The
Text.
copied! For example, his translation has the tra- reason for this is their proximity to Alexan-
ditional ending on Matthew 6:13, which the dria, where Clement of Alexandria, Origen,
Sinaiticus and Vaticanus and the modern ver- and their many liberal and heretic friends
sions omit: were located. The Sinaiticus and Vaticanus were
“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, produced in Alexandria. We would today call Al-
and the glory, for ever. Amen.” exandria a “university town”; it would be com-
We are fortunate to know the readings in the parable to Berkeley, California, with its rampant
Gothic translation; for there are only eight cop- liberalism. The university at Alexandria was, at
ies still in existence. that time, the largest in the world and contained
Interestingly enough, since that ancient north- the most paganizing Christians.
ern language is related to our modern English, (6) Ethiopian Translation. Prepared in the
we can see traces of our language in it. Here is
nation closest to Egypt, this translation is cor-
the first sentence of the Lord’s Prayer in English rupt just like the Coptic translations
translations. It also
and in ancient Gothic:
includes 14 non-canonical books.
Our Father which art in heaven.
Atta unsar thu in himinam. (7) Latin Translations.
hallowed be Thy name. [1] The Italia (Old Latin) Translation.
Weihnai name thein. The first of these was made no later than A.D.
(3) Armenian Translation. Scholars call 157, about 60 years after the last book of
this the “Queen of the Versions,” because there the Bible was finished
finished. It is called the Old Latin
are so many copies still in existence (1,244). Translation or Italia. This translation was made
Mesrob, an evangelist, and Sahak translated for the young churches established in the Ital-
it about A.D. 400; and it closely matches the ian Alps (the far northern part of Italy). It is an
readings in the Majority T ext.
Text. excellent translation and agrees closely with
the Majority T ext. Y
Text. et it occurs a full cen-
Yet
(4) Georgian Translation. Even the liber-
tury before the theorized “Lucian Recension
Recension” ”
als recognize the early date of this translation,
is supposed to have been made, and two full
which was prepared for the people dwelling be-
centuries before the Sinaiticus and V aticanus
Vaticanus
tween the Black and Caspian Seas of southern
were produced
produced.
Russia. It also supports the Majority T ext.
Text.
The Waldensian Bible was either produced
“The Georgian Version . . arose in the fifth
century on the outskirts of Christianity. Arme- from this Italia translation or from the Majority
nian tradition ascribes it to the work of Mesrob, Text Greek manuscripts.
who is said to have invented the Georgian al- It is highly significant that, in spite of the
phabet.”—Ancestry of Our English Bible, Ira Romish apostasy, the faithful Latin-speaking
Maurice Price, pp. 117-118. believers in the hills of northern Italy continued
(5) Coptic Translations. The Egyptian to use their beloved Italia down through the cen-
turies. They ignored the V ulgate and remained
Vulgate
translations are called “Coptic,” and divided into
with the Italia and its successor
successor,, the W alden-
Walden-
two main versions, based on dialect and local-
sian Bible.
ity. Since these are Egyptian, we find that
“The old Italic version into the rude Low Latin
they do not agree with the Majority T ext.
Text.
of the second century held its own as long as
Remember
Remember,, Egypt is where the Sinaiticus and
Latin continued to be the language of the people.
Vaticanus came from. The critical version of Jerome [the Vulgate] never
[1] The Sahidic Translation was used in displaced it, and only replaced it when the Latin
the southern part of Egypt (called “Upper Egypt,” ceased to be a living language, but became the
meaning “up the Nile River”), and is dated from language of the learned.
about the beginning of the 3rd century. “The Gothic version of Ulfilas, in the same
way, held its own until the tongue in which it
[2] The Bohairic Translation is northern was written ceased to exist . . The reason for
(“Lower Egypt”), and is as late as the 6th cen- these facts seems to be this: that the languages
tury (about a hundred years after the Sinaiticus into which these versions were made were al-
and Vaticanus). most perfectly adapted to express the broad,
Both of these Coptic translations are fre fre-- generic simplicity of the original text . . It was
The Early Centuries 65
partly because the Low Latin of the second cen- There are more than 800 in the libraries of Paris
tury, and the Gothic of Ulfilas, and the rude, alone.
strong German of Luther had that character in “Now among translations themselves, the
a remarkable degree, that they were capabile of Italia is to be preferred to the others, for it keeps
rendering the Scriptures with a faithfulness closer to the words without prejudice to clear-
which guaranteed their permanance.”—Fulton, ness of expression.”—Nicene and Post-Nicene
The Forum, June 1887; quoted in Wilkinson, Fathers, Vol. 2, p. 542.
Our Authorized Bible Vindicated, pp. 27-28.
More on the Waldensian translation later.
The Old Latin translation held its own for
900 years after the Vulgate appeared (Jacobus, [2] The Latin V ulgate. In A.D. 382, Bishop
Vulgate.
Catholic and Protestant Bibles Compared). The Damascus of Rome (they were not yet called
common people wanted the Old Latin, not “popes”) commissioned Jerome to make a new,
the pope’s V ulgate. Since the Vulgate was is-
Vulgate. “improved” edition of the Old Latin. That which
sued about A.D. 397, nine hundred years brings he produced was the infamous Latin Vulgate.
us to about A.D. 1280. It is known that, in 1229, Jerome was born about A.D. 341-342 of
the pope issued orders to begin a most terrible wealthy parents who gave him the best educa-
crusade against the Albigenses of southern tion available. He spent five years (374-379) in
France and the Waldenses of northern Italy. the desert in a hermit-like “self-discipline,” and
The Italia manuscripts were brought to then began studying Hebrew and Greek.
the Island of Iona where Columba, Patrick, Jerome became a close friend of Pope Dama-
and their faithful helpers made copies and sus; and, after living for several years in Antioch
and Constantinople where he learned the latest
sent out missionaries throughout Europe.
philosophies, he went to Rome in A.D. 382,
“When the Saxons invaded Britain, heathen-
ism gained control. The conquerors disdained
“where he spent more than two years in close
to be instructed by their slaves, and the Chris- association with Pope Damasus” (Ira M. Price,
tians were forced to retreat to the mountains Ancestry of Our English Bible, p. 86).
and the wild moors. Yet the light, hidden for a At the request of the pope, he began work
time, continued to burn. In Scotland, a century on a “modern
“modern” ” Latin Bible
Bible. First he translated
later, it shone out with a brightness that ex- a revision of the Gospels which appeared in A.D.
tended to far-distant lands. From Ireland came 383. This was followed soon by Acts and the
the pious Columba and his colaborers, who, rest of the New Testament. His work on the Old
gathering about them the scattered believers Testament began with a revision of the Old Latin
on the lonely island of Iona, made this the cen- Psalter, done on the basis of the Septuagint (a
ter of their missionary labors. Among these
Greek translation of the Old Testament com-
evangelists was an observer of the Bible Sab-
pleted about 150 B.C.).
bath, and thus this truth was introduced among
the people. A school was established at Iona, When Pope Damasus died about A.D. 384,
from which missionaries went out, not only to Jerome left Rome the next year and eventually
Scotland and England, but to Germany, Swit- settled in Bethlehem in Palestine, where he
zerland, and even Italy.”—Great Controversy, founded two religious houses. One was a mon-
p. 62. astery which he managed for the next 15 years.
The “church in the wilderness,” in rural The other was a nearby nunnery, which a nun
areas hidden from the despotism of Rome, was in charge of.
the faithful continued to use the basic Ma- From A.D. 390 to 404, he translated the rest
jority Text, even though it may have been
Text, of the Old Testament (including part of the Apoc-
translated into Syrian, Gothic, Armenian, or rypha). So the entire V ulgate Bible was trans
Vulgate trans--
Old Latin. lated between A.D. 382 and 397 397.
“The old Latin versions were used longest In A.D. 580, Pope Gregory praised this won-
by the Eastern Christians who would not bow derful translation, the Vulgate. It was a book very
to the authority of Rome—e.g., the Donatists; dear to the heart of the pontiffs.
the Irish in Ireland, Britain, and the Continent; The Vulgate is still the official Psalter in St.
the Albigenses; etc.”—Jacobus, Catholic and Peter’s, in Rome. Jerome’s translation was al-
Protestant Bibles Compared, p. 200. ways appreciated by the popes.
There are thousands of Old Latin and Vul- Later in this book, we will encounter the
gate manuscripts in the public and private li- Vulgate again; for it was used by Rome to
braries of Europe (some estimate it at 8,000). withstand Protestant Bibles
Bibles. It was first used
66 The King James and the Modern Versions
to destroy the effect of the Waldensian Bible. Af- very early, copies of God’s Word were made and
ter the Reformation began, translations of it into circulated everywhere.
English and other languages were used to with- “And the Word of God increased.”—Acts 6:7.
stand the Protestant European and English “But the Word of God grew and multiplied.”—
Bibles. The Rheims-Douai was specifically Acts 12:24.
translated from the Vulgate, in order to overcome “The Word of the Lord was published through-
the King James Bibles. out all the region.”—Acts 13:49.
“In the fourth century, Helvidius, a great “So mightily grew the Word of God and pre-
scholar of northern Italy [where the Waldenses vailed.”—Acts 19:20.
lived], accused Jerome, whom the pope had
empowered to form a Bible in Latin for Catholi- Here is a remarkable collection of statements
cism, using corrupt Greek manuscripts (Post- by scholars, in support of the fact that the Ma-
Nicene Fathers, Vol. 6, p. 338). jority Text—the basis of the King James Bible—
“How could Helvidius have accused Jerome comes from manuscripts which are the earliest:
of employing corrupt Greek manuscripts, if “As far as the “fathers” who died before A.D.
Helvidius had not had the pure Greek manu- 400 are concerned, the question may now be
scripts? put and answered. Do they witness to the tra-
“And so learned and so powerful in writing ditional text as existing from the first or do
and teaching was Jovinian, the pupil of Helvi- they not? The results of the evidence, both as
dius, that it demanded three of Rome’s most regards the quantity and the quality of the tes-
famous ‘fathers’—Augustine, Jerome, and Am- timony, enable us to reply not only that the tra-
brose—to unite in opposing Jovinian’s influ- ditional text was in existence, but that it was
ence. Even then, it needed the condemnation of predominant during the period under review.”—
the pope and the banishment of the emperor to D.J.W. Burgon, Traditional Text of the Holy
prevail. Gospels, p. 116.
“But Jovinian’s followers [the Waldenses] Pickering explains the multiplication of the
lived on and made the way easier for Luther.”— originals throughout history.
Wilkinson, Our Authorized Bible Vindicated, “We may reasonably assume that in the ear-
p. 33. liest period of the transmission of the text, the
We will later return to the Rheims-Douai trans- most reliable copies of the autographs [the origi-
lation and its strange readings. nals] would be circulating in the region that
held the autographs. With an ever-increasing
demand and consequent proliferation of cop-
THE MAJORITY TEXT IS THE EARLIEST ies throughout the Graeco Roman world and
The most reliable copies became the Ma- with the potential for verifying copies by having
jority; for they were copied by faithful Chris- recourse to the centers still possessing the au-
tians, scattered throughout the Near East and tographs, the early textual situation was highly
Europe. favorable to the wide dissemination of manu-
scripts in close agreement with the original text
We might ask why, if God protected the cop-
..
ies back then, a corrupt text is being used to-
“It follows that within a relatively few years
day? Back then, faithful Christians did the copy-
after the writing of the New Testament books,
ing—but today worldlings, trained in secular uni- there came rapidly into existence a ‘Majority
versities, have substituted a greatly inferior Text,’ whose form was essentially that of the
Greek text. autographs . . the science of statistical prob-
Yet do not forget that, in the providence of ability demonstrates that a text form in such
God, He has provided us with the King James circumstances could scarcely be dislodged from
Version! In spite of the efforts of men to over- its dominant position . .
throw it, we still have that wonderful book! “In every age, from the apostolic to the nine-
Not only were the best copies the Major- teenth century, the text form in question . . was
ity ones; but, as you would expect, they were the one that the church in general recognized,
also the earliest! —If they were not the earli- used, and transmitted.”—Pickering, The Iden-
tity of the New Testament Text, pp. 116-120,
est, then they would have had to have been
237.
copied from the corrupt copies which W est-
West-
Simple arithmetic confirms that the
cott and Hort said were the earliest!
nearer a particular reading is to the original,
The Bible writers themselves told us that,
the longer the time span will be for descen-
The Early Centuries 67
dants to follow and multiply! The larger the minuscule manuscripts on which the Textus
family is, the older the original source must Receptus rests” (Bruce Metzger, Manuscripts of
be. the Greek Bible, p. 86).
Leading scholars of the world agree on Hills, another New Testament scholar, wrote
the overwhelming dominance of this type of this:
New Testament text in the early church and “The vast majority of these extant Greek New
Testament manuscripts agree together very
throughout history
history..
closely, so closely indeed that they may fairly
E.C. Colwell called it “the uncontrolled popu- be said to contain the same New Testament.
lar edition of the 2nd century” (Colwell, Studies This Majority Text is usually called the Byzan-
in Methodology in Textual Criticism, p. 53). tine Text by modern textual critics. This is be-
Philip Comfort wrote this: cause all modern critics acknowledge that this
“It became the most prevailing type of text was the Greek New Testament text in general
throughout the Greek speaking world . . It was use throughout the greater part of the Byzan-
nearly standardized. From then on, almost all tine Period (A.D. 312-1453). For many centu-
manuscripts follow the Byzantine [Majority] ries, before the Protestant Reformation, this
text, including those manuscripts used by Byzantine text was the text of the entire Greek
Erasmus in compiling the text that eventually Church, and for more then three centuries af-
would become the Textus Receptus [the Greek ter the Reformation, it was the text of the en-
Text type underlying the King James Bible].”— tire Protestant church . . [It is] found in the
Philip W. Comfort, Early Manuscripts and vast majority of the Greek New Testament
Modern Translations of the New Testament, manuscripts. . . The Traditional Text . . is the
pp. 13-14. true text because it is that form of the Greek
Regarding the Majority Text, Geerlings af- New Testament which is known to have been
firmed: used in the church of Christ in unbroken suc-
cession . .
“Its origins . . go back to the autographs.”—
J. Geerlings, Family E and Its Allies in Mark, p. “Thus the evidence which has accumulated
. . is amply sufficient to justify the view . . that
1.
therefore the Byzantine Text found in the vast
Hodges wrote this: majority of the Greek New Testament manu-
“The Majority Text, it must be remembered, scripts is that true text.”—Dr. Edward F. Hills,
is relatively uniform in its general character with quoted in Which Bible? pp. 104, 89, 90.
comparatively low amounts of variation between
its major representatives . . The majority of
manuscripts in the transmission of any book % OF THE MANUSCRIPTS
90%
will, a priori [when reasoning from cause to SUPPORT THE KING JAMES BIBLE
effect] preserve the best text. Thus the Major- It is a remarkable fact that, not only the
ity Text, upon which the King James Version is great majority of the ancient Biblical manu-
based, has in reality the strongest claim pos- scripts are the basis of our King James Bible—
sible to be regarded as an authentic represen- but at least 90% of them are.
tation of the original text . . based on its domi-
Kurt Aland’s collation of 1000 minuscules
nances in the transmissional history of the New
Testament text.”—Hodges, Which Bible? p. 37. in 1000 different passages shows that 90% con-
The Harvard Theological Review cited Kir- tain the Traditional Text. (He is the current edi-
sopp Lake’s exhaustive examination of manu- tor-in-chief of the Nestle Text.)
scripts which revealed, “the uniformity of the text Work done at The Institut fur Neutestament-
exhibited by the vast majority of the New Testa- liche Texzforschung [Institute for New Testa-
ment manuscripts.” ment Studies] in Munster, Germany, confirms this
The Theological Review also pointed out that same 90%90%. When they include papyrus and
Von Soden, who made the most extensive review uncials together with cursive manuscripts, the
of the text yet accomplished, called it the Com- number remains above 80% (Pickering, Iden-
mon (Kappa) text, showing that it was the Greek tity of the New Testament Text, p. 160).
text type most commonly used throughout his- “The outstanding feature of the Received [Ma-
jority] Text is its high percentage of agreement
tory.
among so many thousands of independent wit-
Bruce Metzger, a leading Greek scholar in the nesses. This agreement is often placed at about
mid-20th century, agreed with this verdict of his- 90 percent
percent; in other words, 90 percent of all
tory. He spoke of the “the great majority of the
68 The King James and the Modern Versions
existing manuscripts agree with one another [Caesarian, Western, and Alexandrian].”—D.A.
so miraculously that they are able to form their Carson, quoted in G.A. Riplinger, New Age
own unique text. In contradistinction to such Bible Versions, p. 478.
unity, the remaining 10 percent comprises a Kurt Aland is the scholar to whom textual
selection of manuscripts that will both agree critics have committed the task of assigning offi-
with the Majority Text in many particulars cial numbers to Greek manuscripts as they are
while disagreeing wildly in others. Again, let it
found. He is the one who has compiled the fig-
be stated that many of these variant readings
are also unique to the individual manuscript
ures in the above list. In addition to the totals
containing it; where the 10 percent disagree given above, Aland also lists 2,143 lectionaries
from the majority, these departures also dis- (manuscripts containing the Scripture lessons
agree with each other!”—W.P. Grady, Final which were read publicly in the churches); so
Authority, p. 28. that the grand total of all these types of texts is
Pickering, a careful researcher into the New 5,255 (Kurt Aland, “The Greek New Testament:
Testament manuscripts, explains in detail these Its Present and Future Editions,” Journal of Bib-
percentages. Here is an excellent breakdown lical Literature, LXXXVII, June, 1968, p. 184).
of the percentages: Aland explains that the percentage of minus-
“A better, though more cumbersome, way to cules belonging to this type of text is about 90%
describe the situation would be something like (say, 2,400 out of 2,700) while its representa-
this: 100% of the manuscripts agree as to, say, tives are found also among the codices (majus-
80% of the text; 99% agree as to another 10%; cules) and later papyri.
over 95% agree as to another 4%; over 90% Among 44 significant codices described in
agree as to another 3%; only for 3% (or less) of
Metzger’s handbook, at least half either belong
the Text do less than 90% of the manuscripts
agree.”—Wilbur Pickering, Identity of the New
to or have affinities with this text form (Bruce M.
Testament Text, p. 118. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament: Its
Here is another manuscript analysis, pre- Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration, pp.
pared by Dr. Hodges: 42-61).
“A very large number of Greek manuscripts The low figure of 90% is, therefore, an
of the New Testament survive today. A recent overly safe estimate of the percentage of wit-
list gives these figures: papyrus manuscripts, nesses to this text from among papyri, ma-
81; majuscules (manuscripts written in capi- juscules, and minuscules taken together together,,
tal letters), 267; minuscules (manuscripts which support the Majority T ext. But a num-
Text.
written in smaller script), 2,764. Of course, ber of other scholars figure the percentage
many of these are fragmentary and most of them to be 95%. The present writer has worked with
do not contain the entire New Testament. Nev- the apparatus of the Nestle Text (which Aland
ertheless, for an ancient book the available ma-
now edits), and he finds that relatively few manu-
terials are massive and more than adequate
for our needs, providing they are properly
scripts are consistently cited in favor of the
handled by scholars. Westcott-Hort type of readings. The great ma-
“It is also well known among students of tex-
jority of witnesses opposing them are listed as
tual criticism that a large majority of this huge “Byzantine” (Majority Text).
mass of manuscripts—somewhere between
80%-90%
80%-90%—contain a Greek text which, in most ONLY A 1% MINORITY
respects, closely resembles the kind of text SUPPORTS THE MODERN VERSIONS
which was the basis of our King James Ver-
The Bible says, “A false balance is abomina-
sion. This piece of information, however, may
tion to the Lord” (Prov. 11:1). That is what the
come as a surprise to many ordinary Chris-
tians who have gained the impression that the modern versions are based on.
Authorized Version is supported chiefly by ‘in- The textual variations among the Majority
ferior manuscripts.’ ”—Zane C. Hodges, in Text are minor. On the other hand, the remain-
Which Bible? p. 26. ing handful of manuscripts are frequently ex-
95% of the manuscripts belong to the Byz-
“95% tremely divergent from one another in their read-
antine tradition . . [That is] the textual tradi- ings. This handful not only disagrees with ‘the
tion which in large measure stands behind the Majority ,’ as to what the New T
Majority,’ estament says,
Testament
KJV. There are far more manuscripts extant in but disagree among themselves! These include
this tradition than in the other three combined such manuscripts as Vaticanus (B), Sinaiticus
The Early Centuries 69
(Aleph), Bezae (D), Papyrus 75 and a smatter- “[The new versions] ignore the over 5,000
ing of versions. Of the four uncials, Aleph, B, C, Greek manuscripts now extant . . The evidence
and D, Burgon said this: cited does prove that aberrant forms of the New
“All four are discovered on careful scrutiny Testament text were produced. Naturally some
to differ essentially, not only from the 99 out of of those text forms may have acquired a local
100 of the whole body of extant manuscripts, and temporary currency. Recall that the possi-
but even from one another.”—John Burgon, The bility of checking with the autographs must have
Revisions Revised, p. 12. served to inhibit the spread of such forms. We
have what Aland calls the Majority Text (which
Astoundingly
Astoundingly,, in the year 1881, this 1% Burgon calls the Traditional Text), dominating
minority text type supplanted the Majority the stream of transmission with a few individual
Text with its almost two thousand years as witnesses going their idiosyncratic ways . . One
the leading manuscript source. A ‘New’ Greek may reasonably speak of 90% of the extant
Text, based on the V aticanus manuscript was
Vaticanus manuscripts belonging to the Majority Text type
introduced by W estcott and Hort. It has been
Westcott . . The remaining 10% do not represent a single
used as the Greek T ext for all subsequent
Text competing form.
versions. It seems that no 20th- century
20th-century “The minority manuscripts disagree as much
scholar or Bible translator dares oppose the (or more) among themselves as they do with
will of Dr
Dr.. Westcott and Dr
Westcott Dr.. Hort. the majority. We are not judging between two
text forms, one representing 90% of the manu-
Frederic Kenyon, the late Director of the Brit-
scripts and the other 10%. Rather we have to
ish Museum and author of the most widely used
judge between 90% and a fraction of 1% (com-
textbooks on textual criticism, wrote this about paring the Majority Text with P75 and B text
the Majority Text: form for example). Or to take a specific case, in
“This is the text found in the great majority 1 Timothy 3:16, over 300 Greek manuscripts
of manuscripts, entrenched in print by read ‘God’ [KJV] . . Greek manuscripts read
Erasmus and Stephenus and known as the ‘who’ [NIV, NASV, etc.] So we have to judge be-
Textus Receptus or Received Text . . Until 1881 tween 97% and 2% . .
. . it held the field as the text in practically uni- “It really does seem that those scholars who
versal use and when its position was then de- reject the Majority Text are faced with as seri-
cisively challenged, a stiff fight was made in its ous problem . . They are remnants reflecting
defence by advocates such as Burgon. ancient aberrant forms. It is a dependence on
“[This New Minority-type Greek text] pre- such aberrant forms that distinguishes con-
dominantly used . . Aleph and B [Sinaiticus temporary critical editions of the New Testa-
and Vaticanus] type readings . . [The changes] ment . . I submit that due process requires us
amount to an extensive modification of the text. to receive as original that form of the text which
It has been the dominating influence in all mod- is supported by the majority of witnesses. To
ern critical editions. reject their testimony in favour of our own
“It is clear that . . deliberate alteration . . imagination as to what a reading ought to be is
has been at work on a large scale in one text or manifestly untenable.”—Wilbur Pickering, The
the other . . The Textus Receptus [Majority Text] Identity of the New Testament Text, pp. 114-
being habitually the longer and fuller of the 120, 25, 149, 150, 237.
two.”—Frederick Kenyon, Text of the Greek In the above statement, Pickering says that
New Testament, pp. 197-204, 224, 231. it is not 90% of the manuscripts saying this,
Did you catch that point? Kenyon, a world- as opposed to 10% which say that; but it is
recognized scholar of his day, said it was obvi- 90% which stand solidly in mutual agree agree--
ous that either Sinaiticus and V aticanus had
Vaticanus ment while 10% disagree fiercely among them
them--
been deliberately altered or the Majority T ext
Text selves. Therefore, on any given passage, it is
had. Then he pointed out that the fault could 90% against 1% or 2%, not 90% vs. 10%.
not lie with the Majority T ext; for there were
Text; Then there is Hodges; he says that modern
too many manuscripts containing its read- textual critics do the opposite of scientists
ings! in other fields: Everyone else goes by what
Wilbur Pickering deplores the fact that all majority research proves, not that which the
modern Bible translators continue to rely on minority presents.
this inferior 1%-2% of the manuscripts
manuscripts, in “Modern criticism repeatedly and systemati-
preparing their new Bible versions. Here is a most cally rejects Majority readings on a large scale
excellent analysis of the situation: . . [This is] monstrously unscientific . . If mod-
70 The King James and the Modern Versions
ern criticism continues its trend toward more nal”? That is what you get in the Bible trans-
genuinely scientific procedures, this question lated from the Majority Text.
will once again become a central consideration
. . The Textus Receptus was too hastily aban-
ERRORS WERE INTRODUCED EARLY
doned.”—Zane C. Hodges, quoted in op. cit.,
pp. 159-179. It is said that the King James-based man-
uscripts are late and practically worthless,
THIS 1% REPRESENTS and the Sinaiticus / V aticanus manuscripts
Vaticanus
ONLY ONE SMALL, AND MOST (which were also comparatively early) are very
CORRUPT, LOCALITY pure because they are early
early..
Not only are these manuscripts a minor- We have found that the first part of that
ity of witnesses, but they represent only one sentence is untrue; now we will learn that
geographical area: Alexandria, Egypt. The Ma- the last part is equally false.
jority T ext, on the other hand, come from
Text, “It is no less true to fact than paradoxical in
sound, that the worst corruptions to which the
manuscripts from Greece, Constantinople,
New Testament has ever been subjected, origi-
Asia Minor
Minor,, Syria, Africa, Gaul, South Italy
Italy,, nated within a hundred years after it was com-
Sicily
Sicily,, England, and Ireland. posed; that Irenaeus [A.D. 130-200] and the
Pickering wrote this: African ‘fathers’ and the whole Western, with a
“A reading found in only one limited area can- portion of the Syrian Church, used far inferior
not be original . . if a reading died out in the manuscripts to those employed by Stunica, or
fourth century, we have the verdict of history Erasmus, or Stephenus thirteen centuries later,
against it.”—Op. cit., pp. 143-144. when moulding the Textus Receptus.”—Fred-
And that is what happened. The great ma- erick H.A. Scrivener, A Plain Introduction to
jority of the Sinaiticus and V aticanus scribal
Vaticanus the Criticism of the New Testament for the Use
changes in the text were not copied by of the Biblical Student, Vol. 2, pp. 264-265.
scribes! They recognized that those two cod- Even Hort admitted that his beloved Alexan-
ices were flawed. drian manuscripts were not very good. In a let-
Hodges maintained that, because most of the ter to Westcott, he wrote:
non-Byzantine type of manuscripts have come “Inaccuracy may in certain men or at certain
from Egypt, therefore they probably represent a periods run into a laxity which is careless about
textual tradition pertaining only to that geo- words though supposing itself faithful to sense,
and which draws no sharp line between tran-
graphical area (Hodges, The King James Ver-
scribing and editing, i.e. mending or complet-
sion Debate, p. 49). ing. This last characteristic naturally belongs
Another textual scholar, Zuntz, was careful to the early period.”—A.F. Hort, Life and Let-
to note that the agreement between our modern ters of F.J.A. Hort, Vol. 2., p. 228.
editions does not mean that we have recovered While some of these flaws were of an un-
the original text. Indeed, all that has been done intentional nature (human error or scribal
is that modern editors have followed one nar- carelessness, etc.), many others resulted
row section of the evidence, namely the non-West- from deliberate interference. Sometimes the
ern old uncials (G. Zuntz, The Text of the tampering was heretical; at other times it was
Epistles, p. 8). pious but misguided.
Regarding those two codices, which form the There are four basic types of corruptions
basis of all modern Bible translations, K.W. Clark which can occur in a text. Here they are:
said it well: “All are found on the same Egyptian omissions, additions (interpolations),
recension” (K.W. Clark, “Today’s Problems with changes (substitutions), and transpositions
the Critical Text of the New Testament,” in Tran- (reversing word order). Omissions constitute
sitions in Biblical Scholarship, ed. by J.C.R. the largest number while additions are the
Rylaarsdam, p. 166). smallest.
What is a “recension”? According to Webster,
it is a “revision.” The NASV Interlinear Greek- Upon examining the very earliest manu-
English New Testament refers to its “Greek text” scripts, the papyri, we find they had such
as a “recension” (Alfred Marshall, The NASV errors:
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, p. The Chester Beatty and Bodmer papyri, two
vi). Wouldn’t you really rather have “the origi- of the oldest manuscripts (but both from Egypt)
The Early Centuries 71
had almost total disagreement with one another. no means a good manuscript. The scribe com-
Out of 70 extant verses, they disagreed with one mitted very many blunders . . My impression
another in 73 places, apart from mistakes. is that he was liable to fits of exhaustion.”—
When the nearly 100 extant papyrus frag- Op. cit., p. 125.
ments are carefully examined, we find that cor- Farther down on the same page, Zuntz adds
ruption is the rule and not the exception. this:
One of the oldest papyrus manuscripts in “The scribe who wrote the papyrus did his
work very badly. Of his innumerable faults, only
existence is P66 (Bodmer Collection); dated at
a fraction (less than one in ten) have been cor-
about A.D. 200, P66 contains 104 leaves of John
rected and even that fraction—as often happens
1:1 to 6:11; 6:35b to 14:15, and fragments of in manuscripts—grows smaller and smaller to-
forty other pages from John 14 to 21. wards the end of the book. Whole pages have
Wilbur Pickering has cited the results of E.C. been left without any correction, however greatly
Colwell’s collation of P66 along with P45 (c. 250) they were in need of it.”—Ibid.
and P75 (c. 225):
Later in time, we come to the ancient
“The nearly 200 nonsense readings and 400
itacistic (vowel interchange) spellings in P45 are
uncials, but we find them to also be in poor
evidence of something less than disciplined at- shape. Dean Burgon did an analysis of Luke’s
tention to the basic task. To this evidence of account of the Lord’s Prayer in “the five old
carelessness must be added those singular uncials.” These five are the Sinaiticus (aleph),
readings whose origin baffles speculation, read- Vaticanus (B), Alexandrinus (A), Ephraemi (C),
ings that can be given no more exact label than and Bezae (D). The Bezae is also called the
carelessness leading to assorted variant read- Cantabridgiensis.
ings. A hurried count shows P45 with 20, P75 This is what he discovered:
with 57, and P66 with 216 purely careless read- “The five old uncials (Alpha, A, B, C, D) fal-
ings.”—W. Pickering, The Identity of the New sify the Lord’s Prayer as given by St. Luke in
Testament Text, p. 123. no less than forty-five words. But so little do
Commenting on this, Pickering said this: they agree among themselves, that they throw
“Colwell’s study took into account only sin- themselves into six different combinations in
gular [unique] readings—readings which no their departures from the Traditional Text [the
other manuscript supports. He found P66 to have Majority Text]; and yet they are never able to
400 itacisms plus 482 other singular readings, agree among themselves as to one single vari-
40 percent of which are nonsensical. ‘P66 edito- ous reading: while only once are more than two
rializes as he does everything else—in a sloppy of them observed to stand together, and their
fashion.’ In short, P66 is a very poor copy—and grand point of union is no less than an omis-
yet it is one of the earliest! sion of the article. Such is their eccentric ten-
“P75 is placed close to P66 in date. Though not dency, that in respect of thirty-two out of the
as bad as P66, it is scarcely a good copy. Colwell whole forty-five words they bear in turn soli-
found P75 to have about 145 itacisms plus 257 tary evidence.”—D.J.W. Burgon, Traditional
other singular readings, 25 percent of which Text, p. 84.
are nonsensical. Although Colwell gives the Burgon provides another example of this lack
scribe of P75 credit for having tried to produce a of agreement among the ancient codices with his
good copy, P75 looks good only by comparison comments on Mark 2:1-12:
with P66. (If you were asked to write out the
“In the course of those 12 verses . . there
Gospel of John by hand, would you make over
will be found to be 60 variations of reading . .
400 mistakes? Try it and see.”—Op. cit., p.
Now, in the present instance, the ‘five old
125. uncials’ cannot be the depositories of a tradi-
Here we have manuscripts dated very early; tion,—whether Western or Eastern,—because
yet they are full of mistakes! P66 is dated at A.D. they render inconsistent testimony in every
200. Another papyrus, P46, is one of three manu- verse. It must further be admitted (for this is
scripts in the famed Chester Beatty collection. really not a question of opinion, but a plain
Consisting of 86 mutilated leaves, this fragment matter of fact) that it is unreasonable to place
comprises eight of the Pauline epistles. Gunther confidence in such documents. What would be
Zuntz says this about it: thought in a Court of Law of five witnesses,
called up 47 times for examination, who should
“In spite of its neat appearance (it was writ-
be observed to bear contradictory testimony
ten by a professional scribe and corrected—
every time?”—Burgon, The Revision Revised,
but very imperfectly—by an expert). P46 is by
72 The King James and the Modern Versions
pp. 30-31. source, the less time it has to leave behind a
Kurt Aland, the man most responsible to- large family of offspring. Hence, in a large tra-
day for promoting the papyrus manuscripts and dition where a pronounced unity is observed
the five ancient uncials (since he is the editor- between, let us say, eighty per cent of the evi-
dence, a very strong presumption is raised that
in-chief of the Nestle and UBS Texts which all
this numerical preponderance is due to direct
modern versions are translated from) said this: derivation from the very oldest sources. In the
“We need not mention the fact that the old- absence of any convincing contrary explanation,
est manuscript does not necessarily have the this presumption is raised to a very high level
best text. P47 is, for example, by far the oldest of probability indeed.”—Hodges, quoted in
of the manuscripts containing the full or al- Fuller, Which Bible? p. 37.
most full text of the Apocalypse, but it is cer-
Even Hort admitted the fact:
tainly not the best.”—Kurt Aland, quoted in
“A theoretical presumption indeed remains
Pickering, Identity of the New Testament Text,
that a majority of extant documents is more
pp. 125-126.
likely to represent a majority of ancestral docu-
Hort himself conceded this: ments at each stage of transmission than vice
“The confusion of attestation introduced by versa.”—Hort, quoted in ibid.
these several cross currents of change is so great
Church history confirms that the initial cop
cop--
that of the seven principal manuscripts (Aleph,
A, B, C, D, L, and Delta), no two have the same
ies of Scripture were blessed with an unprece
unprece--
text in all four places.”—Hort, quoted in Fuller, dented proliferation. For instance, Clement of
True or False? p. 71 [L stands for Codex Re- Rome refers to at least eight New Testament
gius; and Delta stands for Codex Sangallensis.] books in his epistle to the Corinthians, dated
If both Aland and Hort admit the truth, about A.D. 96. Many such similar references
why does anyone still believe the lie? confirm the early existence of a burden to both
propagate and receive the precious words of God.
In view of what we have so far read in this
Although the dedicated early Christians
section, on what basis can it be said that any eagerly made copies of the Scriptures, they
manuscript can be any good, if some of the
were concerned about doing it very carefully
carefully..
early ones had so many errors?
Such caution was a natural reaction to the
The answer is quite obvious. (1) The 10%
vicious onslaught of heretical corruption
of the manuscripts with all those errors,
which quickly began. Having copied the very
whether copied early or later
later,, were either
prophecies of the enemy’s approach, they
made in Egypt where there was little respect
were suddenly confronted by their ominous
for Biblical accuracy or they were made by
fulfillment—as they learned of the heresies
major codex copyists who were paid by kings
and poorly made copies produced down in
and popes to do the job and cared little for
the university town of Alexandria.
the quality of their work.
The early true Christian leaders worked vig-
But (2) God cared for the manuscripts
orously to resist the apostasy. This is mentioned
copied by the faithful who, with little fan-
in Scripture:
fare, produced thousands of copies. Those
“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy
copies agreed almost perfectly and were rev- patience, and how thou canst not bear them
erently prepared by humble folk who loved which are evil: and thou hast tried them which
God’s W ord.
Word. say they are apostles, and are not, and hast
Taught by devils, Westcott and Hort main- found them liars.”—Revelation 2:2.
tained that the readings, which the largest num- Polycarp, bishop in Smyrna (A.D. 69-155)
ber of manuscripts had in common, would be had been a personal disciple of John. He con-
the most corrupt. But Hodges explained why they tinued his teacher’s concern, to safeguard the
would, instead, be the most accurate: Word of God. He wrote: “Whosoever perverts the
“The manuscript tradition of an ancient book oracles of the Lord . . he is the first-born of Sa-
will, under any but the most exceptional condi- tan.”
tions, multiply in a reasonably regular fashion Irenaeus, at the end of his manuscript letter,
with the result that the copies nearest the au- On the Ogdoad, included this note:
tograph will normally have the largest number “I adjure you who shall copy out this book,
of descendants. The further removed in the his- by our Lord Jesus Christ and by His glorious
tory of transmission a text becomes from its advent when He comes to judge the living and
The Early Centuries 73
the dead, that you compare what you transcribe, of the Apostles.”—Eusebius, quoted in Pamphi-
and correct it carefully against this manuscript lus, Ecclesiastical History, pp. 215-216.
from which you copy; and also that you tran- Photius, a Christian writer in the 9th- cen-
9th-cen-
scribe this adjuration and insert it in the tury
tury,, listed over 280 of these fake New Tes
es--
Tes
copy.”—Irenaeus, quoted in Pickering, Identity, tament books
books. These included the Gospels of
p. 108.
Thomas, Peter, Nicodemus, Barnabas, Andrew,
As Adam, Methuselah, and Noah preserved Philip, and Thaddeus; as well as numerous
the entire preflood oral tradition, the church’s missing “epistles” of Paul; along with the Apoca-
accessibility to New Testament autographs of- lypse of Peter, Paul, Thomas, and Stephen (N.L.
fered a similar security for the written record. Geisler and W.E. Nix, General Introduction to
That the originals were used in this very man- the Bible, pp. 200-201).
ner is confirmed by the written testimony of The pope told Jerome to include the Old
Tertullian as late as the year A.D. 208. In his Testament Apocrypha in his Latin Vulgate,
defensive work, entitled On Persecution against which he did (although he commented that he
Heretics, he rebuked the skeptics of his age with did not believe they were inspired). At the Coun-
the challenge that the “authentic writings” of cil of Trent, Rome decided to keep most of the
the apostles were still possessed by Chris- Old Testament apocryphal books, since they
tians in his day
day: helped prove pergatory and some other Catho-
“Come now, you who would indulge a better lic inventions.
curiosity, if you would apply it to the business
But not even Rome accepted any of the New
of your salvation, run over [to] the apostolic
churches, in which the very thrones of the Testament pseudopigraphal books.
apostles are still pre-eminent in their places,
in which their own authentic writings are THE TRUE CHURCH
read, uttering the voice and representing the FLEES WITH THE MANUSCRIPTS
face of each of them severally. Achaia is very INTO THE WILDERNESS
near you, [in which] you find Corinth. Since you Ultimately, with the passing of the centuries,
are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi;
the Roman apostasy grew to the point that the
(and there too) you have the Thessalonians.
Since you are able to cross to Asia, you get
bishop of Rome demanded that all the local
Ephesus. Since, moreover, you are close upon churches bow in submission to him. This only
Italy, you have Rome, from which there comes accelerated the scattering of the faithful, as
even into our own hands the very authority (of they fulfilled the prophecy of Revelation 12
apostles themselves). How happy is its church, and fled into the wilderness. And what did
on which apostles poured forth all their doc- they take with them?—those pure Biblical
trine along with their blood!”—Tertullian, manuscripts! The corrupt ones, from Alex-
quoted in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, p. 260. andria, they left behind for the pope and his
Satan was trying, in a thousand ways, to cor- henchmen to work with. Wilkerson said it well:
rupt the faith of the saints. “But soon the scene changed; the fury of Sa-
tan, robbed of further opportunity to harass
THE PSEUDOPIGRAPHA the Son of God, turned upon the written Word.
Heretical sects, warring for supremacy, cor-
The pseudopigrapha should be mentioned
rupted the manuscripts in order to further their
here. These were apocryphal books which ends. ‘Epiphanius, in his polemic treatise the
claimed to have been written by the apostles Panarion, describes not less than eighty hereti-
or their helpers, yet which taught various cal parties.’ The Roman Catholics won. The true
errors. church fled into the wilderness, taking pure man-
Alluded to by Luke (Luke 1:1-2), these non- uscripts with her.”—Benjamin G. Wilkinson, Our
inspired books were among the earliest irrita- Authorized Bible Vindicated, p. 7.
tions to the young churches. Eusebius said this
about them: GOD’S GUIDANCE
“Among the spurious must be numbered, IN THE SELECTION OF
both the books called The Acts of Paul, and THE MAJORITY TEXT
that called Pastor, and The Revelation of Peter. In view of such desperate efforts by Satan to
Beside these, the books called The Epistle of
corrupt the faith of the people of God, it is a great
Barnabas, and what are called The Institutions
marvel that we have a holy Bible at all!
74 The King James and the Modern Versions
But the God of heaven, who inspired the the convent of St. Catherine; and that the en-
Sacred Writings, was also protecting it. tire text had to be remodeled after the pattern
The Lord guided His true church to pre pre-- set by a couple of copies which had remained
pare careful copies, reject false readings, and in neglect during fifteen centuries, and had
probably owed their survival to that neglect;
only accept the good ones. Just as surely as
whilst hundreds of others had been thumbed
He guided in the selection of which books to pieces and had bequeathed their witness to
should be in the inspired canon of Scrip Scrip-- copies made from them.”—Op. cit., p. 92.
ture, so He guided in the preparation of Oh, that all the Bible translators in the world
manuscript copies. Hills explains what hap- could read the above statements by Edward
pened: Hills!
“No sooner had the New Testament books The Presbyterian theologian, B.B. Warfield,
been given to the church through the Inspira-
theorized that God had worked providentially
tion of the Holy Spirit than the spirit of dark-
ness began his endeavors to corrupt their texts
through Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott, and Hort
and render them useless, but in these efforts to preserve the New Testament text, by their in-
also the evil one failed to attain his objective. In clusion of the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus in a
regard to the New Testament text as well as in prominent roll in critical Greek Texts! To this,
regard to the New Testament canon God be- in a different book, Hills gave this forceful reply:
stowed upon His church sufficient grace to en- “But this suggestion leads to conclusions
able her to overcome all the wiles of the devil. which are extremely bizarre and inconsistent. It
“Just as God guided the church to reject, af- would have us believe that during the manu-
ter a period of doubt and conflict, all non-ca- script period orthodox Christians corrupted the
nonical New Testament books, so God guided New Testament text, that the text used by the
the church during this same period of doubt Protestant Reformers was the worst of all, and
and conflict, to reject false readings and to re- that the true text was not restored until the
ceive into common usage the true New Testa- nineteenth century, when Tregelles brought it
ment text. forth out of the Pope’s library, when Tischendorf
“For an orthodox Christian, Burgon’s view rescued it from a wastebasket on Mt. Sinai, and
is the only reasonable one. If we believe that when Westcott and Hort were providentially
God gave the church guidance in regard to the guided to construct a theory of it which ignores
New Testament books, then surely it is logical God’s special providence and treats the text of
to believe that God gave the church similar guid- the New Testament like the text of any other
ance in regard to the text which these books con- ancient book.
tained. Surely it is very inconsistent to believe “But if the true New Testament text was lost
that God guided the church in regard to the for 1,500 years, how can we be sure that it has
New Testament canon but gave the church no ever been found again?”—Edward F. Hills, The
guidance in regard to the New Testament text.”— King James Version Defended, pp. 110-111.
Edward F. Hills, quoted in D.O. Fuller, Which
Bible? p. 99. ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
According to the liberal view, all the Bible ON THIS CONTROVERSY
manuscripts are worthless, except for two espe- We have found that the Greek manuscripts
cially, plus a few others. Hills powerfully replies clearly favor the Majority T ext, which is the
Text,
to that error: basis of the King James V ersion—even though,
Version—even
“I am utterly disinclined to believe, so grossly
as we shall learn later
later,, that Majority T ext
Text
improbable does it seem—that at the end of
has been rejected by all 20th- century Bible
20th-century
1,800 years 995 copies out of every thousand,
supposedly prove untrustworthy; and that the translations, without exception!
one, two, three, four or five which remain, whose The Majority T ext (also called the Re
Text Re--
contents were till yesterday as good as unknown, ceived T ext, the T
Text, extus Receptus, Syrian T
Textus ext,
Text,
will be found to have retained the secret of what Antiochian T ext, and—slurringly by the lib
Text, lib--
the Holy Spirit originally inspired. erals—the Byzantine T ext) contains the pur-
Text)
“I am utterly unable to believe, in short, that est, most accurate, and earliest Greek manu-
God’s promise has so entirely failed, that at scripts.
the end of 1,800 years, much of the text of the How thankful we can be to our kind heav-
Gospel had in point of fact to be picked by a enly Father, that He has protected His holy Word
German critic out of a wastepaper basket in through all past ages. But now
now,, in the end time,
The Early Centuries 75
the warning of Revelation 12:17 is being ful- ent of the Ph.D. from Harvard, and the TH.M
filled. The dragon is desperately at work to from Columbia University, declared that “mod-
destroy the faith of the remnant, keeping in ern speech Bibles are unscholarly” (Hills, King
delusion all those who might be attracted to James Version Defended, p. 219).
the final truths for our generation. May we Dr. E.C. Colwell, past president of the Uni-
be faithful in defending God’s Word. F
Word. or when
For versity of Chicago and a leading North American
we do, we defend God Himself. And what an New Testament Greek scholar, authored scores
honor it is to be able to do that! of books, including Studies in Methodology in
In concluding this section, we will cite a few Textual Criticism of the New Testament. Ulti-
additional quotations by Bible scholars. mately, he recognized that the liberal position
was totally wrong—and he returned to fullest
Wilbur Pickering, author of the scholarly
confidence in the Majority Text.
book, Identity of the New Testament Text, and
“Scholars now believe that most errors were
recipient of a TH.M in Greek Exegesis from Dal- made deliberately . . the variant readings in the
las Theological Seminary, with an M.A. and Ph.D. New Testament were created for theological or
in Linguistics, from the University of Toronto, dogmatic reasons. Most of the manuals now in
wrote this: print (including mine!) will tell you that these
“The distressing realization is forced upon variations were the fruit of careless treatment
us that the ‘progress’ of the past hundred years . . The reverse is the case.”—Colwell, What is
has been precisely in—the wrong direction— the Best New Testament? pp. 53, 49.
our modern versions and critical texts are found Zane Hodges, professor of New Testament
to differ from the Original in some six thou- Literature and Exegesis at Dallas Theological
sand places, many of them being serious dif- Seminary and co-editor of a Greek New Testa-
ferences . . [They] are several times farther re-
ment, made this comment about the new ver-
moved from the originals than are the A.V. and
TR [King James Version and its foundation,
sions:
the Greek Textus Receptus]. How could such a “Monstrously unscientific, if not dangerously
calamity have come upon us? . . Much of the obscurantist. The average well-taught Bible-be-
work that has been done is flawed.”—Pickering, lieving Christian has often heard the error that
The Identity of the New Testament Text, pp. the King James Version is corrected on the ba-
149-150, 237. sis of better manuscripts or older authorities.”—
Hodges, quoted in Pickering, Identity of the
Dean John Burgon, the scholar who collated
New Testament Text, p. 160.
the earliest New Testament documents—includ-
“Lacking any kind of technical training in this
ing codices, cursive Manuscripts, papyri, lection-
area, the average believer probably has accepted
aries, quotations by early “fathers” (87,000 in such explanations from individuals he regards
all)—wrote this about the changes the liberals as qualified to give them.”—Hodges, quoted in
were making in Greek texts and Bible transla- D.O. Fuller, Which Bible? p. 25.
tions: William Palmer, scholar and author of Nar-
“Ordinary readers . . will of course assume rative of Events on the Tracts for the Times,
that the changes result from the reviser’s skill made this comment:
in translating—advances which have been made
“Ordinary Christians have little idea [con-
in the study of Greek. It was found that they
cerning the new Greek text] . . it rests in many
had erred through defective scholarship to an
cases on quotations which are not genuine . .
extent and with a frequency, which to me is
on passages which when collated with the origi-
simply inexplicable . . Anything more unscien-
nal, are proved to be wholly inefficacious as
tific . . can scarcely be conceived, but it has
proofs.”—Palmer, quoted in op. cit., p. 265.
prevailed for fifty years. We regret to discover
that . . their work is disfigured throughout by
changes which convict a majority of their body WALDENSIAN BIBLE
alike of an imperfect acquaintance with the The W aldenses, in the Italian Alps of north-
Waldenses,
Greek language.”—Burgon, The Revision Re- ern Italy
Italy,, maintained a pure faith for centu-
vised, pp. 54, xi, 270, 277. ries. According to the following statement,
Edward F. Hills, author of The King James those believers in the Piedmont valleys held
Version Defended, and graduate of Yale Univer- to the pure Apostolic faith to as far back as
sity, Westminster Theological Seminary, recipi- the 4th century A .D
.D.. and earlier
A.D earlier..
76 The King James and the Modern Versions
“The method which Allix has pursued, in his [pronounced “VAW-doh”], were a distinct group
History of the Churches of Piedmont [the Wald- of earnest Christians with their own Bibles, as
ensian churches], is to show that in the eccle- early as the early part of the 4th century, in the
siastical history of every century, from the time of Constantine.
fourth century, which he considers a period early
“There are modern writers who attempt to
enough for the inquirer after apostolical purity
fix the beginning of the Waldenses from Peter
of doctrine, there are clear proofs that doc-
Waldo, who began his work about 1175. This
trines, unlike those which the Romish Church
is a mistake. The historical name of this people
holds, and conformable to the belief of the
as properly derived from the valleys where they
Waldensian and Reformed churches, were main-
lived, is Vaudois. Their enemies, however, ever
tained by believers of the north of Italy down to
sought to date their origin from Waldo . .
the period, when the Waldenses first came into
notice. “There remains to us in the ancient Wald-
ensian language, The Noble Lesson (La Nobla
“Consequently, the opinions of the Waldenses
Leycon), written about the year A.D. 1100,
were not new to Europe in the eleventh or twelfth
which assigns the first opposition of the Wal-
centuries, and there is nothing improbable in
denses to the Church of Rome to the days of
the tradition that the Subalpine Church perse-
Constantine the Great, when Sylvester was
vered in its integrity in an uninterrupted course
pope . . Thus, when Christianity, emerging from
from the first preaching of the Gospel in the
the long persecutions of pagan Rome, was raised
valleys.”—Gilly, Waldensian Researches, p.
to imperial favor by the Emperor Constantine,
113.
the Italic church in northern Italy—later [called]
It was because the W aldenses had the W
Waldenses ord
Word the Waldenses—is seen standing in opposition
of God in their own language, that they were to papal Rome.
able to maintain their faith through all those “Their Bible was of the family of the renowned
centuries. They first had the Italia manuscripts Italia. It was that translation into Latin which
which, as we earlier learned, were faithful to represents the Received Text. Its very name,
the Majority T ext. Later they prepared the
Text. ‘Italia,’ is derived from the Italic district, the
Waldensian Bible. regions 0of the Vaudois.
The Waldensians, also known as the Vaudois “Of the purity and reliability of this version,
Augustine, speaking of different Latin Bibles scure retreats, shut away from the world, and
(about A.D. 400) said: bound to daily toil among their flocks and their
“ ‘Now among translations themselves the vineyards, had not by themselves arrived at the
Italian (Italia) is to be preferred to the others, truth in opposition to the dogmas and heresies
for it keeps closer to the words without preju- of the apostate church. Theirs was not a faith
dice to clearness of expression.’ newly received. Their religious belief was their
“The old Waldensian liturgy which they used inheritance from their fathers. They contended
in their services down through the centuries for the faith of the apostolic church,—‘the faith
contained ‘texts of Scripture of the ancient ver- which was once delivered unto the saints.’ Jude
sion called the Italick.’ ”—Wilkinson, Our Au- 3. ‘The church in the wilderness,’ and not the
thorized Bible Vindicated, pp. 34-35. proud hierarchy enthroned in the world’s great
capital, was the true church of Christ, the guard-
The W aldensians existed from the earli-
Waldensians
ian of the treasures of truth which God has
est times in the territory now known as north- committed to His people to be given to the
ern Italy
Italy.. But we are told that, when intense world.”—Great Controversy, 64.
persecution came to them, some apostatized, It was because they had the pure text of
others moved farther into the Italian Alps, the Bible in their own language, that they
while still others carried the faith to foreign were especially hated by Rome
Rome—for only the
lands. clear teachings of Scripture could unveil the hid-
“But of those who resisted the encroach- eous deceptions of the papacy.
ments of the papal power, the Waldenses stood
“The Waldenses were among the first of the
foremost. In the very land where popery had
peoples of Europe to obtain a translation of
fixed its seat, there its falsehood and corrup-
the Holy Scriptures. Hundreds of years before
tion were most steadfastly resisted. For centu-
the Reformation they possessed the Bible in
ries the churches of Piedmont maintained their
manuscript in their native tongue. They had
independence; but the time came at last when
the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them
Rome insisted upon their submission. After in-
the special objects of hatred and persecution.
effectual struggles against her tyranny, the lead-
They declared the Church of Rome to be the
ers of these churches reluctantly acknowledged
apostate Babylon of the Apocalypse, and at the
the supremacy of the power to which the whole
peril of their lives they stood up to resist her
world seemed to pay homage.
corruptions.
“There were some, however, who refused to
“While, under the pressure of long-contin-
yield to the authority of pope or prelate. They
ued persecution, some compromised their faith,
were determined to maintain their allegiance
little by little yielding its distinctive principles,
to God and to preserve the purity and simplic-
others held fast the truth. Through ages of dark-
ity of their faith. A separation took place. Those
ness and apostasy there were Waldenses who
who adhered to the ancient faith now withdrew;
denied the supremacy of Rome, who rejected
some, forsaking their native Alps, raised the
image worship as idolatry, and who kept the
banner of truth in foreign lands; others retreated
true Sabbath. Under the fiercest tempests of
to the secluded glens and rocky fastnesses of
opposition they maintained their faith. Though
the mountains, and there preserved their free-
gashed by the Savoyard spear, and scorched by
dom to worship God.”—Great Controversy, 64.
the Romish fagot, they stood unflinchingly for
It was the Waldensians which were the true God’s Word and His honor.”—Great Contro-
church, not the proud church down in Rome. versy, p. 65.
“But those humble peasants, in their ob- Notice that they had the Bible “hundreds of
78 The King James and the Modern Versions
years” before the Reformation.” Peter W aldo did
Waldo versy, p. 68.
not start the V audois, as though they origi-
Vaudois, In addition to their parents, godly pastors,
nated with him. He was a wealthy Christian busi- with the Word of God in their hands, taught the
nessman in Lyons, France. youth.
What Bible was this that they had? What was “From their pastors the youth received in-
the Waldensian Bible? It was the Italia, the an- struction. While attention was given to branches
cient translation their forefathers had made from of general learning, the Bible was made the chief
manuscripts very close in time to the originals. study. The Gospels of Matthew and John were
committed to memory, with many of the Epis-
How powerful was that Bible? So powerful that,
tles. They were employed also in copying the
in spite of continued persecution, they kept the
Scriptures. Some manuscripts contained the
true faith for centuries. whole Bible, others only brief selections, to
The secret of success was the fact that which some simple explanations of the text
the Bible was the primary textbook in their were added by those who were able to expound
schools. Parents maintained home schools the Scriptures. Thus were brought forth the
and diligently taught the pure W ord to their
Word treasures of truth so long concealed by those
children. who sought to exalt themselves above God.”—
“Pure, simple, and fervent was the piety of Great Controversy, pp. 68-69.
these followers of Christ. The principles of truth In addition to their duties in the home, on
they valued above houses and lands, friends, the farm, and in the orchard, these godly young
kindred, even life itself. These principles they people also worked at making copies of the pre-
earnestly sought to impress upon the hearts of cious Bible manuscripts.
the young. “By patient, untiring labor, sometimes in the
“From earliest childhood the youth were in- deep, dark caverns of the earth, by the light of
structed in the Scriptures and taught to regard torches, the Sacred Scriptures were written out,
sacredly the claims of the law of God. Copies of verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Thus the
the Bible were rare; therefore its precious words work went on, the revealed will of God shining
were committed to memory. Many were able to out like pure gold; how much brighter, clearer,
repeat large portions of both the Old and the and more powerful because of the trials under-
New Testaments. Thoughts of God were asso- gone for its sake only those could realize who
ciated alike with the sublime scenery of nature were engaged in the work. Angels from heaven
and with the humble blessings of daily life. Little surrounded these faithful workers.”—Great
children learned to look with gratitude to God Controversy, p. 69.
as the giver of every favor and every comfort.”— This preservation of the pure manuscripts
Great Controversy, p. 67. in the Italia had gone on for centuries. Because
Another important strength of this people the people were conscientious and dedicated,
was that their pastors only preached from the angels could guide their hands so they were
the Inspired Writings. They did not refer to
Writings. not likely to make copyist errors.
the works of uninspired commentaries and The agents of Satan were enraged. They
philosophers. wanted to corrupt and destroy the W ord of
Word
“The Vaudois churches, in their purity and God; yet here was a people who were pre pre--
simplicity, resembled the church of apostolic
serving it in its pure form!
times. Rejecting the supremacy of the pope and
“Satan had urged on the papal priests and
prelate, they held the Bible as the only supreme,
prelates to bury the Word of truth beneath the
infallible authority. Their pastors, unlike the
rubbish of error, heresy, and superstition; but
lordly priests of Rome, followed the example of
in a most wonderful manner it was preserved
their Master, who ‘came not to be ministered
uncorrupted through all the ages of darkness.
unto, but to minister.’
It bore not the stamp of man, but the impress
“They fed the flock of God, leading them to of God. Men have been unwearied in their ef-
the green pastures and living fountains of His forts to obscure the plain, simple meaning of
holy Word. Far from the monuments of human the Scriptures, and to make them contradict
pomp and pride the people assembled, not in their own testimony; but like the ark upon the
magnificent churches or grand cathedrals, but billowy deep, the Word of God outrides the
beneath the shadow of the mountains, in the storms that threaten it with destruction.”—
Alpine valleys, or, in time of danger, in some Great Controversy, p. 69.
rocky stronghold, to listen to the words of truth
from the servants of Christ.”—Great Contro-
These divinely inspired statements are
The Centuries Between 79
highly significant. Liberals today declare that p. 76.
only the Sinaiticus and V aticanus, and related
Vaticanus, Why is it that those who claim to be God’s
manuscripts, have the original text. But it is “remnant” in these last days are not being
clear that the W aldenses had it!
Waldenses persecuted? The answer is obvious: They are
“The Waldenses were among the first of the not earnestly
earnestly,, urgently sharing the Word
Word
ord, and
peoples of Europe to obtain a translation of its end-time teachings.
the Holy Scriptures. Hundreds of years before “There is another and more important ques-
the Reformation they possessed the Bible in tion that should engage the attention of the
manuscript in their native tongue. They had churches of today. The apostle Paul declares
the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them that ‘all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall
the special objects of hatred and persecution.”— suffer persecution,’ 2 Timothy 3:12. Why is it,
Great Controversy, p. 65. then, that persecution seems in a great degree
“Satan had urged on the papal priests and to slumber? The only reason is that the church
prelates to bury the Word of truth beneath the has conformed to the world’s standard and
rubbish of error, heresy, and superstition; but therefore awakens no opposition.
in a most wonderful manner it was preserved “The religion which is current in our day is
uncorrupted through all the ages of darkness. not of the pure and holy character that marked
It bore not the stamp of man, but the impress the Christian faith in the days of Christ and
of God.”—Great Controversy, p. 69. His apostles. It is only because of the spirit of
As the youth became older, they were sent compromise with sin, because the great truths
out as missionaries, secretly carrying portions of the Word of God are so indifferently regarded,
of Scripture with them to be shared with others. because there is so little vital godliness in the
This was the basis of their evangelistic work. church, that Christianity is apparently so popu-
(See Great Controversy, pp. 70-76.) lar with the world.
The evangelistic work of laymen today “Let there be a revival of the faith and power
should also be based on sharing the Inspired of the early church, and the spirit of persecu-
tion will be revived, and the fires of persecu-
Writings: the Bible and Spirit of P rophecy
Prophecy
tion will be rekindled.”—Great Controversy,
with so many out there who know them not. p. 48.
As in all ages, those who have the W ord
Word Leger, a noble scholar of Waldensian ances-
of God and who share the W ord of God are
Word try tried to save their records in the terrible mas-
persecuted. sacres of 1655. His book, General History of
“The Waldensian missionaries were invad- the Evangelical Churches of the Vaudois
ing the kingdom of Satan, and the powers of
Churches, published in French in 1669, revealed
darkness aroused to greater vigilance. Every
effort to advance the truth was watched by the their history.
prince of evil, and he excited the fears of his It was the Waldensian faith and their Bible
agents. The papal leaders saw a portent of dan- which laid the foundation for the later Protes-
ger to their cause from the labors of these tant French Bible. Leger said that Olivetan’s
humble itinerants. If the light of truth were al- French Bible of 1537 was “entire and pure,”
lowed to shine unobstructed, it would sweep because its ancestry was not the papal produc-
away the heavy clouds of error that enveloped tions, but the Waldensian Bible.
the people. It would direct the minds of men to “I say ‘pure’ because all the ancient exem-
God alone and would eventually destroy the plars, which formerly were found among the
supremacy of Rome. papists, were full of falsifications, which caused
“The very existence of this people, holding Beza to say in his book on Illustrious Men, in
the faith of the ancient church, was a constant the chapter on the Vaudois [the French word
testimony to Rome’s apostasy, and therefore for ‘Waldenses’], that one must confess it was
excited the most bitter hatred and persecution. by means of the Vaudois of the Valleys that
Their refusal to surrender the Scriptures was France today has the Bible in her own language.
also an offense that Rome could not tolerate. “This godly man, Olivetan, in the preface of
She determined to blot them from the earth. his Bible, recognizes with thanks to God, that
Now began the most terrible crusades against since the time of the apostles, or their immedi-
God’s people in their mountain homes. Inquisi- ate successors, the torch of the Gospel has been
tors were put upon their track, and the scene lit among the Vaudois, and has never since been
of innocent Abel falling before the murderous extinguished.”—Leger, General History of the
Cain was often repeated.”—Great Controversy, Vaudois Churches, p. 165.
80 The King James and the Modern Versions
of England received the Bible in their own
THE WYCLIFFE BIBLE (1384) tongue. Thus the light of God’s Word began to
shed its bright beams athwart the darkness. A
John W ycliffe (1330-1384) is generally
Wycliffe divine hand was preparing the way for the Great
considered as the first English Reformer
Reformer.. He Reformation.”—Story of Redemption, pp. 336-
gave to England its first Bible. 337.
John Wycliffe (also written Wycliff) was born “Before the Reformation there were at times
in Yorkshire, about 1330, and completed his edu- but very few copies of the Bible in existence,
but God had not suffered His Word to be wholly
cation at Oxford. In 1361, he resigned his posi-
destroyed. Its truths were not to be forever hid-
tion as Master of Balliol College and settled at den. He could as easily unchain the words of
Fillingham, Lincolnshire; so he could write tracts life as He could open prison doors and unbolt
and pamphlets about current religious problems. iron gates to set His servants free.
From 1366 to 1378, he wrote semi-political “In the different countries of Europe men
and anti-papal papers. From 1378 to 1384, he were moved by the Spirit of God to search for
carried on open war against Rome. It was dur- the truth as for hid treasures. Providentially
ing this latter period that he translated the Bible. guided to the Holy Scriptures, they studied the
Wycliffe’s translation was made from the sacred pages with intense interest. They were
Latin Vulgate and, for that reason, contained sig- willing to accept the light at any cost to them-
nificant errors. selves. Though they did not see all things clearly,
they were enabled to perceive many long-buried
“Wycliffe’s Bible had been translated from
truths. As Heaven-sent messengers they went
the Latin text, which contained many errors.”—
forth, rending asunder the chains of error and
Great Controversy, p. 245.
superstition, and calling upon those who had
It should be kept in mind that Wycliffe only been so long enslaved, to arise and assert their
had access to the Latin V ulgate; he did not
Vulgate; liberty.
have a copy of the Italia (the W aldensian Bible).
Waldensian “Except among the Waldenses, the Word of
It is for this reason that we are told that the God had for ages been locked up in languages
Latin text he worked from had “many er- known only to the learned; but the time had
rors.” come for the Scriptures to be translated and
Wycliffe did the best he could; he did not have given to the people of different lands in their
any other translation sources available to him. native tongue. The world had passed its mid-
The Greek texts, which Tyndale and later En- night. The hours of darkness were wearing away,
and in many lands appeared tokens of the com-
glish translators used, had not yet been collated
ing dawn.
from the Majority Text manuscripts. Most an-
“In the fourteenth century arose in England
cient Bible manuscripts were hidden away in li-
the ‘morning star of the Reformation.’ John
braries; and Wycliffe was not in contact with the Wycliffe was the herald of reform, not for En-
Waldenses. gland alone, but for all Christendom. The great
“The time had come for the Scriptures to be protest against Rome which it was permitted
translated and given to the people of different him to utter was never to be silenced. That pro-
lands in their native tongue. The world had test opened the struggle which was to result in
passed its midnight. The hours of darkness the emancipation of individuals, of churches,
were wearing away, and in many lands appeared and of nations . .
tokens of the coming dawn. “While Wycliffe was still at college, he entered
“In the fourteenth century arose in England upon the study of the Scriptures. In those early
the ‘morning star of the Reformation.’ John times, when the Bible existed only in the an-
Wycliffe was the herald of reform, not for En- cient languages, scholars were enabled to find
gland alone, but for all Christendom. He was their way to the fountain of truth, which was
the progenitor of the Puritans; his era was an closed to the uneducated classes. Thus already
oasis in the desert . . the way had been prepared for Wycliffe’s future
“The greatest work of his life was the trans- work as a Reformer. Men of learning had stud-
lation of the Scriptures into the English lan- ied the Word of God and had found the great
guage. This was the first complete English truth of His free grace there revealed. In their
translation ever made. The art of printing be- teachings they had spread a knowledge of this
ing still unknown, it was only by slow and wea- truth, and had led others to turn to the living
risome labor that copies of the work could be oracles.
multiplied; yet this was done, and the people “When Wycliffe’s attention was directed to
The Centuries Between 81
the Scriptures, he entered upon their investi- meet; but, encouraged by the promises of God’s
gation with the same thoroughness which had Word, he went forward nothing daunted. In the
enabled him to master the learning of the full vigor of his intellectual powers, rich in ex-
schools. Heretofore he had felt a great want, perience, he had been preserved and prepared
which neither his scholastic studies nor the by God’s special providence for this, the great-
teaching of the church could satisfy. In the Word est of his labors. While all Christendom was
of God he found that which he had before sought filled with tumult, the Reformer in his rectory
in vain. Here he saw the plan of salvation re- at Lutterworth, unheeding the storm that raged
vealed and Christ set forth as the only advo- without, applied himself to his chosen task.”—
cate for man. He gave himself to the service of Great Controversy, p. 88.
Christ and determined to proclaim the truths In the year 1384, John W ycliffe completed
Wycliffe
he had discovered.”—Great Controversy, pp. his translation of the Bible.
79-81. “At last the work was completed—the first
When he was old and broken in health, English translation of the Bible ever made. The
Wycliffe finally entered upon the translation Word of God was opened to England. The Re-
of the Bible into English. former feared not now the prison or the stake.
“The greatest work of his life was to be the He had placed in the hands of the English people
translation of the Scriptures into the English a light which should never be extinguished. In
language. In a work, On the Truth and Mean- giving the Bible to his countrymen, he had done
ing of Scripture, he expressed his intention to more to break the fetters of ignorance and vice,
translate the Bible, so that every man in En- more to liberate and elevate his country, than
gland might read, in the language in which he was ever achieved by the most brilliant victo-
was born, the wonderful works of God. ries on fields of battle.”—Great Controversy,
“But suddenly his labors were stopped. p. 88.
Though not yet sixty years of age, unceasing But it was with great difficulty that cop
cop--
toil, study, and the assaults of his enemies had ies were made of W ycliffe’s Bible.
Wycliffe’s
told upon his strength and made him prema- “The art of printing being still unknown, it
turely old. He was attacked by a dangerous ill- was only by slow and wearisome labor that cop-
ness. The tidings brought great joy to the fri- ies of the Bible could be multiplied. So great
ars. Now they thought he would bitterly repent was the interest to obtain the book, that many
the evil he had done the church, and they hur- willingly engaged in the work of transcribing it,
ried to his chamber to listen to his confession. but it was with difficulty that the copyists could
Representatives from the four religious orders, supply the demand. Some of the more wealthy
with four civil officers, gathered about the sup- purchasers desired the whole Bible. Others
posed dying man. ‘You have death on your lips,’ bought only a portion. In many cases, several
they said; ‘be touched by your faults, and re- families united to purchase a copy. Thus Wy-
tract in our presence all that you have said to cliffe’s Bible soon found its way to the homes
our injury.’ The Reformer listened in silence; of the people.
then he bade his attendant raise him in his “The appeal to men’s reason aroused them
bed, and, gazing steadily upon them as they from their passive submission to papal dog-
stood waiting for his recantation, he said, in mas. Wycliffe now taught the distinctive doc-
the firm, strong voice which had so often caused trines of Protestantism—salvation through faith
them to tremble: ‘I shall not die, but live; and in Christ, and the sole infallibility of the Scrip-
again declare the evil deeds of the friars.’ ”— tures. The preachers whom he had sent out
J.H. Merle D’Aubigne, b. 17, ch. 7. circulated the Bible, together with the Refor-
Astonished and abashed, the monks hurried mer’s writings, and with such success that the
from the room. new faith was accepted by nearly one half of the
“Wycliffe’s words were fulfilled. He lived to people of England.”—Great Controversy, pp.
place in the hands of his countrymen the most 88-89.
powerful of all weapons against Rome—to give This was the one weapon, against Rome,
them the Bible, the Heaven-appointed agent to which the authorities feared most.
liberate, enlighten, and evangelize the people. “The appearance of the Scriptures brought
There were many and great obstacles to sur- dismay to the authorities of the church. They
mount in the accomplishment of this work. had now to meet an agency more powerful than
Wycliffe was weighed down with infirmities; he Wycliffe—an agency against which their weap-
knew that only a few years for labor remained ons would avail little. There was at this time
for him; he saw the opposition which he must no law in England prohibiting the Bible, for it
84 The King James and the Modern Versions
had never before been published in the language devil, that enemy of the Church, that author of
of the people. Such laws were afterward enacted confusion to the common people, that idol of
and rigorously enforced. Meanwhile, notwith- heretics, that image of hypocrites, that restorer
standing the efforts of the priests, there was of schism, that storehouse of lies, that sink of
for a season opportunity for the circulation of flattery—being struck by the horrible judgment
the Word of God.”—Great Controversy, p. 89. of God, was struck with palsy, and continued
The common folk labored diligently to to live in that condition until St. Sylvester’s
make and spread copies of portions of W y-
Wy- Day, on which he breathed out his malicious
cliffe’s Bible. Are we as diligent today to share spirit into the abodes of darkness.”—Wat-
kinson, John Wicklif, pp. 195-196.
the Inspired Writings?
“So scanty was the supply of Bibles at this
Edicts were immediately issued, banning the
time, that but few of those who craved its teach- Wycliffe Bibles. The godly laymen, which Wyc-
ing could hope to possess the sacred volume. liffe had trained to go out and preach (called “Lol-
But this lack was partly made up by the ear- lards”), were hunted to the death. Local pros-
nestness of those whose interest was awakened ecutors’ records tell of groups meeting here and
in the Bible. If only a single copy was owned in there—to read “in a great book of heresy all in
a neighborhood, these hard-working laborers one night certain chapters of the evangelists in
and artisans would be found together, after a English” (J.R. Green, English People, p. 357).
weary day of toil, reading in turn, and listening
“The Lollards were tracked to the lonely, un-
to the Words of life; and so sweet was the re-
frequented places where they met, often under
freshment to their spirits, that sometimes the
shadow of night, to worship God. Neighbor was
morning light surprised them with its call to a
made to spy upon neighbor; husbands and
new day of labor, before they thought of sleep.”—
wives, parents and children, brothers and sis-
John Foxe, Foxes’ Martyrs of the World, p. 346. ters, were beguiled or forced to bear witness
Here is John 17:13 in Wycliffe’s Bible: against each other. The Lollards’ prison again
“These thingis Jesus spak; and whanne he echoed with the clanking of chains; the rack
hadde cast up hise eyen into thi hevene, he seide: and the stake once more claimed their vic-
‘Fadir, the our cometh; clarifie thi sone, that tims.”—Foxe, Christian Martyrs, p. 345.
thi sone clarifie thee; as thou hast yovun to hym
power on ech fleische, that al thing that thou
hast yovun to hym, he yyve to hem everlastynge THE 15TH-CENTURY GREEK TEXTS
lilf. And this is everlastynge lilf, that thei knowe But, a little over a century after Wycliffe’s
Wycliffe’s
thee very God aloone and whom thou hast sent, Bible was completed, the champions of Rome
Jesu Christ.”—Quoted in Dowley, Handbook really had something to wring their hands
to Christianity, p. 339. over
over.. A Greek T ext, based on manuscripts com-
Text,
Understandably
Understandably,, the Catholic reaction was prising the Majority T ext, had been produced.
Text,
sheer panic! One priest lamented, “The jewel of The situation was getting serious!
the clergy has become the toy of the laity.” Henry “They have found a language called Greek, at
de Knyghton nearly wept over the great tragedy: which we must be careful to be on our guard. It
“This Master John Wiclif hath translated the is the mother of all heresies. In the hands of
Gospel out of Latin into English, which Christ many persons I see a book, which they call the
had intrusted with the clergy and doctors of New Testament. It is a book full of thorns and
the Church, that they might minister it to the poison. As for Hebrew, my brethren, it is cer-
laity and weaker sort, according to the state of tain that those who learn it will sooner or later
the times and wants of men. So that, by this turn Jews!”—Early 16th-century Catholic
means, the Gospel is made vulgar and made writer, quoted in Philip Schaff, History of the
more open to the laity . . than it used to be to Christian Church, Vol. 6, p. 722.
the most learned of the clergy and those of the Until the Greek texts were prepared, the only
best understanding! And what was before the way to translated the Bible into the language of
chief gift of the clergy and doctors of the Church, the people was to translate it from the Italia (the
is made for ever common to the laity.”—Quoted
Waldensian Bible) or from Jerome’s Latin Vulgate.
in McClure, Translators Revived, pp. 15-16.
Translations were not made from the Greek
They were elated when ““wicked
wicked W ycliffe”
Wycliffe”
texts, since they were hidden away in libraries.
died! Walsingham, a leading British prelate, ex-
But, at the beginning of the Reformation,
claimed:
Greek texts began to be prepared. Each one was
“On the feast of the passion of St. Thomas
a collation of a number of Greek manuscripts.
of Canterbury, John Wicklif—that organ of the
The Centuries Between 85
Since the Majority Text was 90%-95% of the 1890] acknowledged that the Greek New Tes-
manuscripts, it was not difficult to develop an tament of Erasmus (1516) is as good as any
excellent Greek text. (G.V. Smith, Nineteenth Century, July
Because no single Greek manuscript con- 1881).”—Wilkinson, Our Authorized Bible Vin-
dicated, p. 73.
tained all of the New T estament, it was nec-
Testament,
essary to gather together a sizeable quantity A.T. Robertson is considered the leading
of them; and, from them, prepare what be be-- Greek scholar of the first half of the 20th cen-
came known as a “Greek T ext.”
Text.” tury. He wrote this:
The first scholar to prepare a Greek T ext “It should be stated at once that the Textus
Text
Receptus is not a bad text. It is not an heretical
was Desiderius Erasmus (1469-1536). It is a
text. It is substantially correct.”—A.T. Robert-
tragedy that he timidly refused to unite with the son, Introduction, The Greek Text of the New
Reformers, since it was His Greek Text which Testament, p. 21.
laid the foundations of the Reformation through- “Erasmus seemed to feel that he had publish-
out Europe. This is because all Reformation ed the original Greek New Testament as it was
translations (with the exception of the French written . . The third edition of Erasmus (1522)
translation, based on the W aldensian Bible)
Waldensian became the foundation of the Textus Receptus
were translated from Erasmus’ Greek T ext.
Text. for Britain since it was followed by Stephenus.
There were 3,300 copies of the first two edi-
Erasmus’ Greek text was published in tions of the Greek New Testament of Erasmus
1516, just one year before Martin Luther circulated. His work became the standard for
pounded nails into the thesis on the church three hundred years.”—Op. cit., pp. 18-19.
door at W ittenberg and began the Reforma-
Wittenberg The Erasmus Greek T ext which formed
Text
tion. the basis of every English Bible translation
This was also the first printed edition of the from Tyndale to the King James’ was greatly
Greek New Testament. As we will learn below, superior to the W estcott-Hort T
Westcott-Hort ext, which was
Text,
the third of his five editions became the stan- based on just two Greek manuscripts.
dard for the follow-up Greek texts of Steph- Because it was essentially identical to “the
enus, Beza, and Elzevir
Elzevir.. bulk of the cursive manuscripts” (i.e., the Ma-
The Greek text of Robert Stephenus (also jority Text), and because those manuscripts
called “Stephen,” 1550) came next. After that, reached all the way back to earliest times, Eras-
Beza (1598) and Elzevir (1624) produced theirs. mus’ text was an excellent one.
All three were dedicated Protestant scholars. All Two of the members of the committee which
their Greek texts were based on the Majority Text, produced the English Revised Version (1881,
and were decidedly anti-Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. 1885), wrote a booklet in which they mentioned
The third edition of Erasmus’ Greek text that Erasmus’ text was outstanding:
became the basis of the Stephenus text. It is “The manuscripts which Erasmus used, dif-
considered the standard and was called the fer, for the most part, only in small and insig-
“T extus Receptus.” Because it made use of
“Textus nificant details from the bulk of the cursive
the greatest number of Majority T ext Greek
Text manuscripts,—that is to say, the manuscripts
manuscripts, it was considered the most ac- which are written in running hand and not in
curate of the Greek T exts.
Texts. capital or (as they are technically called) uncial
This was the Greek text used to translate letters. The general character of their text is
the same.
the King James Bible (1611).
“By this observation, the pedigree of the Re-
The King James Bible was the last truly
ceived Text is carried up beyond the individual
Protestant Bible produced in England. After
manuscripts used by Erasmus to a great body
that came the English Revised V ersion of
Version of manuscripts of which the earliest are as-
1881, which was based on the W estcott-Hort
Westcott-Hort signed to the ninth century.”—Two Members
critical Greek T ext.
Text. of the New Testament Company on the Revis-
Although they rejected his Greek Text, mod- ers and the Greek Text, pp. 11-12.
ern scholars recognize that it was a very good Then, after quoting Hort about the good
one. quality of the Erasmus text, they made this com-
“The Unitarian scholar who sat on the En- ment:
glish New Testament Revision Committee [in “This remarkable statement completes the
pedigree of the Received Text. That pedigree [an-
86 The King James and the Modern Versions
cestry] stretches back to a remote antiquity. Wilkinson, Our Authorized Bible Vindicated,
The first ancestor of the Received Text was, as pp. 37-38.
Dr. Hort is careful to remind us, at least con- Both the W aldensian Bible (from the Italia)
Waldensian
temporary with the oldest of our extant manu- and the great majority of Greek manuscripts
scripts, if not older than any one of them.”— were from the same source. W Wee call it the
Ibid.
Majority Text.
The Majority Text in Greek, having through
Erasmus reassumed its ascendancy in the west Before turning our attention to the En-
of Europe as it had maintained it in the east in glish translations, we will briefly overview
earlier centuries, bequeathed its indispensable four European translations of the Bible:
heritage to all but one of the Reformation Bible The Bohemian Bible was an early trans-
translations, including those in English. lation.
THE REFORMATION TRANSLATIONS “The Gospel had been planted in Bohemia
According to W ilkinson, the W
Wilkinson, aldenses,
Waldenses, as early as the ninth century. The Bible was
translated, and public worship was conducted,
through their Bible, helped get the Reforma-
in the language of the people. But as the power
tion started!
of the pope increased, so the Word of God was
“Four Bibles produced under Waldensian in- obscured. Gregory VII, who had taken it upon
fluence touched the history of Calvin: namely, a himself to humble the pride of kings, was no
Greek [Text], a Waldensian vernacular, a French, less intent upon enslaving the people, and ac-
and an Italian. cordingly a bull was issued forbidding public
“Calvin himself was led to his great work by worship to be conducted in the Bohemian
Olivetan, a Waldensian. Thus was the Refor- tongue. The pope declared that ‘it was pleasing
mation brought to Calvin, that brilliant stu- to the Omnipotent that His worship should be
dent of the Paris University. celebrated in an unknown language, and that
“Farel, also a Waldensian, besought him to many evils and heresies had arisen from not
come to Geneva and open up a work there . . observing this rule’ (Wylie, b. 3, ch. 1).
According to Leger, Calvin recognized a relation- “Thus Rome decreed that the light of God’s
ship to the Calvins of the valley of St. Martin, Word should be extinguished and the people
one of the Waldensian Valleys. should be shut up in darkness. But Heaven
“Finally, persecution at Paris and the solici- had provided other agencies for the preserva-
tation of Farel caused Calvin to settle at Geneva, tion of the church. Many of the Waldenses and
where, with Beza, he brought out an edition of Albigenses, driven by persecution from their
the Textus Receptus [Received Text] . . Of Beza, homes in France and Italy, came to Bohemia.
Dr. Edgar says that he ‘astonished and con- Though they dared not teach openly, they la-
founded the world’ with the Greek manuscripts bored zealously in secret. Thus the true faith
he unearthed. This later edition of the Received was preserved from century to century.”—Great
Text is in reality a Greek New Testament brought Controversy, p. 97.
out under Waldensian influence. Persecution immediately began, as soon
“Unquestionably, the leaders of the Reforma- as the Bible was translated into French.
tion, German, French, and English, were con- “The bishop of Meaux labored zealously in
vinced that the Received Text was the genuine his own diocese to instruct both the clergy and
New Testament, not only by its own irresist- the people. Ignorant and immoral priests were
ible history and internal evidence, but also be- removed, and, so far as possible, replaced by
cause it matched the Received Text which in men of learning and piety. The bishop greatly
Waldensian form came down from the days of desired that his people might have access to
the apostles. the Word of God for themselves, and this was
“The other three Bibles of Waldensian con- soon accomplished. Lefevre undertook the
nection were due to three men who were at translation of the New Testament; and at the
Geneva with Calvin, or, when he died, with Beza, very time when Luther’s German Bible was is-
his successor, namely, Olivetan, Leger, and suing from the press in Wittenberg, the French
Diodati. How readily the two streams of descent New Testament was published at Meaux. The
of the Received Text—through the Greek East bishop spared no labor or expense to circulate
and the Waldensian West—ran together, is il- it in his parishes, and soon the peasants of
lustrated by the meeting of the Olivetan Bible Meaux were in possession of the Holy Scrip-
[based on the Waldensian Italia] and the Re- tures.
ceived Text [based on the Greek manuscripts].”— “As travelers perishing from thirst welcome
The Centuries Between 87
with joy a living water spring, so did these souls lation of the New Testament, and the Gospel
receive the message of heaven. The laborers in was soon after given to the people of Germany
the field, the artisans in the workshop, cheered in their own language. This translation was
their daily toil by talking of the precious truths received with great joy by all who loved the truth;
of the Bible. At evening, instead of resorting to but it was scornfully rejected by those who chose
the wine-shops, they assembled in one another’s human traditions and the commandments of
homes to read God’s Word and join in prayer men.
and praise. A great change was soon manifest “The priests were alarmed at the thought
in these communities. Though belonging to the that the common people would now be able to
humblest class, an unlearned and hard-work- discuss with them the precepts of God’s Word,
ing peasantry, the reforming, uplifting power of and that their own ignorance would thus be
divine grace was seen in their lives. Humble, exposed. The weapons of their carnal reason-
loving, and holy, they stood as witnesses to ing were powerless against the sword of the
what the Gospel will accomplish for those who Spirit. Rome summoned all her authority to
receive it in sincerity. prevent the circulation of the Scriptures; but
“The light kindled at Meaux shed its beams decrees, anathemas, and tortures were alike in
afar. Every day the number of converts was in- vain. The more she condemned and prohibited
creasing. The rage of the hierarchy was for a the Bible, the greater was the anxiety of the
time held in check by the king, who despised people to know what it really taught.
the narrow bigotry of the monks; but the papal “All who could read were eager to study the
leaders finally prevailed. Now the stake was set Word of God for themselves. They carried it
up.”—Great Controversy, pp. 214-215. about with them, and read and reread, and
The French Bible was made available to could not be satisfied until they had commit-
colporteurs at low cost, so they could scat- ted large portions to memory. Seeing the favor
ter it everywhere. with which the New Testament was received,
“Long before the persecution excited by the Luther immediately began the translation of the
placards, the bold and ardent Farel had been Old, and published it in parts as fast as com-
forced to flee from the land of his birth. He re- pleted.”—Great Controversy, pp. 193-194.
paired to Switzerland, and by his labors, sec- The Bible was translated into Danish; and
onding the work of Zwingli, he helped to turn it affected the whole nation.
the scale in favor of the Reformation. His later “Tausen began to preach. The churches were
years were to be spent here, yet he continued to opened to him, and the people thronged to lis-
exert a decided influence upon the reform in ten. Others also were preaching the Word of
France. God. The New Testament, translated into the
“During the first years of his exile [in Swit- Danish tongue, was widely circulated. The ef-
zerland], his efforts were especially directed to forts made by the papists to overthrow the work
spreading the Gospel in his native country. He resulted in extending it, and erelong Denmark
spent considerable time in preaching among his declared its acceptance of the reformed faith.”—
countrymen near the frontier, where with tire- Great Controversy, 242.
less vigilance he watched the conflict and aided Olaf Petri translated the Bible into Swed-
by his words of encouragement and counsel. ish. The king declared it to be the book which
“With the assistance of other exiles, the writ- the entire nation should read.
ings of the German Reformers were translated “As the result of this disputation the king of
into the French language and, together with the Sweden accepted the Protestant faith, and not
French Bible, were printed in large quantities. long afterward the national assembly declared
By colporteurs these works were sold exten- in its favor. The New Testament had been trans-
sively in France. They were furnished to the lated by Olaf Petri into the Swedish language,
colporteurs at a low price, and thus the profits and at the desire of the king the two brothers
of the work enabled them to continue it.”— undertook the translation of the whole Bible.
Great Controversy, p. 231. Thus for the first time the people of Sweden
Luther’s German Bible profoundly influ- received the Word of God in their native tongue.
enced his nation. It was the basis for the It was ordered by the Diet that throughout the
German Reformation. kingdom, ministers should explain the Scrip-
“True Christianity receives the Word of God tures and that the children in the schools
as the great treasure house of inspired truth should be taught to read the Bible
and the test of all Inspiration. Upon his return “Steadily and surely the darkness of igno-
from the Wartburg, Luther completed his trans- rance and superstition was dispelled by the
88 The King James and the Modern Versions
blessed light of the Gospel. Freed from Romish keep it doctrinally correct.)
oppression, the nation attained to a strength The primary Catholic English translation
and greatness it had never before reached. Swe- from the V ulgate is the Rheims
Vulgate -Douai (which
Rheims-Douai
den became one of the bulwarks of Protestant- we will later discuss in more detail).
ism.”—Great Controversy, p. 244.
The preface to the Rheims New Testament
Waldensian traveling teachers helped bring mentions an earlier Catholic translation in French,
the Bible truth to Holland. also based on the Vulgate, which was produced
“Those early teachers who, traversing differ-
in the hope that it would eliminate the
ent lands and known by various names, bore
Waldenses.
the character of the Vaudois missionaries, and
spread everywhere the knowledge of the Gos- “More than two hundred years ago, in the
pel, penetrated to the Netherlands. Their doc- days of Charles V the French king, was it [the
trines spread rapidly. The Waldensian Bible Vulgate] put forth faithfully in French, the
they translated in verse into the Dutch language. sooner to shake out of the deceived people’s
They declared ‘that there was great advantage hands, the false heretical translations of a sect
in it; no jests, no fables, no trifles, no deceits, called Waldenses.”—Preface, Rheims New Tes-
but the words of truth; that indeed there was tament, 1582. [This preface was written by
here and there a hard crust, but that the mar- Jesuits.]
row and sweetness of what was good and holy “The Vulgate was the chief weapon relied
might be easily discovered in it’ (Gerard Brandt, upon to combat and destroy the Bible of the
History of the Reformation in and about the Waldenses.”—Benjamin G. Wilkinson, Our Au-
Low Countries, Book 1, p. 14). Thus wrote the thorized Version Vindicated, p. 51.
friends of the ancient faith, in the twelfth cen- Seventy-three years after Luther’s theses were
tury.”—Great Controversy, p. 238. nailed to the church door at Wittenberg, and only
a few years after the Council of Trent com-
TRANSLATIONS FROM THE VULGATE pleted its work, in 1590, Pope Sixtus V com-
TO COUNTER missioned the V atican P
Vatican ress to publish an
Press
PROTESTANT BIBLES edition of the V ulgate. P
Vulgate. ope Clement VIII is
Pope is--
There were just too many Bibles to de
de-- sued another one in 1592, and it became
stroy! What should be done? Rome decided the standard V ulgate used for Catholic Bible
Vulgate
to produce Bible translations which could translations down to the present day day..
include some of their errors. Protestants recognized that, because of
“The Reformers . . welcomed the rising spirit its many errors, the V ulgate was a danger-
Vulgate
of intelligence which shone forth in the new ous translation. Cartwright, the well-known
learning.
Puritan scholar, wrote this:
“But the priests loudly denounced it. [Eras- “All the soap and nitre they could collect would
mus noted that] they said the study of Greek be insufficient to cleanse the Vulgate from the
was of the devil and [they] prepared to destroy filth in which it was originally conceived and
all who promoted it.”—Wilkinson, p. 51. had since collected in passing so long through
Once again we return to the Latin Vulgate, the hands of unlearned monks, from which the
the monastic Jerome’s Latin translation (A.D. Greek copies had altogether escaped.”—Brook’s
382-384) which the Vatican so valued. In 1452 Memoir of Life of Cartwright, p. 276.
to 1456, Johann Gutenberg produced the first
printed Bible in the world. It was a Vulgate. THE TYNDALE BIBLE (1525-1526)
Rome would have preferred to keep the
In the history of the English Bible, W ill-
Will-
Bible hidden, even its V ulgate editions
Vulgate editions; but,
iam Tyndale’s (1494-1536) is the most im-
first the Waldenses and, then, the Protestant Re-
portant of the Bible translators.
formers were bringing the Bible to the people.
In a sense, Tyndale’s Bible towers over all
So Rome decided that their own translations,
the others. There are two reasons for this:
based on the Vulgate, must be used in the battle
• It was the first English translation to
against Protestantism.
be translated from the Greek T ext. Tyndale
Text.
Down through the centuries, all Roman
used Erasmus’ text.
Catholic translations have been based on the
• It was such a good translation that all
Vulgate, until the Jerusalem Bible was pub pub--
the later ones, up to and including the King
lished in 1966. (But it included lots of notes to
The Centuries Between 89
James, were almost identical to it. It appears It was while reading in Erasmus’ Greek
that those later translators relied heavily on Text that Tyndale found Christ and was con-
Tyndale
what Tyndale had accomplished. They were verted.
not lazy
lazy,, but found they could hardly im- “A diligent student and an earnest seeker for
prove on it. truth, he had received the Gospel from the Greek
After studying at Oxford, William Tyndale Testament of Erasmus.”—Great Controversy,
went to Cambridge to study Greek under Era- p. 245.
smus, who was teaching there from 1510 to When he left Cambridge, Tyndale accepted a
1514. After Erasmus returned to the continent, position as a tutor in the home of a private land-
Tyndale continued studying. owner. This gave him opportunity for study,
John Tyndale was an absolute genius in preaching, and writing. It was while he was there
his ability with foreign languages. Herman that he began writing tracts against the papacy.
Buschius, a scholarly friend of Erasmus, said Here is a sample of his earnest preaching.
this: He could not be frightened into silence.
“Tyndale was so skilled in seven languages, “He fearlessly preached his convictions, urg-
Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, English, ing that all doctrines be tested by the Scrip-
French, that, whichever he spoke, you would tures. To the papist claim that the church had
suppose it his native tongue.”—Buschius, given the Bible, and the church alone could ex-
quoted in Demaus, Life of Tyndale, p. 130. plain it, Tyndale responded: ‘Do you know who
It was this powerful aptitude in language taught the eagles to find their prey? Well, that
studies which enabled Tyndale to so accu- same God teaches His hungry children to find
rately render the Majority T ext into English.
Text their Father in His Word. Far from having given
Those who followed him recognized his ge ge-- us the Scriptures, it is you who have hidden
nius and tended to remain in his tracks. That them from us; it is you who burn those who
teach them, and if you could, you would burn
is why the King James Bible is basically Tyn-
the Scriptures themselves’ (D’Aubigne, History
dale’s. of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century,
As Luther took Erasmus’ Greek Text and bk. 18, ch. 4).”—Great Controversy, pp. 245-
produced the magnificent German Bible, so 246.
Tyndale took the same text and produced the But Tyndale found he was only one man.
English Bible—almost the same Bible which we Somehow he must multiply his message. Then
have today (except with modern spelling). he realized God wanted him to multiply God’s
“While Luther was opening a closed Bible to Word!
the people of Germany, Tyndale was impelled “Tyndale’s preaching excited great interest;
by the Spirit of God to do the same for En- many accepted the truth. But the priests were
gland. Wycliffe’s Bible had been translated from on the alert, and no sooner had he left the field
the Latin text, which contained many errors. It then they by their threats and misrepresenta-
had never been printed, and the cost of manu- tions endeavored to destroy his work. Too of-
script copies was so great that few but wealthy ten they succeeded. ‘What is to be done?’ he
men or nobles could procure it; and, further- exclaimed. ‘While I am sowing in one place, the
more, being strictly proscribed by the church, enemy ravages the field I have just left. I cannot
it had had a comparatively narrow circulation. be everywhere. Oh! if Christians possessed the
“In 1516, a year before the appearance of Lu- Holy Scriptures in their own tongue, they could
ther’s theses, Erasmus had published his of themselves withstand these sophists. With-
Greek and Latin version of the New Testament. out the Bible it is impossible to establish the
Now for the first time the Word of God was laity in the truth.’ ”—Ibid.
printed in the original tongue. In this work many His mission in life was now clear to him.
errors of former versions were corrected, and
He must dedicate his life to producing an
the sense was more clearly rendered. It led many
among the educated classes to a better knowl-
outstanding English translation of the Holy
edge of the truth, and gave a new impetus to Bible.
the work of reform. But the common people “A new purpose now took possession of his
were still, to a great extent, debarred from God’s mind. ‘It was in the language of Israel,’ said he,
Word. Tyndale was to complete the work of Wy- ‘that the psalms were sung in the temple of
cliffe in giving the Bible to his countrymen.”— Jehovah; and shall not the Gospel speak the
Great Controversy, p. 245. language of England among us? . . Ought the
church to have less light at noonday than at
92 The King James and the Modern Versions
the dawn? . . Christians must read the New solved to seek shelter in Germany. Here he be-
Testament in their mother tongue.’ The doc- gan the printing of the English New Testament.
tors and teachers of the church disagreed Twice the work was stopped; but when forbid-
among themselves. Only by the Bible could men den to print in one city, he went to another. At
arrive at the truth. One holdeth this doctor, last he made his way to Worms, where, a few
another that . . Now each of these authors con- years before, Luther had defended the Gospel
tradicts the other. How then can we distinguish before the Diet. In that ancient city were many
him who says right from him who says wrong? friends of the Reformation, and Tyndale there
. . How? . . Verily by God’s Word.”—Ibid. prosecuted his work without further hindrance.
Notice the above words about using our Three thousand copies of the New Testament
native language to read and share God’s W ord.
Word. were soon finished, and another edition followed
We, who speak English, should speak about in the same year.”—Great Controversy, pp.
246-247.
God’s W ord in our language, not in a foreign
Word
language. The tongues error
error,, of the Charis
Charis-- But then Tyndale was captured by papal
matics, and the “sacred name” error
error,, of many agents.
Protestants, teach that we must use another “[English Cardinal] Wolsey sent orders to ar-
language in order to be accepted by God. rest Tyndale, but Philip, Landgrave of Hesse,
protected the author, and he proceeded, at
One day
day,, while disputing with a learned Marburg, with his translation of the Pentateuch
man who said the pope’s laws were above (1530). Slowly, by his own labor or under his
God’s laws, Tyndale uttered his famous vow: supervision, most of the Old Testament was
“I defy the pope and all his laws; and if God rendered into English. But in a careless mo-
spare my life, ere many years I will cause a ment he fell into the hands of Imperial offi-
boy that driveth the plow to know more of cials.”—Will Durant, The Story of Civilization,
the Scripture than you do!” Vol. 6, p. 533.
“It was not long after that a learned Catholic The book, Great Controversy, does not pro-
doctor, engaging in controversy with him, ex- vide us with details about Tyndale’s betrayal and
claimed: ‘We were better to be without God’s imprisonment. Here are two quotations which
laws than the pope’s.’ Tyndale replied: ‘I defy provide more information about this tragic
the pope and all his laws; and if God spare my event; truly, a day of infamy in the history of the
life, ere many years I will cause a boy that Roman Catholic Church.
driveth the plow to know more of the Scripture
“Early in 1535, a trusting Tyndale was be-
than you do’ (Anderson, Annals of the English
trayed by an undercover Catholic agent, Henry
Bible, page 19).”—Great Controversy, p. 246.
Phillips, who had gained the Reformer’s confi-
In order to carry on his translation work, dence. Following Phillips’ last-minute borrow-
Tyndale went to London and, later
later,, to Ger- ing of forty shillings from his generous victim,
many
many.. the pair departed Tyndale’s boardinghouse for
“A London alderman gave him bed and board dinner. The treacherous Phillips pretentiously
for six months, while the youth labored on the insisted on his ‘friend’ going before him. Once
task. In 1524 Tyndale went to Wittenberg, and outside the door, Phillips, in the spirit of Ju-
continued the work under Luther’s guidance. das Iscariot, pointed at him from behind his
At Cologne he began to print his version of the back, as the prearranged sign for waiting offi-
New Testament from the Greek text as edited cials. The aged saint was promptly committed
by Erasmus. An English agent roused the au- to the dungeon of the nearby fortress of Vil-
thorities against him; Tyndale fled from Catho- vorde, eighteen miles north of Antwerp.”—W.P.
lic Cologne to Protestant Worms, and there Grady, Final Authority, p. 136.
printed 6,000 copies.”—Will Durant, The Story “Throughout his eighteen-month imprison-
of Civilization, Vol. 6, p. 533. ment, Tyndale suffered accordingly. One of the
“The purpose which he had begun to cher- saddest extant documents in all of church his-
ish, of giving to the people the New Testament tory (taken from the archives of the Council of
Scriptures in their own language, was now con- Brabant) is a letter written in Latin and in the
firmed, and he immediately applied himself to Reformer’s own hand to the governor of Vil-
the work. Driven from his home by persecu- vorde, perhaps the Marquis of Bergon:
tion, he went to London, and there for a time “ ‘I believe, dear sir, that you are not unaware
pursued his labors undisturbed. But again the of what may have been determined concerning
violence of the papists forced him to flee. All me. Wherefore I beg your lordship, and that by
England seemed closed against him, and he re- the Lord Jesus, that if I am to remain here
The Centuries Between 93
through the winter, you will request the com- can see how closely they all stayed with Tyndale’s
missary to have the kindness to send me, from outstanding translation:
the goods of mine which he has, a warmer cap, Tyndale (1526) “O oure father which arte in
for I suffer greatly from cold in the head, and heven halowed be thy name. Let thy kyngdom
am afflicted by a perpetual catarrh, which is come. Thy wyll be fulfilled as well in erth as it
much increased in this cell; a warmer coat also, ys in heven.”
for this which I have is very thin; a piece of
Coverdale (1535) “O oure father which art
cloth, too, to patch my leggings. My overcoat is
in heaven, halowed be thy name. Let thy
worn out; my shirts also are worn out. He has
kyndome come. Thy wyll be fulfilled upon earth
a woollen shirt, if he will be good enough to
as it is in heaven.”
send it. I have also with him leggings of thicker
cloth to put on above; he has also warmer night- Great Bible (1539) “Oure father which art
caps. in heaven, haiowed be thy name. Let thy
kingdome come. Thy will be fulfilled, as well in
“ ‘And I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in
erth, as it is in heaven.”
the evening; it is indeed wearisome sitting alone
in the dark. But most of all I beg and beseech Geneva Bible (1560) “Our father which art
your clemency to be urgent with the commis- in heaven, halowed be thy Name. Thy kingdome
sary, that he will kindly permit me to have the come. Thy will be done even in earth, as it is in
Hebrew Bible, Hebrew grammar and Hebrew heaven.”
dictionary, that I may pass the time in that Bishops’ Bible (1568) “O our father, which
study. In return may you obtain what you most art in heaven, halowed be thy name. Let thy
desire, so only that it be for the salvation of kyngdome come. Thy wyll be done, as well in
your soul. But if any other decision has been earth, as it is in heaven.”
taken concerning me, to be carried out before Authorized (King James) Bible (1611) “Our
winter, I will be patient, abiding the will of God, Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy
to the glory of the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ; name” [using our modern spelling].
whose Spirit (I pray) may ever direct your heart. It is because of the powerful influence of
Amen.’ ”—Op. cit., pp. 136-137. his translation on the five subsequent Bibles,
As he died at the stake, Tyndale cried out, that W illiam T
William yndale has been justly desig
Tyndale desig--
“Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!” Con- nated the “F ather of the English Bible.”
“Father
sider the amazing way that prayer was an- “Tyndale was a master of a simple and force-
swered: ful literary style. This, combined with exact-
ness and breadth of scholarship, led him so to
“What is strangest of all, and is unexplained
translate the Greek New Testament into En-
to this day, at the very time when Tyndale by
glish as largely to determine the character, form,
the procurement of English ecclesiastics, and
and style of the Authorized [King James] Ver-
by the sufferance of the English king, was
sion.
burned at Vilvorde, a folio-edition of his trans-
lation was printed at London, with his name “There have been some painstaking calcula-
on the title-page, and by Thomas Berthelet, the tions to determine just how large a part Tyndale
king’s own patent printer. This was the first may have had in the production of the version
copy of the Scriptures ever printed on English of 1611. A comparison of Tyndale’s version of
ground.”—McClure, Translators Revived, p. 32. 1 John and that of the Authorized Version
shows that nine-tenths of the latter is retained
Even more amazing, Henry VIII, king of En-
from the martyred translator’s work. Paul’s
gland, officially sanctioned the printing of two
Epistle to the Ephesians retains five-sixths of
English Bibles within a year after Tyndale had Tyndale’s translation. These proportions are
been martyred in October 1536! maintained throughout the entire New Testa-
Here is a brief summary of these six ment. Such an influence as that upon the En-
Bibles, from Tyndale’s to the King James: glish Bible cannot be attributed to any other
man in all the past.”—Ira Maurice Price, An-
After the Tyndale Bible (1526), came five
cestry of Our English Bible, p. 251.
other English Bibles: the Coverdale Bible
It should be noted that William Tyndale did
(1535), the Great Bible (1539), the Geneva
not complete all of his Old Testament transla-
Bible (1560), the Bishops’ Bible (1568), and
tion of the Bible prior to his arrest. The portion
the Authorized (King James) Bible (1611).
which he did not translate was the historical
Consider the first part of the Lord’s Prayer,
books (Joshua to 2 Chronicles), poetical books,
as it is given in each of those Bibles, and you
and prophetical books.
94 The King James and the Modern Versions
Tyndale was burned at the stake in Oc- Supremacy was approved by Parliament. Al-
tober 1536. though he did not renounce Catholic doc-
trine, the break with Rome was definite.
ROME RUINED BY PRINTED BIBLES The result, over the next century
century,, was a
Tyndale’s Bible (1526) was a special threat deluge of new English Bibles.
to the Catholics, since it was the first English
Bible to be printed from the Greek text. This THE COVERDALE BIBLE (1535)
meant that it could be distributed in large quan- Miles (Myles) Coverdale (1488-1568) had
tities. been Tyndale’s faithful proofreader at Ant-
“Clergymen had discouraged the reading of werp. Although not an accomplished Greek and
the Bible in any form, arguing that special Hebrew scholar, he continued the work laid
knowledge was necessary to a right interpreta- down by Tyndale when, after 18 months in
tion, and that Scriptural excerpts were being prison, Tyndale was martyred.
used to foment sedition. The church had raised
To accomplish this task, Coverdale based
no official objection to pre-Wycliffe translations,
his Bible on Tyndale’s translation. In the sec-
but this tacit permission had been of no mo-
ment, since all English versions before 1526 tions Tyndale had left undone, Coverdale
were manuscript. used Zwingli’s Zürich Bible (1529) while re re--
“Hence the epochal importance of the English ferring to Luther’s German Bible (1522-1534).
New Testament printed by Tyndale in 1525- Although Coverdale was forced to publish his
1526.”—Will Durant, The Story of Civilization, first edition in Cologne (1535), he very prudently
Vol. 6, p. 533. dedicated it to the King of England. He was also
A primary weapon of Rome, and of all des- careful to omit the controversial side notes which
pots, was to keep the people in ignorance. But were in Tyndale’s Bible.
the invention of printing by Johann Gutenberg Henry VIII was happy with the book, and
was a deathblow to that effort. It is well-known, issued a license, permitting publication of
by historians, that it was Gutenberg’s invention Coverdale’s second edition (1537). The cover
which not only gave the Reformation its power, page showed Henry seated and crowned, with a
but also started all modern research and scien- drawn sword and a dedicatory page, crediting
tific endeavor. him as “defender of the faith.”
“It is apparent that Coverdale was essentially
HENRY VIII BREAKS WITH ROME an editor, who gathered together the best mate-
rials within reach, and so selected and modi-
The present writer has in his library a leng- fied them as to construct a Bible that would
thy book on the history of King Henry VIII of meet both the demands of the public and those
England—which presents a surprising new un- of the ecclesiastical authorities. His great good
derstanding of the background of what actually sense, as shown in the use of language to se-
took place. cure beauty, harmony, and melody, made him a
We had always been taught that Henry just wise editor.
wanted to get rid of wives and marry new ones, “His essentially peaceful nature led him to
and it was the pope’s opposition to the scheme restore many beloved ecclesiastical terms that
which led to Henry’s break with Rome. Tyndale had thrown out for new and more ex-
act translations of the original Greek and He-
That is true, but the new light is that it was
brew texts. Indeed, so helpful are some of the
the Catholics which got the break started! translations of Coverdale that they were per-
Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, although petuated in the King James Bible.”—I.M. Price,
a Spanish princess, was being influenced by Ancestry of Our English Bible, p. 253.
associates in the royal palace toward Protestant- In 1537, only one year after Tyndale’s
ism. Fearing that this could lead to problems, death, two revised Coverdale editions were
Henry anxiously prodded toward a divorce with printed, each carrying this statement: “set forth
her. That started a chain of divorces which ulti- with the king’s most gracious license.”
mately resulted in Henry’s total break with Coverdale’s Bibles were the first printed
Vatican authority. complete Bibles in the English language.
Henry VIII separated from Rome on No No-- Thus, less than one year after Tyndale’s
vember 11, 1534, at which time the Act of death, the entire Bible had been translated,
The Centuries Between 97
printed, and distributed in England—with of later English history) wanted a complete trans-
the full permission of its monarch. lation, not a tossed-together edition, as the
Coverdale and Matthew Bibles were.
THE MATTHEW BIBLE (1537) So, with the permission of the king, he se-
Although known as the Matthew Bible, this cured the services of Coverdale to prepare a re-
translation was actually made by John Ro Ro-- vised Bible. Because he was not an accom-
gers (c. 1500-1555), an Oxford graduate, who plished Greek and Hebrew scholar, Coverdale
used the pseudonym, Thomas Matthew, because used scholars who were.
of Roger’s well-known association with Tyndale. When the task was done (there was no print-
Rogers went to Antwerp and worked closely ing facility large enough in London to produce
with Tyndale (and, of course, knew Coverdale, these large Bibles), Coverdale went to Paris in
his editor). When Tyndale was inprisoned in the spring of 1538. With Regnault, the French
Vilvorde Castle, he turned over to John Ro Ro-- printer, and under royal license, the printing
gers his unpublished workwork,, which he had pre
pre-- began. But the Inquisition uttered its voice, and
pared in prison—his translation of Joshua to ordered the work to be confiscated. Rome did
2 Chronicles. not want more Bibles! With trickery equal to that
Rogers then published a new Bible which, of the Jesuits, Coverdale managed to transfer
for the first time, had Tyndale’s final translation printed sheets, printers, presses, type, and other
material. The rest of the Old T estament was
Testament equipment and supplies to London! Coverdale
from the Tyndale and Coverdale Bibles. The was a very capable man, and the Lord used him.
Bible was initially published in Antwerp. It was In April 1539, the new Bible was fully
dedicated to printed. Because of its large size, it was
“The moost noble and gracyous Prynce Kyng
called “The Great Bible.” It was in large fo fo--
Henry the Eyght and Queen Jane,” lio; that is, each page was 16 16½ x 11 inches
and signed “Thomas Matthew.” This de- in size!
lighted the king and he gave the Bible his ap- Everyone was anxious to please the king, so
proval. an artistic frontispiece portrayed Henry in royal
Common folk sometimes gave special names dress, handing the Bible down to Cranmer and
to the Bibles. The Matthew Bible was spoken of Cromwell, who in turn distribute it to the people
as the “Wife-Beater’s Bible,” because of an added amid their shouts of “Vivat Rex!” (“Long live the
note at 1 Peter 3, which read: king!”)
“If she be not obedient and healpfull unto
This Bible was basically a revised edi-
hym [he] endeavoureth to beate the feare of God tion of John Rogers’ “Matthew” Bible, which
into her heade, that therby she maye be com- was the most complete presentation of the
pelled to learne her dutie, and to do it.”— work of Tyndale, whose martyrdom had oc-
Quoted in Beale, Pictoral History of the Bible, curred only three years earlier (October 1536).
p. 25. The announcement went out to the people
Another one of these Bibles was called “the from the king, “In God’s name, let it go abroad
Wicked Bible,” because a typesetter left the “not” among our people!” In 1526, Tyndale’s New
out of the seventh commandment of a single Testament was publicly burned at St. P aul’s
Paul’s
edition. However, in preparing this book, I could Cathedral in London. In 1538, the same
not locate that data again. book, under another cover and name, was
ordered by sanction of royal authority
authority,, if not
THE GREAT BIBLE (1539) decree, to be placed in public places, where
Because it was such a large book, common all could read it.
folk called this the “Great Bible.” Because Arch- A paper dating from 1539 declared:
bishop Cranmer wrote an introduction at the “Englishmen have now in hand, in every
church and place, the Holy Bible in their mother
front, it was also sometimes called the “Cranmer
tongue, instead of the old fabulous and fantas-
Bible.” tical books of the ‘Table Round.’ ”—Quoted
Being a compilation of Tyndale and Cover- by the church historian Collier, in H.W. Hoare,
dale, the Matthew Bible was the best English Evolution of the English Bible, p. 194.
Bible in print. But Thomas Cromwell (a leading Bishop Tunstall, good politician that he was,
official in Henry’s court, not the Oliver Cromwell
98 The King James and the Modern Versions
had earlier bought up Tyndale’s books so he executed and Bibles were publicly burned
could burn them (called “the bishop of Durham” by the hundreds. Only the Great Bible was
in Great Controversy, p. 247). But, now that spared; and it was only to be read by the
the situation had changed, he had his name upper classes. The decree read in part:
placed on the title page of two of the 1840 edi- “No laboring men or women should read to
tions of the Great Bible as officially endorsing its themselves or to others, publicly or privately,
publication. Due to immense public popularity any part of the Bible, under pain of imprison-
and demand for the book, within two years seven ment.”
editions of the Great Bible were printed. It be- As might be expected, Bishop Tunstall im-
came the basis of the English Prayer Book. mediately retracted his name from the front of
the Great Bible. He was once again the Catholic
THE TAVERNER BIBLE (1539)
he had always been.
At the climax of this reaction, Henry VIII
This Bible was prepared by Richard Tav- died on January 28, 1547. SurelySurely,, it was
erner, by direction of the King’s printer, Thomas thought that there would never again be a
Barthlet. Taverner was a good Greek scholar but Bible in England.
not well-acquainted with Hebrew.
The Old T estament was like the Matthew
Testament
EDWARD VI (1547-1553)
revision, with only slight changes (made by
comparing it with the V ulgate). The New T
Vulgate). es
es--
Tes This young king was always frail and
tament was solely from the Greek and added sickly; yet he was devoted to the Bible, rere--
a few items which later went into the King quiring that it be carried before him during
James text. This was the first Bible to be his coronation. During his brief six-and-
six-and- one
one--
-and-one
completely printed in England, but it tended half years reign, the English Bible was re re--
to be superceded by the Great Bible. printed many times and in many editions,
totaling 35 editions of the New T estament
Testament
THE CATHOLIC REACTION
and 13 of the Old!
OF 1543-1547 Edward began his reign by immediately de-
creeing that Bibles be made available in every
Thomas Cromwell had led out in getting
church for people to read. Reformers who had
Bibles printed and widely circulated. Although
Although
fled to England returned. Very likely, Bishop
he was very highly placed in the English gov-
Tunstall expressed a renewed devotion to the
ernment, he fell into disfavor because of his
Bible.
efforts to destroy Catholic shrines and im-
ages, as well as taking over abbeys and mon-
asteries. He even destroyed a few Catholic BLOODY MARY (1553-1559)
churches. He had made the same mistake as “And I saw the woman drunken with the
the French Protestants who wanted to produce blood of the saints, and with the blood of the
strong public protests against Catholics, and martyrs of Jesus.”—Revelation 17:6.
only brought death to themselves amid a Catho- On the death of Edward, Mary Tudor came
lic uprising (Great Controversy, 217:2; 224:3- to the throne. The daughter of Henry’s wife,
227:1). We have been warned elsewhere in the Catherine, Mary was a fanatical papist. She
Spirit of Prophecy that we, today, should not immediately inaugurated a reign of terror by
make direct attacks on the Catholics (9 Testi- lighting the fires of Smithfield. Archbishop
monies, 240-241, 243; Evangelism, 573-574, Cranmer and John Rogers, along with hundreds
576; Counsels to Writers and Editors, 45-46, of others, were burned at the stake—for the
64-65). We should instead give the final mes- crime of loving the Bible. Miles Coverdale, now
sage about obedience to the Law of God and, in Bishop of Exeter, barely managed to escape to
the context of the change of the Sabbath, tell the continent. Scores of other Reformers also fled.
necessary historical facts. “On the fourth of February, in the year 1555,
This crisis led to an uprising of Catholics in the morning, the prisoner [John Rogers, who
produced the Matthew Bible] was warned sud-
in the nation (of which there were very many;
denly by the keeper’s wife, to prepare himself
some say a majority), and Henry VIII feared for the fire. Being sound asleep, he could scarcely
for his throne. So, in reaction, Cromwell was be awakened. At length being roused, and told
The Centuries Between 99
to make haste, he said, ‘Is then this the day? If the first time, the English Bible was divided
it be so, I need not be careful of my dressing.’ into verses (using the ones first marked in the
“Now when the time had come, the prisoner margins of Stephenus’ Greek Text of 1551). In
was brought from Newgate to Smithfield, the addition, Whittingham added words in ital-
place of his execution. Here Woodroofe, one of ics, to complete the sense when words were
the sheriffs, asked him if he would change his not in the Greek. Both practices were later
religion to save his life; but Rogers answered,
carried over in the King James Bible.
‘That which I have preached I will seal with my
blood.’ Another outstanding achievement was the
“It is related that ‘Rogers’ wife and eleven
fact that this was the first English Bible to
children, ten of whom were able to walk and have Ezra through Malachi translated from
one was at the breast, met him by the way as the Hebrew
Hebrew.. This was the most accurate En-
he went toward Smithfield, repeating the 51st glish Bible yet to appear
appear.. The New T esta-
Testa-
Psalm. This sorrowful sight of his own flesh ment was basically identical to Tyndale’s.
and blood did not move him; but he constantly Another advantage was the abandonment
and cheerfully took his death with wonderful of the black letter for the plain, simple ro ro--
patience in the defence of Christ’s Gospel.”— man type (such as you find in the book you
Foxe, Book of Martyrs, pp. 422-423. are now reading.) The book of Revelation car-
Green adds: ried strong anti-Catholic notes. Those in Romans
“He died bathing his hands in the flames as were somewhat Calvinistic.
if it had been in cold water.”—J.R. Green, A
Queen Elizabeth I was crowned two years
Short History of the English People, p. 372.
before this Bible was finished; so, when it
These people laid down their lives for the
was completed, it was dedicated to her her.. The
Bible. Do we value it as much today?
cost of printing was subsidized by the people of
Over 300 Christians were burned at the stake
Geneva. Queen Elizabeth never promoted the
in Smithfield, near London.
Geneva Bible, but did nothing to oppose it; and
But a powerful reaction set in. So hor-
it was widely sold for decades. But the Great
rible was the reign of “Bloody Mary ,” that
Mary,”
Bible continued to be the Bible read from
everyone—even Catholics—hated her her.. After
the pulpit in the churches and cathedrals.
five years of a living horror
horror,, Mary died a mis
mis--
The Geneva Bible was also known as “The
erable death on the morning of November
Breeches Bible” because of its rendering of Gen-
17, 1558.
esis 3:7, “They sewed figge tree leaves together,
The murders of so many Christians—includ-
and made themselves breeches.” The Geneva
ing Ridley, Latimer, and Cranmer—had left her
translation enjoyed a circulation from Shake-
nearly insane.
speare’s desk to the Mayflower’s deck.
But her efforts to rid the land of Chris-
The first complete English Bible to use verse
tians and the Holy Bible backfired, as we
divisions was the Geneva Bible of 1560. Rabbi
shall soon learn.
Nathan is credited with devising the present verse
numbers for the Old Testament in 1448. The
THE GENEVA BIBLE (1560) verse divisions for the New Testament were made
A number of the Christian scholars who by the scholar-printer, Robert Stephenus, for his
had fled from Mary’s wrath, gathered in Gen- Greek-Latin New Testament of 1551. They con-
eva, Switzerland. There they formed a com- stitute a useful reference tool and are essential
mittee to prepare a new translation of the for a concordance.
Bible.
Theodore Beza, the most noted Biblical scholar, QUEEN ELIZABETH I (1533-1603)
lived there. Working with him, such men as John
Henry VIII only had three children who out-
Knox, William Whittingham, and Miles Coverdale
lived infancy: Edward VI, who was sickly and
labored six years to produce the Geneva Bible.
died at fifteen, Mary who was barren in mar-
There were no political or religious re re--
riage, and Elizabeth who never married. In her
strictions in Geneva and these men had time
reign, the proverb was fulfilled:
to produce an outstanding Bible.
“Take away the wicked from before the king,
Whittingham (a brother-in-law of John and his throne shall be established in righteous-
Calvin) supervised the work of publication. For ness.”—Proverbs 25:5.
100 The King James and the Modern Versions
In November 1558, the 25-year-old Eliza- In 1563, Archbishop Parker called for a com-
beth came to the throne, and immediately Prot- mittee to be formed, to produce a new Bible.
estantism was once again in favor. Elizabeth was Because nine of the revisers were bishops, the
careful not to disturb any religious group, but resultant Bible came to be called the Bishops’
she clearly promoted the Protestant cause. Bible.
“This persecution [by Bloody Mary] aroused The only improvements in this Bible were
a mighty reaction that made England forever lots of pictures, thicker
thicker,, and more expensive
Protestant. It has well been said that ‘the ex- paper
paper,, and little else. But it did include the
cesses of this bloody reaction accomplished verse divisions of the Geneva Bible. A portrait
more for the Protestantization of England than
of Queen Elizabeth was on the title page.
all the efforts put forth under Edward’s reign.”—
Although highly promoted, this Bible, which
Albert Henry Newman, A Manual of Church
History, Vol. 2, pp. 266-267. was produced during Elizabeth ’s reign, never
Elizabeth’s
Elizabeth ruled for 41 years; and Bibles gained the favor of the people. They were
were published in profusion during that time. thoroughly content with the Geneva Bible.
An added advantage of the Geneva Bible was
that it was relatively small. This made it
THE BISHOPS’ BIBLE (1568)
easier to carry and store. The Coverdale,
For some reason, the ever-increasing popu- Matthew
Matthew,, and Great Bibles were all twice the
larity of the Geneva Bible disturbed the religious page size of the Geneva Bible.
authorities of England. They wanted to use their Bishop’’ Bible was
The last edition of the Bishop
own approved Bible. By this time, 140 editions in 1606. Another Bible was soon to gain the
of the Geneva Bible had been printed and it was ascendency in England—and be retained for
in demand everywhere. hundreds of years.
The King James Bible 101
ON THE NEXT THREE PAGES Greek text is identical to that of the UBS Text
Sample pages from four critical Bible Texts and the variants are about the same.
are illustrated on the next three pages. 3 - One page from the Alfred Rahlf ’s
1 - Two pages from the United Bible So So-- Critical Greek Septuagint (LXX). This two-
cieties Critical Greek T ext. This, along with
Text. volume work is the standard critical Text for
the Nestle-Aland Text, are the two New Testa- studies into the Greek translation of the Old
ment Greek Texts used by modern Bible Trans- Testament.
lators. Both are edited by the same three-man 4 - One page from the Rudolph Kittel’s
team and essentially have the same text. We Biblia Hebraica
Hebraica, the standard critical Hebrew
discuss this in some detail. Text of the Old Testament. Rudolph Kittel was
2 - One page from the Nestle
Nestle--Aland Criti- the father of Gerhard Kittel, mentioned on an
cal Greek T ext. / On the same page is a chart
Text. earlier page as working closely with Hitler in
of the Greek Alphabet. You will note that the the slaying of millions of Jews.
Textual Criticism Begins 143
5. And the light in the darkeness shines, and (1) The first is “estin,” which means “is” (In
the darkness it not overtook (or overwhelmed). Him is life”). In support of this, we have the
6. egeneto anthropos, anestalmenos para Sinaiticus, D (Codex Bezae, which has Western
theou, onoma auto Iwannes. [middle Italy] readings), several Old Latin manu-
6. There-was a-man, having-been-sent from scripts, Curetonian Syric translation, two Coptic
God, name to-him John. manuscripts (Sahidic and Fayumic), plus cita-
As you can see from the above, there is tions by twelve “fathers.”
no problem in those verses, as they are given (2) The second is this: omit “Wsupp.” This
in the main text of this critical Greek Text.
Text. means that one manuscript omits “was” entirely
(“In Him life”). That manuscript is “Wsupp”, which
Now let us consider the two variants on means that the Washingtonian codice has a “sup-
this page (both are at the beginning of verse 4, position item” added here. A portion of a manu-
and are underlined, above). script was supplied by a later hand (a later scribe)
Variant 1: The text reads “en auto zoe en” where the original was missing. The original
(“In Him life was”). Looking down at the first scribe probably left out “In Him was life”; so a
item in the apparatus, we find that the variant later scribe wrote in “In Him life.”
is simply a repetition of the preceding four Greek Well, we have quickly looked at one page
words: “oude hen, o gegonen en.” If we used of a modern critical Greek T ext. Now you
Text.
this variant, the last part of verse 3 and the first can see why modern translators rely on the
of verse 4 would read: “. . and without Him not critical Greek T ext rather than do their own
Text
one thing became which has become. Not one research into the ancient manuscripts.
thing became. In Him was life . .” A scribe ap- The problem is not that they rely on a
parently copied part of the text twice. Greek T ext, but that they rely on the mod-
Text,
Variant 2: The text reads “en auto zoe en” ern ones (based on the Hort theory) instead
(“In Him life was”). The variant is keyed to the of one containing only the Majority T ext.
Text.
“was.” Yet, as you can now see—even the mod-
Support for the reading in the main text: ern Greek T exts have very few problems in
Texts
Looking down at the apparatus, we find that it them!
says, “24 {A} en.” That “en” means “was.” The Later in this book, we will list the worst prob-
“2” is the footnote number. The “4” tells the verse lems that we could find. They fill several pages;
that the variant is in. The “{A}” tells us that this yet it still is only several pages. It is not a whole
is the textual support for what is in the text of book of problem translations.
verse 4 (on the upper part of the page). For a
moment, let us look at the evidence for “was” With this fact in mind, we are prepared
(“In Him was life”). In doing so, we will get a feel to discuss the next section in our book: Why
for how to work with a critical Greek appara- did Ellen White quote from some of the mod-
tus: ern translations?
First is listed the papyri (“P66,75”). Then comes
the codices (“A, B, C,” etc.). Then come the ELLEN WHITE AND BIBLE INERRANCY
cursives (“050, 063,” etc.). After this is a
We are about to briefly consider each of the
lectionary (in this case, all the Byzantine [Ma-
jority Text] lectionaries). Next come the transla- most important Bible translations of our time.
But first, we have another matter to give our at-
tions (Vulgate, all three Syriac translations:
Coptic, Armenian, and Georgian). Next is listed tention to:
the quotations from the “fathers” (“Theodotus,
First, what did Ellen White say about the
Irenaeus,” etc.). possibility of errors in the Bible?
Having looked through that, you have a pretty
Second, why did she use the modern ver-
good idea how the witnesses are arranged. All of sions, and to what extent?
In this section, we will consider the first ques-
the above support having “In Him was life” at
the beginning of verse 4. tion; in the next the second.
Now we will consider the two variants of “was” To begin with, I urge you to read 1 Se Se--
(“In Him was life”): lected Messages, pp. 15-23. It says that, yes,
144 The King James and the Modern Versions
errors may have been made at times by the copy- “In His Word God has committed to men the
ists; but we should trust the Bible and obey it, knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy
and not worry about the problems. Scriptures are to be accepted as an authorita-
“Some look to us gravely and say, ‘Don’t you tive, infallible revelation of His will.”—Great
think there might have been some mistake in Controversy, p. vii.
the copyist or in the translators?’ This is all “Zwingli . . devoted himself with his whole
probable, and the mind that is so narrow that soul to the search after divine truth . . The more
it will hesitate and stumble over this possibil- he searched the Scriptures, the clearer ap-
ity or probability would be just as ready to peared the contrast between their truths and
stumble over the mysteries of the Inspired the heresies of Rome. He submitted himself to
Word, because their feeble minds cannot see the Bible as the Word of God, the only suffi-
through the purposes of God . . cient, infallible rule.”—Great Controversy, 173.
“I take the Bible just as it is, as the Inspired “[Zwingli] He presented the Word of God as
Word. I believe its utterances in an entire Bible.”— the only infallible authority and the death of
1 Selected Messages, pp. 16-17 [Manuscript Christ as the only complete sacrifice.”—Great
16, 1888; written at Minneapolis, Minnesota, Controversy, p. 177.
autumn 1888]. “Wycliffe now taught the distinctive doctrines
Here is another interesting passage: of Protestantism—salvation through faith in
“I saw that God had especially guarded the Christ, and the sole infallibility of the Scrip-
Bible; yet when copies of it were few, learned tures.”—Great Controversy, p. 89.
men had in some instances changed the words, “Man is fallible, but God’s Word is infal-
thinking that they were making it more plain, lible. Instead of wrangling with one another, let
when in reality they were mystifying that which men exalt the Lord. Let us meet all opposition
was plain, by causing it to lean to their estab- as did our Master, saying, ‘It is written.’ Let us
lished views, which were governed by tradition. lift up the banner on which is inscribed, The
But I saw that the Word of God, as a whole, is Bible our rule of faith and discipline.”—1 Se-
a perfect chain, one portion linking into and lected Messages, p. 416 (Review, Dec. 15,
explaining another. True seekers for truth need 1885).
not err, for not only is the Word of God plain
and simple in declaring the way of life, but the ELLEN WHITE AND
Holy Spirit is given as a guide in understand- THE MODERN VERSIONS
ing the way to life therein revealed.”—Story of Ellen White sometimes quoted from the
Redemption, p. 391.
ER
ERVV (R V); and, when the ASV (AR
(RV); V) was pub
(ARV) pub--
The message is clear enough: We can trust lished, she occasionally quoted from it.
our Bibles. A word of explanation is needed: In her day,
The modernists in our own church declare the English Revised Version (ERV) was called the
that the Bible is not infallible and that Ellen Revised Version (RV); and the American Stan-
White admitted the fact. dard Version (ASV) was called the American Re-
As evidence for their claim, they cite the pas- vised Version (ARV). In later years, the names
sage we have just quoted: were changed.
“Some look to us gravely and say, ‘Don’t you
think there might have been some mistake in In view of the fact that the modern ver-
the copyist or in the translators?’ This is all sions are not the best, why did Ellen White
probable.”—1 Selected Messages, p. 16. quote them at times in her books? There is
How can the Bible have mistakes, when El- a very sound reason for this; and we will ex-
len White repeatedly said it was infallible? The plain it here.
answer is this: That which the prophets wrote First, let us briefly review the background of
is infallible, but copies of the originals could what we are dealing with:
have occasional mistakes in them. Y et, she
Yet, The originals were written by the Bible writ-
hastens to add, we can fully trust our Bibles. ers. They are called “autographs.” Copies were
Therefore, the mistakes must not be very ser- carefully made over an extended period of time.
ious. At times errors were introduced into the copies.
Although Ellen White repeatedly said that Some were deliberately introduced while a ma-
man’s words and ideas are fallible, God’s Word jority of others were accidental. But, as we have
is declared to be infallible. observed, there were not a lot of variants.
Textual Criticism Begins 145
The great majority of the manuscripts tended have had the mind for foreign languages that
to read the same way. We call them the Majority Tyndale did. Second, he was an extremely de-
Text. There was also a Minority Text, composed voted child of God. The result was an excep-
of several variant manuscript “families.” tional, outstanding Bible translation!
Unfortunately, Westcott and Hort urged that Those who came after him recognized the
one minority family (which they called the “Neu- fact and they kept their translations close to his.
tral Text”) was the best; and modern transla- Down through the centuries, the King James
tors have followed their lead. This is primarily was updated in regard to spelling and obsolete
because the Nestle-Aland and UBS Greek Texts words, but no other changes were made. We still
provide a relatively easy way to carry on transla- had Tyndale’s version!
tion work—and they are essentially based on the But then, in the late 19th century, all this
Westcott-Hort pattern. changed. From 1870 down to our own time, men
But, now
now,, notice this: Even though the who were not as close to God, and who definitely
Majority T ext is superior to the modern Greek
Text did not have the foreign language ability of Tyn-
Texts, the great majority of readings in both are dale, tried their hand at translating.
essentially the same! We have not made an is- These modern translations fell into three
sue of this fact, but it is true. We have just ob- catagories:
served this in our analysis of part of a modern 1 - Translations which were conservative and
critical Greek Text. attempted to remain closer to the King James.
If you doubt this, take a copy of any conser- 2 - Translations which dared to be much
vative modern version (we will tell you, below, more innovative in phrasing.
which they are) and compare a chapter in it with 3 - Translations which were made specifi-
the King James Version. You will find that most cally to support special doctrinal beliefs (i.e., the
everything is essentially the same in both Bibles. Catholic and Jehovah’s Witnesses Bibles).
The wording will be somewhat different, but the More on each of these later in this book.
concepts will be almost identical. (Note that I It is for such reasons that we prefer to
said a “conservative modern version; I did not remain with the King James. It not only ad-
say all modern versions!) heres to the Majority T ext, but it has the phras
Text, phras--
There are not a million variations between ing Tyndale bequeathed to it.
the modern Greek T exts and the King James;
Texts When I read in a Bible or quote from one, I
there are only about 5,000 of them. We have prefer to use the King James. I understand its
repeatedly observed that (this information came value and I am aware of those places where, in
from scholars favoring the King James) schol- order to prove an eternally burning hell, it in-
ars deplored the fact that any existed at all. Yet correctly translates the text. I am at home with
there are only a few thousand flaws. the King James.
Now, follow me closely: The problem with But when I read in a modern version, I
the modern verions is not primarily the 5,000 must continually be on guard to identify
identify,, not
variants; it is the changes in phrasing espe--
phrasing,, espe just the 5,000 Greek T ext problems but the
Text
cially the radical ones which occur in them— subtle phrasing errors placed there by the
especially in the paraphrase Bibles (Phillips, modern translators.
Living Bible, etc.). However
However,, occasionally some of those vari-
We have observed that the line of English ant phrasings are actually improvements over
Bible translations—from Tyndale to the King the King James phrasing! Neither you nor I
James—were essentially the same. There was know which ones they are, and we surely do
very little variation in phrasing. The reason was not wish to occupy ourselves in trying to fig-
that the conscientious men who prepared them, ure it out.
not only relied on a good Greek Text (that of But Ellen White had no such qualms. She
Erasmus) but, clearly recognized that Tyndale was a fully inspired prophet of GodGod. The Lord
had made an excellent translation and they had told her that she could go to the history
should stay very close to it. And they did. books and extract information she could use in
Willian Tyndale was unusual in that he had preparation of the Great Controversy.
two outstanding qualities: First, he was a mas- She read in Milman, The History of the Jews;
ter with languages. Few men in any generation J.A. Wylie, History of Protestantism; Baras
146 The King James and the Modern Versions
Sears, The Life of Luther; John Lewis, History Ellen White did something unusual in her quo-
of the Life and Sufferings of John Wiclif; Au- tations—or lack of quotation—of the Scripture?
gust Neander, General History of the Christian As an inspired prophet, everything she did was
Religion and the Church; or J.H. Merle D’Au- significant. So this should be of interest to every
bigne, History of the Reformation of the Six- Spirit of Prophecy student.
teenth Century; as well as other historical writ- 1 - Are there any instances in which
ings—and was always able to identify that which Ellen White used concepts which are in the
was true! You and I could not do that, but she the original Greek, yet are not in the King
could. James Bible (and which she did not quote
You will recall that, in the Garden of Eden, from other versions)?
Adam and Eve had a light about them which The present writer has been interested in this
helped them understand everything in nature, since his college years. Here are a few examples
as they approached it. Ellen White had some- for your consideration:
thing similar, a divinely guided recognition of
truth. * The comma in Luke 23:43. It is correct
Not only did the Lord direct her to look in only one other translation (Rotherham’s),
in history books; He directed her to look in which was published in the late 19th century.
the modern Bible translations. “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee,
You might wonder why why.. There was a good To-day shalt thou be with Me in paridise.”—Luke
reason for this. There are, indeed, some im- 23:43, KJV.
provements, here and there, in the modern “I say unto thee Today, Thou shalt be with Me in
translations. But you and I do not know where
paradise.”—Desire of Ages, 751.
they are. The Lord guided Ellen White to search
out those improvements and quote them—so we There are no commas in the Greek text, so the
could have them! What a blessing! Thank the translators made the verse agree with their theologi-
Lord for everything in the Spirit of Prophecy, and cal beliefs.
reject none of it! It is all from God! There was no Bible in Ellen White’s day which
Many of these passages which she quoted correctly translated Luke 23:43, so she stated it
from modern versions are taken from the Old corrctly. In doing so, she improved on the King James.
Testament. There has been relatively little
* Did Baalim go with the men? There is an error
change in the Hebrew Text of the New Testa-
ment; whereas there has been more change in the KJV translation of Numbers 22:21.
in the Greek Text of the New Testament. She “And God came unto Balaam at night, and said
quoted from both the Old and the New Testa- unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go
ments in the modern versions—and consis- with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto
tently provided us with excellant help. thee, that shalt thou do.
The present writer has carefully analyzed “And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled
a great number of these modern-version quo-
his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.”—Num-
tations by Ellen White. In not one instance has
he found that she quoted a bad one! bers 22:20-21.
Later in this book, we will quoted a lot of The Lord told Baalam that if the men came for
the verses which the modern versions have him the next morning, he could go with them; but oth-
improperly translated. Some are based on our erwise he was not to go (verse 20). The next morning
modern Greek Text while others are the result he went with them (verse 21); therefore why was the
of foolish translations or efforts to inculcate doc- Lord angry with him and tried to slay him during the
trinal error. We will show you many of those
journey?
wrongly translated passages.
But Ellen White never quotes them. She As usual, the Spirit of Prophecy explains the
only quoted improved phrasings which were matter. Why?—because, if you are for this truth,
beneficial for us to know about. the Spirit of Prophecy is more accurate than any
The Lord had her do this in order to help Bible translation! Why? not because she is a supe-
us. We should praise Him for this blessing. rior prophet. We have her writings in the original lan-
Having said this, are there instances in which
Textual Criticism Begins 147
guage; and these are more precisely detailed. Davidson, Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexi-
Remember that she told us that some mistakes con, p. DCLXII).
may have been made by the copyists. There- 2 - Are there instances in which Ellen
fore she clarifies the meaning of the Bible. Some- White did not use any translation available
thing else to be thankful for. to her
her,, including the King James, because
“Some look to us gravely and say, ‘Don’t they were all incorrect?
you think there might have been some Here is an example:
mistake in the copiest or in the transla-
tors?’ This is all probable.”—1 Selected * John 20:17a. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch
Messages, p. 16. Me not.”
In reality, the Bible does not say that the The rest of the verse (which she quotes), says,
men came for him the next morning. So what is “for I am not yet ascended to My Father.”
the solution? Simply this: Translate verse 21 as At times, Ellen White quotes the last part of that
“went after” instead of “went with.” Now that (“I am not yet ascended to My Father”; DA 790),
makes sense—and it exactly fits the story, as but the only time she quotes the first three words (“de-
related by Ellen White. tain Me not”) is very early in her ministry (3SP 202-
First, the Lord was angry with him (verse 203, quoted in 5BC 1150). While writing Desire of
22). Second, Baalam obviouly made the jour- Ages, the Lord taught her the correct meaning, which
ney with only his two servants (verses 22-34). she wrote down:
We would also need to change the transla- “Springing toward Him, as if to embrace His
feet, she said, ‘Rabboni.’ But Christ raised His
tion of the prepositions in verse 35: “Go after hand, saying, Detain Me not; ‘for I am not yet
the men” and “went after the princes.” The en- ascended to My Father; but go . . [rest of verse
tire problem is just a mistranslation of three is quoted].—Desire of Ages, 790.
prepositions. Christ’s concern was not that she not touch His
As usual, the Holy Spirit explains the mat- feet, but that she not detain Him—for He had to make
ter. Read Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 438- a trip all the way to heaven and back that same day!
443. The men never came to him the next morn- Jesus said to her, “Me mou haptou (not Me
ing; instead, they left before he could go with touch), for I have not yet ascended . .” In the middle
them. That fully explains Numbers 22:20-22. tense, it can mean “detain.” Ellen White accurately
* Did Joseph tell his brothers a lie? used a Greek idiom, without ever having studied
Genesis 46:34 and 47:3 indicate that Jo- Greek! Ironically, many scholarly Greek students mis-
seph told his brethren to lie to Pharaoh. translate the sentence, because they do not have a
He told them to tell Pharaoh they were clear understanding of how the verb can be trans-
cattlemen, but they told Pharaoh the truth. lated.
Patriarchs and Prophets, 233:2 explains
3 - Can you cite an example where Ellen
that Joseph told them to tell Pharaoh they were White uses the Majority T est family of manu-
Test
shepherds, so he would not want to hire the scripts, when the Neutral T ext had some
Text some--
brothers and they could remain with their own thing distinctly different?
people. The word “cattle,” in 46:34, should be * John 7:53-8:11. The story of the woman
translated “sheep.” taken in adultery is not in the body of the mod-
“According to Holladay, the Hebrew word, ern Greek Text. But Ellen White clearly states
translated “cattle” in Genesis 46:34, can be that it actually occurred (Desire of Ages, pp.
translated “flock” or “movable property” (Wil- 460-462). In his Greek Text, Von Soden com-
liam L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Ara- mented: “In the great majority of the manu-
scripts it stands in the text,” therefore he left it
maic Lexicon of the Old Testament, p. 320).
in his. But, since it was not in the Vaticanus and
According to Davidson, that word can be Sinaiticus, it was left out of the Westcott-Hort
translated riches, possessions, wealth; gener- Test and Nestle Text.
ally cattle, animals requiring pasturage (B.
148 The King James and the Modern Versions
* Revelation 22:14. This very important that Jesus was telling His accusers that, although they
verse has been changed in the Neutral Text, and were searching the Scriptures, they would not come
therefore in most modern translations. to Him that they might have life. Ellen White explains
“Blessed are they that do His commandments, this fact in Desire of Ages, p. 211:4, where she quotes
that they may have right to the tree of life, and may the RV (today known as the ERV):
enter in through the gates into the city.”—KJV. “Ye search the Scriptures, because ye think that
“Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which
may have the right to the tree of life and that they may bear witness of Me.”—John 5:39 (ERV).
enter the city by the gates.”—RSV; the footnote She also quotes the ERV of this verse in Patri-
reads: “Other ancient authorities read do his com- archs and Prophets, p. 367.
mandments.”
5 - Is there an example when she quoted
Ellen White properly quotes this, as it is found in
a modern text reading and never quoted the
the KJV, innumerable times. Majority T ext?
Text?
There are interesting aspects to this variant:
* One example, found while preparing this
First, it is clearly a doctrinal issue, and antinomians
book, is Mark 9:44, 46: “Where their worm dieth
would be glad to see the “commandments” taken out not and the fire is not quenched” (KJV).
of the verse. That phrase, repeated three times in three verses,
Second, the variant is quite Biblical; for there are is omitted each time in the non-Majority Texts. She
two other verses in Revelation which says something never quotes these phrases, although she quotes some
similar: near them (Acts of the Apostles, pp. 312-313, and
“Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from Desire of Ages, p. 438).
our sins in His own blood.”—Revelation 1:5b ( KJV). Checking further into this, we discover that this
“These are they which came out of great tribula- omitted phrase is found nowhere else in the New Tes-
tion, and have washed their robes, and made them tament. The phrase implies that the fire is not quenched
white in the blood of the lamb.”—Revelation 7:14b and the worms eating their bodies (living?) do not
(KJV). cease their action.
Third, it is an intriguing fact that the alternatives in But the phrase comes from Isaiah 66:24; it is
Revelation 22:14 rhyme in the Greek! there speaking about “carcases” (KJV) or “dead
“Blessed are those doing the commandments His.” bodies” (RSV). In that passage the wicked are al-
/ Makarioi oi poiountes tas entolas autou. ready dead and the remembrance of them may al-
“Blessed are those washing the robes His.” ways exist, but the wicked are not still alive.
/ Makarioi oi pluntes tas stolas auton.
6 - Is there an example where she re
re--
It is very possible that a copyist became con-
ferred to a concept in a modern text read-
fused, due to the similar sound, and he substituted ing, without quoting it?
something like the earlier two verses in Revelation.
* John 5:3-4. This verse is omitted from the
Many other exsamples could be cited where Ellen
modern Greek Texts and many modern versions.
White used a Majority Text family of manuscripts, “ . . waiting for the moving of the water. For an
when the Neutral Text had something distinctly dif- angel went down at a certain season into the pool,
ferent. and troubled the water; whosoever then first after the
4 - Can you give an example when Ellen troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of
White used a modern Greek T ext reading
Text reading,, in whatsoever disease he had.”—John 5:3b-4 (KJV).
addition to the reading in the Majority Text?
Text? This is obviously a strange passage which
* John 5:39. The key point to this verse is has something wrong with it. Angels do not stand
that we should “search the Scriptures.” Regard- around, jumping into pools every so often. In
ing that point, Ellen White quotes the KJV of Desire of Ages, p. 201, she does not deny that
John 5:39 about 50 times. the people were waiting for the waters to move
But the historical context of that verse is the fact (thus certifying that John 5:3b belongs there),
Textual Criticism Begins 149
but she explains that the idea of an angel trou- this verse proves that the Apocrypha in his Bible
bling the waters was a superstition. is also inspired, since it is included in his copy
• 2 Timothy 3:16. There are two possible of the Scriptures!
readings of this verse: How did Ellen White handle 2 Timothy 3:16:
All Scripture is given by Inspiration of God, In at least 66 instances, she translated it in the
and is profitable for . .”—2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV). usual pattern. But in Great Controversy, p. v,
Every Scripture inspired of God is also prof- she left room for the other concept:
itable for . .”—2 Timothy 3:16, RSV, footnote. “The Bible points to God as its author; yet it
If we assume that “Scripture” means the was written by human hands . . The truths re-
Bible writings, then there is no question: All vealed are all ‘given by Inspiration of God.’ ”
Scripture is inspired of God! For this reason, the 3-volume Index lists that
But the Greek word used here means “writ- passage as quoting the Revised Version (although
ings,” not “Bible.” We would not want to say, it is not directly quoting it).
All writings are inspired by God. 7 - Is there an example where she did not
In the previous verse (3:15), Scripture is de- quote a verse which also happens to be omit-
fined as those writings that are holy; i.e., inspired ted from the modern text?
by God. Based on that, verse 16 is well-trans- • Romans 14:6. “And he that regardeth not
lated as “All Scripture is inspired by God.” the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it” is
However, we should keep both possible trans- omitted in the RSV and most other modern texts.
lations in mind; since a Catholic could say that Ellen White does not quote it either.
Later postscript to this chapter: Earlier in plain, by causing it to lean to their established
this chapter, I mentioned that, along with some views, which were governed by tradition. But I
others, the Bible truth about hellfire is incorrectly saw that the Word of God, as a whole, is a per-
translated. This quotation may help explain this: fect chain, one portion linking into and explain-
“I saw that God had especially guarded the ing another. True seekers for truth need not err,
Bible; yet when copies of it were few, learned men for not only is the Word of God plain and simple
had in some instances changed the words, think- in declaring the way of life, but the Holy Spirit is
ing that they were making it more plain, when given as a guide in understanding the way to life
in reality they were mystifying that which was therein revealed.”—Story of Redemption, 391.
Appendix
A Variety of Additional Information
200 SPECIAL ERRORS it belongs.” (“. . until Shiloh come, and unto Him
IN THE MODERN VERSIONS shall the gathering of the people be.”)
The present writer has searched for some of Numbers 33:52a—“Pictures” changed to
the most flagrant errors in the modern versions. “carved idols” (NIV). / (“Ye shall destroy . . all
It has been a laborious task. The collection be- their pictures.” [It is not appropriate today to
low may not be complete, but at least it repre- hint that television and pornography might be
sents a large number of the worse changes in bad.])
the King James Version. Job 19:26—“Then without my flesh I shall
The following passages are arranged from see God.” (“After my skin worms destroy this
Genesis to Revelation. Since the Revised body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”)
Standard purports to be the standard of the Psalm 8:5—“Yet Thou hast made him a little
revisions, we will most frequently refer to it lower than God” (NIV, NASV, etc.). (“For Thou
as an example. However
However,, the great majority hast made him a little lower than the angels.”)
of the changed or omitted passages will gen- Psalm 45:6—“Your divine throne endures
erally be found in most of the other modern forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter
translations. of equity.” (“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
We will cite both Old and New Testament pas- ever: the scepter of Thy kingdom is a right scep-
sage, but will particularly focus our attention on ter.”)
verses in the New Testament. Psalm 48:10—“Thy right hand is full of vic-
The purpose is to help you locate some tory.” (“Thy right hand is full of righteousness.”)
of the most problematic passages in the new Psalm 72:11—“May all” instead of “Yea, all.”
versions. The inclusions or omissions are not (“Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him.”)
always quoted; but sometimes they are—es- Psalm 72:8—“May have” instead of “shall
pecially when they are unusually blatant. have.” (“He shall have dominion also from sea
Quotations within parentheses are from to sea.”)
the King James Bible. As usual, throughout Proverbs 16:3—“Commit to the Lord what-
this book, we have placed pronouns referring to ever you do, and your plans will succeed” (NIV).
the Godhead in initial caps. Isaiah 26:3— “The steadfast of mind Thou
wilt keep in perfect peace” (NASV). / (“Thou wilt
1 - OLD TESTAMENT keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed
Genesis 6:3—“My Spirit shall not abide in on Thee” [KJV]).
man for ever” (RSV). (“My Spirit shall not always Isaiah 32:2— “Princes shall rule in justice,
strive with man.”) each shall be like a hiding place from the wind.”
Genesis 11:1—“Few words” instead of “one (“A man shall be as an hiding place from the
language” (RSV). (“And the whole earth was of wind.”)
one language, and one speech.”) Jeremiah 31:22— “A woman protects a
Genesis 12:3—“Be blessed” changed to man,” instead of “a woman shall compass a man.”
“bless themselves.” (“And in thee shall all the (“The Lord hath created a new thing in the earth,
families of the earth be blessed.”) Also changed a woman shall compass a man.” [This is refer-
in Genesis 18:18, 22:18, 26:4, 28:14. ring to the virgin birth; i.e., a woman shall pro-
Genesis 49:10—“Until He come, to whom duce a man-child, without copulation.])
Daniel 3:25— “A son of the gods” instead of
Appendix 175
“the Son of God.” (“The form of the fourth is like etc.).
the Son of God.”) Matthew 20:7—“And whatsoever is right
Hosea 13:9—“I will destroy you, O Israel, that shall ye receive” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
who can help you?” (“O Israel, thou has de- Matthew 20:16—“For many be called but
stroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help.”) few chosen” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Micah 5:2—“Whose origin is from of old.” Matthew 20:22—“And to be baptized with
(“Bethlehem . . out of thee shall He come forth the batism that I am baptized with” is omitted
unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose go- (RSV, etc.).
ings forth have been from of old, from everlast- Matthew 23:14—Part or all of verse is omit-
ing.”) ted (RSV, etc.). (“Woe unto you, scribes and Phari-
Zechariah 9:9—“Lo your King comes to you; sees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses,
triumphant and victorious is He.” (“Behold, thy and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye
King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having shall receive the greater damnation.”)
salvation.”) Matthew 25:13—“Wherein the Son of man
cometh” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
2 - NEW TESTAMENT Matthew 27:35—“That it might be fulfilled
Matthew 1:16—Changed to “Joseph, father which was spoken by the prophet” to the end of
of Jesus” (RSV, etc.). the verse is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Matthew 1:19—“Resolved to divorce her Matthew 28:2—“From the door” is omitted
quietly.” (“Joseph . . not willing to make her a (RSV, etc.).
public example, was minded to put her away Matthew 28:9—“As they went to tell His dis-
privily.”) ciples” [about the resurrection] is omitted (RSV,
Matthew 1:25—“Firstborn” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
etc.). Mark 1:1—“The Son of God” is omitted (var-
Matthew 6:13—“For Thine is the kingdom, ious versions).
and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” is Mark 1:2—“It is written in Isaiah the pro-
omitted (the Lord’s prayer). phet” instead of “As it is written in the prophets”
Matthew 6:33—“Of God” is omitted (RSV, (NIV, etc.). (The NIV translates it “Isaiah the
etc.). prophet” because it is in the Neutral Text. But
Matthew 8:29—“Jesus” is omitted (RSV., Mark 1:2b is quoted from Malachi 3:1, not from
etc.). Isaiah. Mark 1:3 is quoted from Isaiah. There-
Matthew 9:13—“Repentance” is omitted fore, the KJV (and its Majority Text) has the
(RSV, etc.). proper reading.)
Matthew 12:35—“Of the heart” is omitted Mark 1:14— “Of the kingdom” is omitted
(RSV, etc.). (RSV, etc.).
Matthew 12:47—Whole verse is omitted Mark 2:17—“To repentance” is omitted (RSV,
(RSV, etc.). etc.).
Matthew 13:51—“Jesus saith unto them” Mark 6:11— “Verily I say unto you, it shall
is omitted (RSV, etc.). be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in
Matthew 16:3—“Oh ye hypocrites” is omit- the day of judgment than for that city” is omit-
ted (RSV, etc.). ted (RSV, etc.).
Matthew 16:20—“Jesus” is omitted (RSV, Mark 9:24—“Lord” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
etc.). Mark 9:42—“Little ones that believe in Me”
Matthew 17:21—Entire verse is omitted is omitted (RSV, etc.).
(NIV, etc.). (“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but Mark 10:21— “Take up the cross” is omit-
by prayer and fasting.”) ted (RSV, etc.).
Matthew 18:11—Entire verse is omitted Mark 11:10— “In the name of the Lord” is
(RSV, etc.). (“For the Son of man is come to save omitted (RSV, etc.).
that which was lost.”) Mark 11:26—Entire verse is omitted (RSV,
Matthew 19:9—“And whosoever marrieth etc.). (“But if ye do not forgive, neither will your
her which is put away committeth adultery” is Father which is in heaven forgive you your tres-
omitted (RSV, etc.). passes.”)
Matthew 19:17—“God” is omitted (RSV, Mark 12:29-30—“Of all commandments . .
176 The King James and the Modern Versions
this is the first commandment” is omitted (RSV, Luke 23:38—“In letters of Greek and Latin
etc.). and Hebrew” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Mark 13:14—“Spoken of by Daniel the Luke 23:42—“Lord” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
prophet” is omitted (RSV, etc.). Luke 23:45—“The sun was eclipsed.” (“The
Mark 14:68—“And the cock crew” is omit- sun was darkened.”) [A full moon, called “the
ted (RSV, etc.). Passover moon,” occurred at night during Pass-
Mark 15:28—Entire verse is omitted (RSV, over time. A full moon cannot eclipse the sun;
etc.). (“And the Scripture was fulfilled which only a new moon can! Desire of Ages, 685: “The
saith, He was numbered with the transgres- passover moon, broad and full, shone from a
sors.”) cloudless sky.”]
Mark 15:39—“A son of God” instead of “the Luke 24:6—“He is not here, but is risen” is
Son of God.” (“The centurion . . said, truly this omitted.
was the Son of God.”) Luke 24:12—Entire lengthy verse (about
Mark 16:9-20—All nine verses are omitted what Peter saw at the tomb) is omitted (RSV, etc.).
([RSV, etc.], solely because they are not in the Luke 24:40—“And when He had thus spo-
Vaticanus and Sinaiticus). ken, He showed them His hands and His feet” is
Luke 2:33—“Joseph” is changed to “His fa- omitted (RSV, etc.).
ther” (RSV, etc.). Luke 24:49—“Jerusalem” is omitted (RSV,
Luke 2:43—“Joseph and His mother” are etc.).
changed to “His parents” (RSV, etc.). Luke 24:51b -52a—“Carried up into heaven.
24:51b-52a—
Luke 2:49—“House” instead of “business” And they worshiped Him” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
(“I must be about My Father’s business”). (“And it came to pass, while He blessed them,
Luke 4:4—“But by every Word of God” is He was parted from them, and carried up into
omitted (RSV, etc.). heaven. And they worshipped Him . .”)
Luke 4:8—“Get thee behind Me Satan” is John 1:14—“Begotten” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
omitted (RSV, etc.). John 1:17— “Moses gave us only the Law
Luke 4:41—“Christ” is omitted (RSV, etc.). with its rigid demand and merciless justice” (Liv-
Luke 7:31—“And the Lord said” is omitted ing Bible). (“For the law was given by Moses.”)
(RSV, etc.). John 1:18—“Begotten” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Luke 9:54—“Even as Elias did” is omitted John 1:27— “Preferred before Me” (speak-
(RSV, etc.). ing of Jesus) is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Luke 11:29—“The prophet” (referring to John 3:13—“Which is in heaven” is omitted
Jonah) is omitted (RSV, etc.). (RSV, etc.).
Luke 17:36—Entire verse is omitted (RSV, John 3:15—“Should not perish” (regarding
etc.). believers) is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Luke 22:19—“Which is given for you; this John 3:16, 18—“Begotten” is omitted (RSV,
do in remembrance of Me” is omitted. etc.).
Luke 22:20—“Likewise also the cup after John 4:42—“Christ” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
supper, saying, This cup is the New Testament John 6:47—“On Me” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
in My blood, which is shed for you” is omitted. (“He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.”)
Luke 22:20—“Cup which is poured” instead John 7:53-8:11—All 12 verses are omitted
of “blood, which is shed” (NIV, etc.). (“This cup (RSV, etc.). (The woman taken in adultery.)
is the new testament in My blood, which is shed John 8:16—“Father” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
for you.”) John 9:35—“Son of God” is changed to “Son
Luke 22:31—“And the Lord said” is omit- of man” (RSV, etc.).
ted (RSV, etc.). Satan hath desired to have you. John 11:41— “Where the dead was laid” is
Luke 23:17—Entire verse is omitted (RSV, omitted (RSV, etc.).
etc.). (“For of necessity he must release one unto John 16:16—“Because I go to the Father” is
them at the feast.”) omitted (RSV, etc.).
Luke 23:34—“Then said Jesus, Father for- John 17:12—“In the world” is omitted (RSV,
give them; for they know not what they do” is etc.). (“While I was with them in the world, I kept
stated in the RSV footnote as something which them in Thy name.”)
should be omitted. John 20:29— “Thomas” is omitted (RSV,
Appendix 177
etc.). trast this error with John 8:32, 36; Revelation
Acts 2:30—“According to the flesh He would 5:10; 20:4; 22:5. New Age Versions, pp. 224-
raised up Christ” is omitted (RSV, etc.). 225, lists 49 New Testament texts where this
Acts 7:30—“Of the Lord” is omitted (RSV, horrible error is perpetuated. It is true that dou-
etc.). los, in the Greek, can mean either “servant” or
Acts 7:37—“Him shall ye hear” (speaking “slave.” But the context obviously shows that we
of Christ) is omitted (RSV, etc.). are never enslaved to God. We always have free
Acts 8:37—Entire lengthy verse is omitted will.]
(RSV, etc.). (“And Philip said, if thou believest with Romans 9:289:28—“In righteousness” is omit-
all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered ted (RSV, etc.).
and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son Romans 11:6—“But if it be of works, then it
of God.”) is no more grace; otherwise work is no more
Acts 9:5-6—“It is hard for thee to kick work” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
against the pricks. And he trembling and aston- Romans 13:9—“Thou shalt not bear false
ished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? witness” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
And the Lord said unto him” is omitted (RSV, Romans 14:6— “And he that regardeth not
etc.). the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it” is omit-
Acts 10:6—“He shall tell thee what thou ted (RSV, etc.).
oughtest to do” is omitted (RSV, etc.). Romans 14:9—“Both” and “rose” is omit-
Acts 15:34—Entire verse is omitted (NIV, ted (RSV, etc.). (“Christ both died and rose.”)
etc.). (“Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide Romans 14:21—“Or is offended, or is made
there still.”) weak” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Acts 16:31—“Christ” is omitted (RSV, etc.). Romans 15:29—“Of the Gospel” is omitted
Acts 17:26—“Blood” is omitted (RSV, etc.). (RSV, etc.).
Acts 20:25—“Of God” is omitted (RSV, etc.). Romans 16:24— “The grace of our Lord
Acts 20:32—“Brethren” is omitted (RSV, Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” is omitted
etc.). (RSV, etc.).
Acts 23:9—“Let us not fight against God” is 1 Corinthians 1:14—“I thank God” is omit-
omitted (RSV, etc.). ted (RSV, etc.).
Acts 24:6-8—“And would have judged . . to 1 Corinthians 5:7— “Christ our Passover is
come unto thee” is omitted (RSV, etc.). sacrificed for us” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Acts 24:15—“Of the dead” is omitted (RSV, 1 Corinthians 6:20— “And in your spirit
etc.). which are God’s” is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“For ye
Acts 28:16—“The centurion delivered the are brought with a price; therefore glorify God
prisoners to the captain of the guard” is omitted in your body, and in your spirit which are
(RSV, etc.). God’s.”)
Acts 28:29—Entire verse is omitted (RSV, 1 Corinthians 7:39— “By the law” is omit-
etc.). (“And when he had said these words, the ted (RSV, etc.). (“The wife is bound by the law as
Jews departed, and had great reasoning among long as her husband liveth.”)
themselves.”) 1 Corinthians 10:28—“For the earth is the
Romans 1:16—“Of Christ” is omitted (RSV, Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” is omitted (RSV,
etc.). (“I am not ashamed of the Gospel of etc.).
Christ.”) 1 Corinthians 11:24—“Take eat” is omit-
Romans 3:25—“In His blood” is omitted ted (RSV, etc.). (“Take eat; this is My body . .”)
(NIV, etc.). (“Whom God hath set forth to be a 1 Corinthians 11:24— “Broken for you” is
propitiation through faith in His blood . .”) omitted (RSV, etc.). (“This is My body which is
Romans 5:2—
5:2—“By faith” is omitted (RSV, etc.). broken for you.”)
(By whom also we have access by faith . .”) 1 Corinthians 11:29—“Lord’s” is omitted
Romans 6:22—“But now having been freed (RSV, etc.). (“. . not discerning the Lord’s body.”)
from sin and enslaved to God” (NASV). [This This 1 Corinthians 15:47—“The Lord” is omit-
terrible error is repeated dozens of times in ted (RSV, etc.). (“The second man is the Lord
the modern versions! God’s people are said, from heaven.”)
not to be “servants,” but “slaves” of God! Con- 1 Corinthians 16:22— “Jesus Christ” is
178 The King James and the Modern Versions
omitted (RSV, etc.). 1T imothy 6:5—“From such withdraw thy-
Timothy
1 Corinthians 16:23—“Christ” is omitted self” is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“Men of corrupt
(RSV, etc.). minds . . from such withdraw thyself.”)
2 Corinthians 4:6—“Jesus” is omitted (RSV, 2 Timothy 1:11— “Of the Gentiles” is omit-
etc.). ted (RSV, etc.). (“I am appointed . . a teacher of
2 Corinthians 4:10—“The Lord” is omit- the Gentiles.”)
ted (RSV, etc.). 2T imothy 4:22—“Jesus Christ,” or some-
Timothy
Galatians 3:1—“That ye should not obey times “Christ,” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
the truth” is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“Who hath be- Titus 1:4—“The Lord” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
witched you, that ye should not obey the truth.”) Hebrews 1:3—“He reflects the glory of God,
Galatians 4:3—“We were slaves to Jewish and bears the very stamp of His nature.” (“Who
laws and rituals” (Living Bible). (“Were in bond- being the brightness of His glory, and the express
age under the elements of the world.”) image of His person.” [“Being” and “reflecting”
Galatians 4:7—“Through Christ” is omit- are very different.])
ted (RSV, etc.). (“. . an heir of God through Hebrews 1:3—“By Himself” is omitted (RSV,
Christ.”) etc.). (“When He had by Himself purged our
Galatians 6:15—“In Christ Jesus” is omit- sins.”)
ted (RSV, etc.). (“For in Christ Jesus, neither cir- Hebrews 2:7— “And didst set Him over the
cumcision availeth anything . .”) works of Thy hands” is omitted (some modern
Ephesians 3:9—“By Jesus Christ” is omit- versions).
ted (RSV, etc.). (“Who created all things by Jesus Hebrews 2:11—“Are all of one origin” (or “fa-
Christ.”) ther”) is added (RSV, etc.). (“For both He that
Ephesians 3:14—“Of our Lord Jesus Christ” sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of
is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“I bow my knees unto the one.” [This change makes Jesus and the human
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”) race have the same beginning.])
Philippians 3:16—“Let us mind the same Hebrews 7:21—“After the order of Melchi-
thing” is omitted (RSV, etc.). sedec” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Philippians 3:20—“Wait for a Savior” in- Hebrews 10:30—“Saith the Lord” is omit-
stead of “look for the Saviour” (RSV, etc.). ted (RSV, etc.). (“I will recompense, saith the
Colossians 1:2—“And the Lord Jesus Christ” Lord.”)
is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“Peace from God the Fa- Hebrews 10:34— “In heaven” is omitted
ther and the Lord Jesus Christ.”) (RSV, etc.). (“Knowing in yourselves that ye have
Colossians 1:14—“Through His blood” is in heaven a better and an enduring substance.”)
omitted (RSV, etc.). (“In whom we have redemp- Hebrews 11:11—“Was delivered” is omit-
tion through His blood.”) ted (RSV, etc.). (“Sarah . . was delivered of a
Colossians 3:6—“On the children of disobe- child.”)
dience” is omitted (NIV, etc.). (“The wrath of God Hebrews 12:2—“Pioneer and perfecter” in-
cometh on the children of disobedience.”) stead of “author and finisher.” (“Looking unto
1 Thessalonians 1:1—“From God our Fa- Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”
ther and the Lord Jesus Christ” is omitted (RSV, [Jesus is not one of the pioneers of our faith, He
etc.). is the originator of it.])
1 Thessalonians 3:11—“Christ” is omitted James 5:16—“Faults” is changed to “sins”
(RSV, etc.). (RSV, etc.). (“Confess your faults one to another,
2 Thessalonians 1:8—“Christ” is omitted and pray for one another . .”)
(RSV, etc.). 1P eter 1:22—“Through the Spirit” is omit-
Peter
1 Timothy 3:2, 12—“Can marry only once” ted (RSV, etc.). (“Seeing ye have purified your
instead of “must be the husband of one wife.” souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.”)
[According to this false teaching, the bishop can 1P eter 4:1—“For us” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Peter
marry only once in his lifetime.] (“Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh.”)
1 Timothy 3:16—“God” is omitted, or 1P eter 4:14—“On their part He is evil spo-
Peter
changed to “who” (RSV, etc.). (“And without con- ken of, but on your part He is glorified” is omit-
troversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God ted (RSV, etc.).
was manifest in the flesh.”) 1P eter 5:10—“Jesus” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Peter
Appendix 179
1P eter 5:11—“Glory” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Peter (RSV, etc.). (“Fire came down from God out of
(“To Him be glory and dominion . .”) heaven.”) [In describing the final death of the
2P eter 2:17— “Forever” is omitted (RSV,
Peter wicked, Ellen White quotes the KJV of this verse
etc.). over 10 times.]
1 John 1:7—“Christ” is omitted (RSV, etc.). Revelation 20:12—“God” is changed to “the
1 John 2:7—“From the beginning” is omit- throne.” (RSV, etc.).
ted (RSV, etc.). (“The Word which ye have heard Revelation 21:24—“Them which are saved”
from the beginning.”) is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“The nations of them
1 John 4:3—“Christ is come in the flesh” is which are saved shall walk in the light . .”)
omitted (many modern versions). (“Every spirit Revelation 22:14— “Wash their robes” in-
that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in stead of “do His commandments” (RSV, etc.).
the flesh is not of God.”) (“Blessed are they that do His commandments,
1 John 4:9—“Begotten” is omitted (RSV, etc.). that they may have right to the tree of life, and
1 John 4:19—“Him” is omitted (RSV, etc.). may enter in through the gates into the city.”)
(“We love Him, because He first loved us.”)
1 John 5:7-8—“In heaven, the Father, the THE TRUTH ABOUT MARK 16:9-20
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are The omission of Mark 16:9-20 from the
one. And there are three that bear witness in modern versions constitutes the largest single
earth” is omitted (RSV, etc.). omission of all. It deserves special attention.
Jude 25—“Wise” is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“To The “experts” would have us believe that the
the only wise God our Saviour.”) ending of Mark clearly has no supporting evi-
Revelation 1:8—“The Beginning and the dence from the ancient manuscripts, transla-
Ending” is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“I am the Alpha tions, and early church “fathers.”
and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending.”) “It is admittedly difficult to arrive at the con-
Revelation 1:9—“Christ” is omitted (RSV, clusion that any of these readings is the origi-
etc.). nal. But on the basis of the known manuscript
Revelation 1:11—“I am Alpha and Omega, evidence it seems more likely that either Mark
the first and the last” is omitted (RSV, etc.). ended at verse 8, or the real ending is not ex-
Revelation 2:13—“Thy works” is omitted tant. Of these two views the former one is more
(RSV, etc.). (“I know thy works and where thou compatible with the concept of a complete
dwellest . .”) canon.”—Norman L. Geisler and William E.
Revelation 5:14—“Him that liveth for ever Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, p.
373.
and ever” is omitted (RSV, etc.).
Revelation 6:1, 3, 5, 7—“And see” is omit- Let us examine the evidence. First, there
are the uncials (capital letter Greek manu-
ted (RSV, etc.). (“Come and see.”)
Revelation 11:17—“And art to come” is scripts). The omission is found only in two
uncials: the V aticanus and Sinaiticus.
Vaticanus
omitted (RSV, etc.). (“O Lord God almighty, which
art and wast, and art to come.”) The experts tell us that the Vaticanus and Sinai-
Revelation 12:12—“Inhabiters of the earth” ticus are the purest ancient Bible manuscripts,
is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“Woe to the inhabiters of especially since they so closely agree. But that is
not true. We find that they disagree in over 3,000
the earth . .”)
Revelation 12:17—“Christ” is omitted (RSV, places in the Gospels alone! (Herman C. Hoskier,
etc.). (“Which keep the commandments of God,
Codex B and Its Allies, Vol. 2, p. 1).
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”) Uncials were prepared for about ten centu-
Revelation 14:5—“Before the throne of God” ries. The earliest of them are the Sinaiticus (Aleph),
is omitted (RSV, etc.). (“They are without fault Vaticanus (B), Ephraemi (C), Alexandrinus (A),
and Bezae (D). Scholars tell us that the ending
before the throne of God.”)
Revelation 16:3, 8, 10, 12, 17—“Angel” is of Mark 16 is omitted from many of these an-
cient codices. But we discover it is only missing
omitted (RSV, etc.).
Revelation 16:17—“Of heaven” is omitted from two of them: Vaticanus and SinaiticusSinaiticus.
In contrast none of the other uncials omit the
(RSV, etc.). (“There came a great voice out of the
temple of heaven.”) Mark 16 ending—and there are at least 18 of
them!
Revelation 20:9—“From God” is omitted
180 The King James and the Modern Versions
Then there are the cursives (lower case Irenaeus
Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons is one of several
Greek manuscripts). All of these have the Mark Ante-Nicene fathers whose extant writings con-
16 ending—and there are about 600 cursive tain quotations from Mark 16:9-20. He cites
copies of the book of Mark. Mark 16:19 in his polemical treatise, entitled
“With the exception of the two uncial manu- Irenaeus Against Heresies, penned in approxi-
scripts which have just been named, there is mately A.D. 177 (over a century and a half be-
not one codex in existence, uncial or cursive, fore Vaticanus and Sinaiticus).
(and we are acquainted with, at least, eighteen Eusebius of Caesarea (who predicted that
other uncials, and about six hundred cursive Constantine and Christ would reign together
copies of this Gospel), which leaves out the last
through eternity) knew about the omission, but
twelve verses of St. Mark.
did not care whether it was left in or not (Colm
“The inference which an unscientific observer
would draw from this fact is no doubt, in this
Luibheid, The Essential Eusebius, p. 213). (See
instance, the correct one. He demands to be Great Controversy, p. 574, for Ellen White’s com-
shown the Alexandrian (A), and the Parisian ment on Eusebius.)
Codex (C), neither of them probably removed In one of his books, Burgon quotes from 30
by much more than fifty years from the date of different church “fathers” who knew that the
the Codex Sinaiticus, and both unquestionably ending of Mark was there
there.
derived from different orginals; and he ascer-
tains that no countenance is lent by either of Then there are the lectionaries (quota-
those venerable monuments to the proposed tions from the Bible which were read from
omission of this part of the sacred text. the pulpit). The ending of Mark is in all of
“He discovers that the Codex Bezae (D), the them.
only remaining very ancient manuscript author- “But the significance of a single feature of
ity—not withstanding that it is observed on the lectionary, of which up to this point noth-
most occasions to exhibit an extraordinary sym- ing has been said, is alone sufficient to deter-
pathy with the Vatican (B)—here sides with A mine the controversy. We refer to the fact that
and C against B and Aleph [Vaticanus and in every part of Eastern Christendom these
Sinaiticus]. same twelve verses—neither more nor less—
“He inquires after all the other uncials and have been from the earliest recorded period,
all the cursive manuscripts in existence, (some and still are, a proper lesson both for the Eas-
of them dating from the tenth century) and re- ter season and for Ascension Day.”—Burgon,
quests to have it explained to him why it is to Revision Revised, p. 40.
be supposed that all these many witnesses, be- Burgon summarized the ancient evidence:
longing to so many different patriarchates, prov-
“Similarly, concerning THE LAST 12
inces, ages of the church, have entered into a
VERSES OF ST. MARK which you brand with
grand conspiracy to bear false witness on a point
suspicion and separate off from the rest of the
of this magnitude and importance? But he ob-
Gospel, in token that, in your opinion, there is
tains no intelligible answer to this question.”—
“a breach of continuity” (p. 53) (whatever that
John W. Burgon, quoted in Jay P. Green, ed., may mean), between verses 8 and 9. Your
Unholy Hands on the Bible, Vol. 1, pp. 40-41. ground for thus disallowing the last 12 verses
So we find that, in the ancient Greek man- of the second Gospel is that B and Aleph
uscripts, 618 have the ending of Mark and [Vaticanus and Sinaiticus] omit them:—that a
two do not. few late manuscripts exhibit a wretched alter-
native for them. Now, my method on the con-
Then we come to the translations, and
trary is to refer all such questions to ‘the con-
we find that only two of them had the omis- sentient testimony of the most ancient authori-
sion; One was the Sinaitic Syriac, which, like ties.’ And I invite you to note the result of such
the V aticanus and Sinaiticus, was prepared
Vaticanus an appeal in the present instance. The verses
in Alexandria, Egypt. The other was the Co Co-- in question I find are recognized:
dex Bobiensis, a Latin manuscript (Edward “In the second century,—by the Old Latin,
F. Hills, Believing Bible Study, p. 133). and Syriac Versions [translations] by Papias;
Justin M.; Irenaeus; Tertulian.
Then there are the quotations in the early
church “fathers.” None of them knew any- “In the third century,—by the Coptic and
Sahidic versions: by Hippolytus; by Vincentius,
thing about the missing passage in Mark,
at the seventh Council of Carthage; by the ‘Acta
with the exception of a few apostates. Pilati’; and the ‘Apostolical Constitutions’ in
Appendix 181
two places. Whenever the respective scribe concluded the
“In the fourth century,—by Cureton’s Syriac individual books within his codex, he would
and the Gothic Versions; besides the Syriac do so according to an established pattern. Af-
Table of Canons; Eusebius; Macanus Magnes; ter penning his final lines, he would accen-
Aphraates; Didymus; the Syriac ‘Acts of the tuate the book’s completion by purposely
Apostles’; Epiphanius; Leontius; Ephraem; leaving the column
column’s ’s remaining space blank
blank..
Ambrose; Chrysostom; Jerome; Augustine. The next book would begin at the top of the
“In the fifth century,—besides the Armenian adjacent column.
Versions, by codices A and C; by Leo; Nestorius; “When arriving at Mark 16:9-20 however, we
Cyril of Alexandria; Victor of Antioch; Patricjus; observe a pronounced departure from this oth-
Manjus Mercator. erwise consistent procedure. With Mark 16:8
“In the sixth and seventh centuries,—besides terminating on line 31, we note that the re-
cod. D, the Georgian and Ethiopic Versions; by maining eleven blank lines are followed not
Hesychius; Gregentius; Prosper; John of Thessa- by a fresh column with Luke 1, but rather by
lonica; and Modestus, bishop of Jerusalem.”— an additional 42 blank lines! This space of a
John William Burgon, The Revision Revised, whole column is striking as it constitutes the
pp. 422-423. only such occurrence in the entire 759-page
manuscript
manuscript.
So the evidence is quite clear that Mark “The reason you don’t find this discussed by
16:9-20 really does belong on the end of the modern Greek scholars should be obvious. As
book of Mark. these fifty-three lines could have accommodated
the missing twelve verses, our ‘ancient author-
The next question is how did it happen
ity’ is suddenly seen to be a dubious document
to become omitted? Because of John Burgon ’s
Burgon’s at best.”—W.P. Grady, Final Authority, p. 49.
research, we have some answers. When something is missing in an ancient
How could it possibly be that all the other manuscript, and there is space where it used to
Gospels end on a glorious note—and 24 of be, that space is called a lacuna. John Burgon
the New T estament books end with “
Testament Amen—
“Amen— explains the significance of this lacuna:
yet Mark ends ingloriously with the words: “The older manuscript from which Cod. B
“And they went out quickly, and fled from was copied must have infallibly contained the
the sepulchre; for they trembled and were twelve verses in dispute. The copyist was in-
amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; structed to leave them out, and he obeyed;
for they were afraid.”—Mark 16:8. but he prudently left a blank space in me-
There is evidence that the earliest arrange- moriam rei. Never was blank more intelli-
ment of the four Gospels was John, Matthew, gible! Never was silence more eloquent!
Luke, and Mark. “By this simple expedient, strange to relate,
This placing of Mark last would cause the the Vatican Codex is made to recite itself even
whole to end on a note of fear and trembling. while it seems to be bearing testimony against
“For they were afraid.” But “God hath not given the concluding verses of St. Mark’s Gospel, by
us the spirit of fear” (2 Timothy 1:7), so what is withholding them: for it forbids the inference
the solution? which, under ordinary circumstances, must
have been drawn from that omission. It does
One of the most fantastic theories devised
more. By leaving room for the verses it omits,
by the “experts” is that Mark suddenly died at it brings into prominent notice at the end of
Mark 16:8—in spite of the testimony of several fifteen centuries and a half a more ancient
early “fathers,” that he outlived the completion witness than itself. The venerable author of
of His Gospel (Hills, King James Version De- the original codex, from which Codex B was
fended, pp. 160-161). copied, is thereby besought to view.
In order to find the answer to the probprob-- “And thus, our supposed adversary (Codex
B) proves our most useful ally; for it procures
lem, we need only look at the actual manu-
us the testimony of an hitherto unsuspected
scripts of the V aticanus and Sinaiticus.
Vaticanus witness. The earlier scribe unmistakably comes
Because the data could seem complicated, forward at this stage of the inquiry, to explain
we will place the key points in bold fact. that he at least is prepared to answer for the
“If you had the Codex Vaticanus before you, genuineness of these twelve concluding verses
each page (measuring 10" x 10½" would be seen with which the later scribe, his copyist, from
to contain three columns of 42 lines each. his omission of them, might unhappily be
182 The King James and the Modern Versions
thought to have been unacquainted.”—John these leaves, Codex B [Vaticanus] make but one
William Burgon, quoted in Green, Unholy witness, not two.”—Scrivener, Criticism of the
Hands, p. 49. New Testament, p. 337.
Grady provides further explanation: Grady explains further:
When examining Codex Sinaiticus we dis-
“When “Should this codex be opened before you, the
cover that the shenanigans are stranger yet. page containing Mark’s ending would consti-
Each of the slightly larger pages (leafs) of this tute the recto of leaf 29 (or the front side of
uncial manuscript (13½" x 14") contains four page 29 laid open to your right), containing the
2½"-wide columns of 48 lines respectively. four columns of Mark 16:2-Luke 1:18. On your
“However, when viewing the conclusion of left would be the verso (or the back of leaf 28)
Mark’s Gospel in this codex
codex, even the novice displaying the four columns of Mark 15:16-
will find his attention arrested by two pro- 16:1.
nounced signs of textual intrusion. The first of “When these eight columns are viewed in
these concerns the presence of six pages un- their adjacent setting, the second tell-tale evi-
like the other 3,64
3,64½ leaves in several particu- dence of scribal tampering becomes readily ap-
lars. This initial cause for suspicion is inten- parent. As if to illustrate the adage, ‘If at first
sified further by the twofold discovery that you don’t succeed, try, try again,’ B’s [Vaticanus’]
one leaf contains Mark 16:2-Luke 1:56 while scribe made a determined effort to cover his
the handwriting style for all six pages matches tracks by his subsequent elimination of Mark
that of the V atican Codex B
Vatican B.” 16:9-20 via the excision of several whole pages.
Grady’s source for that is Burgon, Traditional This time, instead of leaving an entire column
Text of the Holy Gospels Vindicated and Estab- blank, he ventured on a solution that is not
lished, pp. 298-299. unfamiliar to the average student of today. With
Mark 16:8 concluding on line four of column
What the above discovery reveals is that
six, and Luke 1:1 situated atop column seven,
the omission of Mark 16:9-20 in both the our deceiver appeared to be home free.”—
Vaticanus and Sinaiticus—was made by the Grady, op. cit., pp. 50-51.
same scribe! The scribe which made the V ati-
Vati- What the scribe did was this: When he
can codex is the one which made the six got to the end of Mark 16:8, he left a suspi-
pages in Sinaiticus which omitted the end- ciously extra amount of blank space to the
ing of Mark. One man omitted the ending of end of the book—more than were left at the
Mark from both codices. end of the other books of the Bible. He was
“It is noteworthy that this opinion regarding signaling that he had omitted something.
the interpolation of B’s scribe enjoys a rare con-
“But the writing of these six columns of St.
currence between both sides of the debate. And
Mark is so spread out that they contain less
furthermore, before we discover the content of
matter than they ought; whereas the columns
these spurious leaves, let it be recognized that
of St. Luke that follow contain the normal
the real significance of this partisan theory
amount. It follows, therefore, that the change
is that the number of Greek codices hostile
introduced by the diorthota [B’s scribe] must
to Mark 16:9-20 has been reduced by half half!”—
have been an extensive excision from St. Mark:—
Grady, op. cit., p. 50.
in other words, that these pages as originally
Dr. Scrivener mentions the fact that Tisch- written must have contained a portion of St.
endorf, who discovered the Sinaiticus and the Mark of considerable length which has been
first to examined both the Sinaiticus and omitted from the pages as they now stand. If
Vaticanus, was the first to declare that the these six columns of St. Mark were written
Vaticanus scribe produced those six pages. as closely as the columns of St. Luke which
“I have ventured but slowly to vouch for follow
follow,, there would be room in them for the
Tischendorf ’s notion, that six leaves of Codex verses.”—Burgon, Traditional
omitted twelve verses
Aleph [Sinaiticus], that containing Mark 15:2 Text, p. 299.
to Luke 1:56 being one of them, were written Yet, in spite of all this evidence, modern
by the scribe of Codex B [Vaticanus]. On mere
Bible translators keep removing Mark 16:9-
identity of handwriting and the peculiar shape
of certain letters who shall insist? Yet there 20 from their versions. The reason they do
are parts of the case which I know not how to this is rather obvious. They are too lazy to
answer, and which have persuaded even Dr. check out the sources. Instead, they assume
Hort. Having now arrived at this conclusion our that W estcott and Hort knew what they were
Westcott
inference is simple and direct, that at least in talking about.
Appendix 183
From Nestle to the most recent translator, shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life
everyone blindly follows the theory of Westcott [psuche] for My sake shall find it. For what is a
and Hort, that Mark 16:9-20 is worthless and man profited, if he shall gain the whole world,
must be kept out of modern Bibles. and lose his own soul [psuche]? or what shall a
The only reason some modern Bibles have man give in exchange for his soul [psuche]?”
put the ending back into the text is to increase Psuche should have been translated “life”
sales by complaining Christians. in both verses. When the word, “life,” is substi-
tuted for “soul” in Matthew 10:28, there is no
DOCTRINAL FACTORS problem. The day is coming when the wicked
IN THE KING JAMES will have their entire lives destroyed; they will
Throughout this book, we have repeatedly be annihilated, and not live forever.
seen that the King James Bible is the best En- • ““Jesus
Jesus said unto him, V erily I say unto
Verily
glish-language Bible in the world. thee, T o - day shalt thou be with Me in para-
To
But there are two problems of which we dise.” Luke 23:43.
should be aware: According to this, Christ told the thief he
When the translators of the King James would be with Christ that same day in Para-
came to certain passages, they assumed the dise?
verses should be translated in accordance It is of interest that we are told that, as soon
with their preconception of the state of the as He died, Christ went to preach to the spirits
dead and the punishment of the wicked. Al- in prison, but also that He went immediately to
though they were good men, not all the errors of paradise. But both concepts are incorrect.
Rome had been corrected in the minds of God’s 1. “Paradise” is where God’s throne is (Rev.
people back then. 2:7 with 22:1-2). Therefore, if Christ went to
The following five points are quoted from the paradise that day, He went immediately to
present writer’s book, Life Only in Christ (which heaven where God the Father is.
is a rather complete set of Bible studies on the But, on Sunday morning, He told Mary that
state of the dead, punishment of the wicked, and He had not yet ascended to the Father (John
spiritualism): 20:17).
• Matthew 10:28: “F ear not them which
“Fear In addition, the Bible says He arose from the
kill the body
body,, but are not able to kill the dead on Sunday morning; and, after He arose,
soul: but rather fear him which is able to the women said, “Come, see the place where the
destroy both soul and body in hell.” Lord lay” (Matt. 28:6). It is clear that Christ was
This proves the soul and the body are in the tomb from Friday afternoon until Sunday
two different things? The body can be de de-- morning.
stroyed and the soul remain; and therefore, 2. Note the punctuation of Luke 23:43. The
after the body is destroyed, the soul lives early Bible manuscripts did not have the com-
on forever? ma; but, instead, they read words together like
1. This text teaches that both soul and body this: insteadranwordstogether. Later transla-
can be destroyed in hell. That is correct. Those tors used their best judgment in deciding where
who believe the immortal-soul doctrine think to place the commas, but they were certainly
that the soul is immortal and will live forever. not inspired as were the original writers.
But this passage shows that idea to be false. The commas are not over 400 years old;
2. This text does not teach that the body whereas the Inspired Writings themselves are
and soul are two different entities, for this rea- nearly 2,000 years old. The location of the com-
son: Here, as in every other place in the New ma can change the meaning of the sentence.
Testament, the word, translated “soul,” in the In accordance with other information given
KJV is from the Greek word, psuche. But an about the death and resurrection of Christ, this
equal number of times, psuche was translated comma ought to have been placed after “to-day”
“life.” That is what should be in this verse: “life,” instead of before it. This would give the “to-day”
not “soul.” To clarify this, here is Matthew a deep meaning: On the day of Christ’s greatest
16:25-26: humiliation, He could announce that the thief
“For whosoever will save his life [psuche] would be in heaven with Him! Thank the Lord!
184 The King James and the Modern Versions
• In the Bible, we find such phrases as Exodus 12:24—The Passover was to be kept
“everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25:46), “ev- “for ever [olam].” But it ended at Calvary (Heb.
erlasting fire” (Matt. 25:41), and “tormented 9:24-26).
day and night for ever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). 1 Chronicles 23:13—Aaron and his sons
This proves an eternally burning hell and an were to offer incense “for ever [olam]” and have
immortal soul? an “everlasting [olam] priesthood” (Ex. 40:15).
The truth is quite different. The Greek and But that priesthood ended at the cross (Heb.
Hebrew words, sometimes translated “everlast- 7:11-14).
ing” or “for ever,” only mean a period of time until Exodus 21:1-6—A servant who desired to
a certain thing is ended. Consider these points: stay with his master must serve him “for ever
1. The New Testament words, translated “ev- [olam].” Must he serve him through all eternity,
erlasting” and “for ever,” come from the Greek after both reach heaven?
noun, aion (or from the adjective, aionios, de- Jonah 2:6—Later describing his experience
rived from the noun). Learning how these words in the whale, Jonah said, “The earth with her
are used elsewhere in the Bible, we find their bars was about me for ever [olam].” Yet this “for
real meaning. Here are several examples: ever” was only “three days and three nights” long
Matthew 13:39—“The end of the world (Jonah 1:17).
[aion].”—But how could something supposedly 2 Kings 5:27—Because Gehazi lied in order
“endless” have an end? And, according to this to enrich himself, Elisha said, “The leprosy
verse, it did have an end. therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and
Ephesians 1:21—Christ has been exalted unto thy seed for ever [olam].” Was Gehazi’s fam-
above “every name that is named, not only in ily to never end, and that leprosy to be perpetu-
this world [aion], but also in that which is to ated for all time to come?
come.” 3. The Old Testament word, olam, and the
1 Corinthians 2:7—Whitch “God ordained be- New Testament word, aion, are equivalent terms.
fore the world [aion].” We know this to be true for two reasons: (1) The
Hebrews 5:6—“Thou [Christ] art a priest for Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the
ever [aion].” Yet Christ will only be a priest until Old Testament, always translates olam by aion.
sin has been blotted out. (2) Whenever an Old Testament passage con-
Philemon 15-16—“Thou [Philemon] shouldst taining olam is quoted in the New Testament,
receive him [Onesimus] for ever [aionios] . . both aion is used (Heb. 1:8; 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21;
in the flesh, and in the Lord.” Is Philemon to take 13:20; 1 Peter 1:25).
back Onesimus as his servant forever? Both words clearly have a very limited time
H.C.G. Moule, the well-known Greek scholar, value, and do not mean an eternal time length.
makes this comment about Philemon 15-16: • Do the Bible passages, in which the
“The adjective tends to mark duration as long
word “hell” is used, show that the wicked go
as the nature of the subject allows.”—The Cam-
there as soon as they die and then remain
bridge Bible for Schools and Colleges.
there?
Jude 7—“Sodom and Gomorrha, and the
1. In the Old Testament, the word, “hell,” is
cities about them . . suffering the vengeance of
always translated from one word. That word is
eternal [aionios] fire.” But those cities are not
sheol. Sheol means “the grave,” and never “a
still burning. They are today under the south
place of burning” or “hellfire.” Sheol simply
part of the Dead Sea. God turned “the cities of
means “the unseen state.” Study any analytical
Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes” (2 Peter 2:6).
concordance, and you will nowhere find the idea
If the aionios fire of Sodom and Gomorrah,
of fire or punishment in the usage of sheol.
sent as a judgment from God to destroy the
Jonah 2:1-2—This is a good example of how
wicked living there, burned itself out in ashes
sheol is used. “Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord
and is no longer burning, we can conclude that
his God out of the fish’s belly . . out of the belly
the aionios fire of the final judgment on the
of hell [sheol] cried I.” There is no hellfire in a
wicked will do likewise.
whale’s stomach. The marginal reading of this
2. Olam is the Old Testament equivalent to
text is “the grave.”
aion in the New Testament. Here are some ex-
At death, everyone, both good and bad, goes
amples:
Appendix 185
to sheol. goes there at death. Not once does it say that
Psalm 89:48—“What man is he that liveth, anyone is now suffering in the fire of hell.
and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul Therefore, the fiery hell does not come right
from the hand of the grave [sheol]?” after death, but at some later time. The “whole
Job 17:13—Regarding godly Job: “If I wait, body” is not cast into hellfire at death, but is
the grave [sheol] is mine house.” placed in the grave.
Psalm 9:17—Regarding the wicked: “The The Gehenna passages indicate that the
wicked shall be turned into hell [sheol].” wicked are “cast into” the fire. The phrase, “cast
2. In the New Testament, the word, “hell,” is into hell [Gehenna],” is used in six of the twelve
translated from three different words: times Gehenna is found in the New Testament.
(1) Tartaros, which means “a dark abyss.” This is matching the parallel where refuse is cast
This occurs only in 2 Peter 2:4. Satan and his into the fires of Gehenna Valley.
angels have been cast out of heaven and down Is there no place where we are told when
into the darkness of this world; and they are this hellfire occurs? Yes, there is: Revelation 20
being “reserved” unto the day of judgment, a explains that, after the millennium, the wicked
future time when they will receive their punish- are raised to life; and, after the final judgment
ment. before the great white throne, they are cast into
(2) Hades, which means only “the grave,” is “the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:12-15). It is at that
translated as “hell” ten times in the New Testa- same time that “death and hell are cast into the
ment. lake of fire. This is the second death” (Rev.
The Septuagint (which is the ancient Greek 20:14).
translation of the Old Testament) almost always Does that lake of fire experience occur eter-
translates sheol (the Old Testament Hebrew nally? Obviously not; for at the same time that
word for grave) by the word, hades. Therefore the wicked perish in the flames, “death and hell”
they have the same meaning. are destroyed also! Lastly, we are told what that
Psalm 16:10—This is a prophecy of Christ lake of fire experience actually is: “the second
in the grave, and says, “Thou [God] will not leave death.” It is not eternal life in misery, but the
My soul in hell [sheol].” It is quoted in the New final obliteration of the wicked. There will be no
Testament as “hell [hades]” (Acts 2:27). It is endless misery to cause concern to God’s re-
clear that sheol and hades mean “the grave.” deemed ones. The fire will burn out in a very
That is the meaning given to them by all Bible short time, and go out.
scholars. Then, the righteous will come out of the city
Acts 2:27—This text speaks of Christ as and the wicked will be ashes under their feet.
“For, behold the day cometh, that shall burn
being in hades. But we all agree that Christ did
as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that
not go into hellfire! Christ went into the grave.
do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that
(3) Gehenna is the third word which, in the cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of
New Testament, is translated “hell.” This time hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
“hell” is the correct translation! branch.
This is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew “But unto you that fear My name shall the
word, Hinnom (the Valley of Hinnom), the name Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His
of a valley on the south side of Jerusalem used wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as
as the city dump. Garbage was there burned calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the
up. wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles
Of the twelve times Gehenna is used, two of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith
facts stand out: the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 4:1-3.
a. The “body” as well as the soul is said to • Revelation 14:11 says, “The smoke of
be “cast into hell.” Twice the phrase, “the whole their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever .”
ever.”
body,” is used (Matt. 5:29-30, 10:28). How do you explain that?
b. In not one of those twelve instances does The passage says this: “The smoke of their
the text tell when the wicked will be “cast into torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they
hell.” The fiery judgment is simply described as have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast
a future event. Thus it is clear that the Bible and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark
never says that anyone who goes into hellfire—
186 The King James and the Modern Versions
of his name.”—Revelation 14:11. But his friend simply could not grasp the great
This passage is taken with little change from truth that God does not burn people in hellfire
an Old Testament prophecy about Idumaea (an- without end. Yet this man was certain his friend
cient Edom): was sincere and would accept the truth if it was
“And the streams thereof shall be turned into presented to him clearly enough.
pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and I asked him what happened. He said he
the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It studied with his friend for two years; and, dur-
shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke ing that time, he became a thorough Bible stu-
thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to dent. Then, one evening, he presented to his
generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass
friend passages he found which described how
through it for ever and ever.” Isaiah 34:9-10.
hellfire will burn on the surface of the earth. His
Notice the points mentioned here: First,
friend was convinced; for he saw that (1) the fire
about the fire: (1) shall not be quenched; (2)
could not be now burning, and (2) it would have
night nor day; (3) smoke goes up for ever. Sec-
to be brief or the saints could not inherit the earth
ond, about the wasteland which shall afterward
and live thereon through all eternity.
result: (1) from generation to generation it shall
How thankful we can be that the Bible is so
lie waste; (2) none shall pass through it for ever
consistent with itself! The apparent problems are
and ever.
caused by the misunderstandings of those who
Using the correct meaning of “for ever,” which
translated the book. The King James transla-
we have discovered, we find that fire predicted
tors did not understand that aion did not mean
by Isaiah to occur in Edom—did just that. It
forever and that the grave was not hellfire.
was a thorough fire which could not be quenched
The Bible does not say that the judgment
while it was burning. It burned night and day as
fire will burn endlessly; for this blazing fire on
long as it burned. The smoke from the fire went
the surface of the earth must go out, so God can
up as long as it burned. When the fire stopped,
create “a new earth” (2 Peter 3:12-13 and Rev.
it would lie waste from generation to generation
20-21). There must therefore be an end to the
thereafter, and no one would pass through it. (If
fire, else this earth could not be recreated—so
the fire did not cease, it could not afterward, as
the meek could inherit it and dwell on it through
predicted, “lie waste.”)
all eternity.
Ancient Idumaea is a desolate wasteland
How wonderful it is to know that our God is
today, and its cities are ruins. The prophecy was
a God of deepest love. Yes, it is true that the
exactly fulfilled—yet that fire went out thousands
wicked must die; for they could never be happy
of years ago. The smoke of that burning stopped
in heaven. But how kind it is of Him to quickly
when the fire went out.
end their miserable lives!
With that in mind, we turn our attention to
They will be raised after the millennium only
the equivalent prediction in Revelation 14:11;
long enough to learn the issues in the great con-
and, using the correct translation of aionios (“for
troversy between good and evil and to under-
ever”), we find that this verse agrees with all the
stand how their lost condition was their own
others: The fire will burn only until the wicked
responsibility.
burn up and are consumed. When the fire goes
Then they will quickly cease to exist. There
out, the smoke will cease also—otherwise the
will be a few, like Hitler (and, of course, Satan
redeemed could not live on the earth amid smoke
and his angels!), who will suffer on for a time;
going up forever!
but, for most, death will come very quickly.
We must let the Bible agree with itself! The
The Bible nowhere says that souls are im-
meek will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5, Ps. 37:11),
mortal; but, instead, it declares that “the soul
not the wicked! How could the redeemed enjoy
that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).
the new earth if the wicked were endlessly burn-
ing and suffering on its surface?
A LIST OF ARCHAIC WORDS
To conclude this brief study, let me tell you IN THE KING JAMES
of a man I met about thirty years ago, in Or- There are, in some instances, words in the
egon. He was a lay evangelist; and I asked him King James which are not properly understood
how he got started. He told me he once had a today. However, when we search for them, we
friend with whom he shared our historic beliefs. find that the actual number is not very large.
Appendix 187
It would be nice if these words could be cor- (John 8:46)
rected. Unfortunately, when modern publishers Cunning - skillful (Gen 25:27, 1 Sam.
attempt the task (as they did with the New King 16:16, 1 Chron. 22:15)
James Version), they go overboard—and insert Curious - skillfully woven (Ex. 28:8) /
a lot of Westcott-Hort errors. skillful (Ex. 35:32)
Speaking of the 1881 English Revised Ver- Curiously - intricately (Ps. 139:15)
sion, we are told: Delectable - that they delight in (Isa. 44:9)
“The revisers had a wonderful opportunity. Denounce - declare (Deut. 30:18)
They might have made a few changes and re-
moved a few archaic expressions, and made the
Discover - uncover (Ps. 29:9, Isa. 22:8,
Authorized Version the most acceptable and Micah 1:6)
beautiful and wonderful book of all time to come. Dote - become fools (Jer. 50:36)
But they wished ruthlessly to meddle. Some of Duke - chief (Gen. 36:15)
them wanted to change doctrine. Some of them Feebleminded - fainthearted (1 Thess. 5:14)
did not know good English literature when they Forwardness - readiness (2 Cor. 9:2)
saw it . . There were enough modernists among
Furniture - saddle (Gen. 31:34)
the revisers to change the words of Scripture
itself so as to throw doubt on the Scripture.”— Halt - fall (Ps. 38:17) / go limping (1 Kgs.
Herald and Presbyter, July 16, 1924, p. 10 18:21)
[Presbyterian church paper]. Harness - armor (1 Kgs. 20:11, 22:34)
It would be well to identify the primary ar- Imagine - purpose, conceive (Gen. 11:6, Ps.
chaic words in the King James Bible. The fol- 2:1, 10:2)
lowing list probably contains most of them. The Leasing - falsehood, lies (Ps. 4:2, 5:6)
Bible references are not, of course, exhaustive. Let - hinder (Isa. 43:13) / prevented (Rom
In some instances, a word translated by one of 1:13)
those below has a different meaning in a differ- Libertines - Freedmen (Acts 6:9)
ent passage. Meat - food (Gen. 1:29-30, Deut. 20:20,
Matt. 6:25, John 4:32)
Abroad - without, outside (Deut. 24:11, Meat offering - meal offering, cereal offering
Judges 12:9) (Lev. 2:1)
Advertise - Let you know, tell you (Num. Mortify - put to death (Rom. 8:13, Col. 3:5)
24:14, Ruth 4:4) Munition - stronghold, fortress (Isa. 29:7,
Anon - immediately (Mark 1:30) 33:16, Nahum 2:1)
Apparently - clearly (Num. 12:8) Naughtiness - evil, iniquity (1 Sam. 17:28,
Artillery - weapons (1 Sam. 20:40) Prov. 11:6, James 1:21)
Book - indictment (Job 31:35) Naughty - worthless (Prov. 6:12) / bad (Jer.
Bowels - heart (Gen. 43:30) 24:2)
By and by - at once (Mark 6:25) Nephew - grandson (Judges 12:14, 1 Tim.
Careful - anxious (Jer. 17:8, Luke 10:41) 5:4) / descendant (Job 18:19)
Carelessly - secure (Isa. 47:8, Zeph. 2:15) Occupied - used (Ex. 38:24, Judges 16:11)
Carriage - baggage (1 Sam. 17:22, Judges Occupier - dealer (Eze. 27:27)
18:21) Occupy - deal, trade (Eze. 27:9, Luke
Charity - love (1 Cor. 13) 19:13)
Coast - border (Ex. 10:4, Josh. 1:4, 17:9, Outlandish - foreign (Neh. 13:26)
Matt. 2:16) Out of hand - at once (Num. 11:15)
Comprehend - enclose (Isa. 40:12) / Overran - outran (2 Sam. 18:23)
overcome (John 1:5) Peculiar - one’s own possession (Ex. 19:5,
Convenient - needful, required (Prov. 30:8, Deut. 14:2)
Eph. 5:4, Philemon 8) Person - be partial (Deut. 1:17, Prov. 28:21)
Conversant - lived (Josh. 8:35) / went (1 Pitiful - compassionate (Lam. 4:10)
Sam 25:15) Presently - at once (Prov. 12:16, Matt.
Conversation - behavior (1 Peter 3:1-2) 21:19, 26:53)
Convince - confute (Job 32:12) / convict Prevent - receive, go before (Job 3:12, Ps.
188 The King James and the Modern Versions
119:147, Matt. 17:25) / preceded Virtue - power (Mark 5:30, Luke 6:19)
(1 Thess. 4:15) Volume - roll (Ps. 40:7, Heb. 10:7)
Provoke - stir up (2 Cor. 9:2, Heb. 10:24) Wealthy - spacious (Ps. 66:12) / at ease (Jer.
Publish - proclaim (Deut. 32:3, 1 Sam. 49:31)
31:9) Witty inventions - discretion (Prov. 8:12)
Purchase - gain (Ps. 78:54, 1 Tim. 3:13) Some will say that the King James Bible is
Quick - alive, living (Num. 16:30, Ps. not useable, since it has a few words in it which
55:15, 124:3) are not as familiar to us. However, it remains an
Quicken - give life (Ps. 119:50) / come to excellent translation and perfectly understand-
life (1 Cor. 15:36) / make alive (Eph. 2:1) able.
Record - witness (Job 16:19, Phil. 1:8) “The author has lived for a considerable time
Reins - kidneys (Job 16:13) / hearts (Ps. in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and
7:9) the Fiji Islands. In his experience, the indig-
Repent self - have compassion on (Deut. enous people of these countries evidenced no
problems in understanding God’s Word in the
32:36; Judges 21:6, 15)
commonly used KJV. And this—in spite of the
Replenish - fill full (Gen. 1:28, 9:1) fact that, to these people, English is a foreign
Require - ask (Ezra 8:22) language!
Reward - recompense, requite (Deut. 32:41, “Are these people intellectually superior to
Ps. 54:5, 2 Tim. 4:14) those of us living in Australia or New Zea-
Rid - deliver, rescue (Gen. 37:22, Ex. 6:6) land?”—H.H. Myers, Battle of the Bibles, p.
Riotous - gluttonous (Prov. 23:20) / 193.
gluttons (Prov. 28:7)
Road - raid (1 Sam. 27:10) THE LORD’S PRAYER IN THREE
Room - place (2 Sam. 19:13, 1 Chron. ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS
4:41, Ps. 31:8, Luke 14:7) Here is the first portion of the Lord’s Prayer
Secure - off its guard (Judges 8:11) / in three English translations
translations..
unsuspecting (Judges 18:7, 10) The first line is from the first Anglo-Saxon
Securely - trustingly (Prov. 3:29) translation, prepared in King Alfred’s time (A.D.
Slime - bitumen, tar (Gen. 14:10) 870-901).
Sottish - stupid (Jer. 4:22) The second line is from Wycliffe’s version
Strait - small (2 Kgs. 6:1) / narrow (Isa. (A.D. 1382).
The third line is from the King James Ver-
49:20, Matt. 7:13)
sion (A.D. 1611).
Straitly - carefully (Gen. 43:7)
Straitness - distress (Deut. 28:53, 55, 57;
Uren Fader dhic art in heofnas
Jer. 19:9)
Our Fadir that art in heuenes
Suffer - let (Gen. 20:6, Matt. 19:14) Our Father which art in heaven
Take thought - be anxious (1 Sam. 9:5,
Matt. 6:25) Sic gehalyed dhin noma
Tale - number (Ex. 5:8, 18; 1 Sam. 18:27) Halewid be thi name
Target - javelin (1 Sam. 17:6) / shield (1 Hallowed be thy name
Kgs. 10:16)
Tell - number, count (Gen. 15:5, Ps. 22:17, To cymcdh dhin nc
Ps. 48:12) Thi Kingdom comme to
Translate - transfer (2 Sam. 3:10) / take up Thy Kingdom come
(Heb. 11:5)
Unspeakable - inexpressible (2 Cor. 9:15) Sic dhin willa sue is in heofnas and in eardhs
Usury - interest (Ex. 22:25, Lev. 25:36, Be thi wille done as in heuen so in erthe
Matt. 25:27) Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven
Vain - worthless (Judges 9:4, 11:3)
Vex - wrong (Ex. 22:21) / harass (Num. Vren hiaf ofer wirthe sd US to daeg
25:17) / violently grab (Acts 12:1) Gyve to us this dai oure breed ouer other
Appendix 189
substance Yearly Report:
Give us this day our daily bread “The work of the Bible Society [United Bible
Societies] acquired a new dimension with the
And forgef us scylda urna setting up of a consultative committee made
And forgive to us oure dettis up of three representatives from the Roman
Catholic, the Anglican, and Seventh-day Advent-
And forgive us our debts
ist churches. This committee will supervise the
translation, reproduction, and distribution in
Sue we forgefan scuidgun vrum the Sychelles.”—United Bible Societies Report,
As we forgyven to oure dettouris 1984.
As we forgive our debtors A decade later, the South Pacific Division
church paper, The Record, announced that it
And no inleadh vridk in costung had been working, since 1990, with other de-
And leede us not in to temptacioun nominations on a project to translate the New
And lead us not into temptation Testament into the ChiLanji language in Zam-
bia.
Als gefrig vrich fro ifle “The project is interdenominational and in-
But de-yvere us fro yvel volves Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist and Ro-
But deliver us from evil man Catholic Churches.”—The Record, May 1,
1993, p. 5.
ADVENTIST APPROVAL Unfortunately, in 1985 when the long-awaited
OF MODERN VERSIONS Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal was pub-
Pacific Union College may have been the first lished—the church members found it to be full
of our schools to recommend that all religion of modernist Bible versions in the Scripture
students purchase and use the newly released Readings at the back of the book.
Revised Standard Version. Out of about 224 Scripture Readings and
The use of modern versions in our church prayers intended for corporate worship, the King
progressed slowly; but, when the October 1982 James Version came in seventh in frequency. It
issue of Ministry magazine was issued, it car- was quoted only 14 times in the 224 readings!
ried an article, “Use the Bible Your People Use” Eight different Bible versions were used, and
by Charles Case, which counseled our pastors guess which translation came in second place?
to use the King James in the pulpit—because The Roman Catholic Jerusalem Bible! This is
that is what the church members wanted them incredible!
to use. The New International Version was used more
In the same article appeared the findings of than any other, 68 times in all.
a Ministry survey, which it indicated that the Reading #782 is a quotation of John 3:16—
great majority of church members in North from the Jerusalem Bible!
America wanted their pastors to only use the Reading #730 is from the New International
King James Bible. Version:
But gradually, changes came in. Modernists “Glory to God in the highest and on earth
came into positions of influence and the con- peace to men on whom His favor rests.”—Luke
cerns of the members were ignored. Modern 2:14 (NIV).
Bible versions were repeatedly quoted in church That translation entirely twists the meaning
articles and books. The Sabbath School Les- of the glorious song of the angels—into a Calvin-
son Quarterlies, published by the General Con- istic determinism, whereby God only selects a
ference for use throughout the world field, in- few to be saved. It should have read:
creasingly quoted from translations based on the “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men.”—Luke 2:14
modern critical Greek Texts.
(KJV).
Modern translations began to be quoted al-
Jesus died that all men might accept Him
most exclusively in the new Bible textbooks and
and be saved, not just certain ones.
workbooks, used in our schools—from the low-
“God our Saviour; who will have all men to
est to the highest grades.
be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of
In 1984, the following significant statement the truth.”—1 Timothy 2:3-4 (KJV).
was published in the United Bible Societies
190 The King James and the Modern Versions
Original sin is taught in Reading #756: The position of the Calvinistic and other re-
“Surely I have been a sinner from birth and formed churches is clearly stated in the West-
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”— minster Confession of Faith (1647), which says
Psalm 51:5 (NIV). this:
It is a remarkable fact that, by the time our “The books commonly called Apocrypha, not
hymnal was published in 1985, Zondervan had, being of divine Inspiration, are no part of the
in its 1984 NIV edition, already gotten the trans- Canon of the Scripture; therefore they are of no
lators to modify the offensive verse somewhat: authority in the Church of God, nor to be other-
“. . and in sin did my mother conceive me.” wise approved or made use of than any other
“Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John human writings.”
3:4) is what the Bible says; a child who has only
For your information, First Maccabees is the
been conceived a few hours earlier and is mi-
only worthwhile book in the Apocrypha. It is an
croscopic in size is not a sinner!
actual historical account of part of the Macca-
bean Revolt. The rest of the Apocrypha, includ-
THE OLD TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA ing 2 Maccabees, contains legendary material
Here is a brief history of the Apocrypha. It and cannot be trusted.
was included in all the 16th-century English ver- The Apocryphal books were produced be-
sions, including the KJV of 1611. The English tween 250-150 B.C. Malachi was written around
Revised Version of the document was published 400 B.C.
in 1894. The early Christians clearly saw the foolish-
With the exception of 1 and 2 Esdras and ness in those books, and definitely rejected them
the Prayer of Manasseh, these books are revered from the Biblical canon of inspired books. The
by Catholics as inspired and canonical Scrip- only reason they were later included in some
ture. Rome calls them Deuterocanonical. The post-Reformation Bibles was to appease Catho-
4th Session of the Council of Trent on April 8, lics who might want to purchase the Bibles.
1546, decreed that these books, “entire and with As you may know, Rome requires their in-
all their parts,” are “sacred and canonical” and clusion, intermingled all through the Old Testa-
pronounced an anathema on anyone who “know- ment, in all the Bibles they publish because those
ingly or deliberately” rejects them. Though de- spurious books teach several Catholic errors,
nied canonicity and authority, 1 and 2 Esdras such as pergatory and prayers for the dead.
and the Prayer of Manasseh are included in Latin After ignoring the Apocrypha for centuries,
manuscripts of the Vulgate, and are printed as Rome suddenly adopted them as inspired and
an appendix to the Bible in later editions. canonical at the Council of Trent (1545-1563),
The Lutheran churches, the Church of En- because of the Catholic errors they supported.
gland, and the Zürich reformed churches hold One of the popes pronounced a curse on any-
that these books are useful, but not canonical. one who should print a Bible without the Apocra-
In Luther’s German translation of the Bible, pha in it.
these books are segregated between the Old Tes- Martin Luther had been thundering against
tament and New Testament, with the title: “Apoc- the “indulgence scam”; but 2 Maccabees ap-
rypha, that is, books which are not held equal peared to support it:
to the sacred Scriptures, and nevertheless are “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought
useful and good to read.” to pray for the dead that they may be loosed
The Swiss Reformer, Oecolampadius, stated from sin.”—2 Maccabees 12:46.
in 1530: “We do not despise Judith, Tobit, Ec- People pay a lot of money for masses to be
clesiasticus, Baruch, the two books of Esdras, said for their dead relatives. All this is based on
the two books of Maccabees, the additions to 2 Maccabees 12:46.
Daniel; but we do not allow them divine author- But those poor souls are not shown another
ity with the other.” verse in 2 Maccabees, which have the final
Article Six of the famous Thirty-nine Articles words of the author:
of the Church of England (1562) states that these “I also will here make an end of my narra-
books are read “for example of life and instruc- tion. Which if I have done well and as it becom-
tion of manners,” but the Church does not use eth other history it is what I desired: but if not
them “to establish any doctrine.” so perfectly it must be pardoned me.”—2
Appendix 191
Maccabees 15:38-39. duced. These writings include the Apocrypha,
In other words, the author admitted the lack the Pseudopigrapha, and the writings of the
of divine Inspiration for his book. Paul said some- Qumran community of Essenes. We will briefly
thing far different: look at each of these.
“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or PART 1 - THE APOCRYPHA
spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things
The term, “Apocrypha,” means “something
that I write unto you are the commandments of
the Lord.”—1 Corinthians 14:37. hidden” and usually refers to a group of writ-
The Apostle Paul was an inspired prophet of ings that appeared in the Greek (Septuagint)
God; whereas the author of 2 Maccabees was translation of the Old Testament; but these were
just someone who wrote a long letter. never accepted in the Hebrew canon. Both Jews
and Christians always recognized that the Apoc-
The author of this book has prepared a rypha was not divinely inspired.
special report on the errors in the Apocry- The Apocrypha is several uninspired books
pha, which is being printed in a four-page which were added to the Septuagint (the Greek
tract. But we will also reprint it below: translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) about
a hundred years before the birth of Christ.
SPECIAL REPORT Because the Apocrypha contains several Ro-
ON THE APOCRYPHA man Catholic teachings, the papacy requires
There are those among us who think it is every faithful Catholic to accept the Apocrypha
necessary for the people of God, in these as fully inspired. Not to do so, according to a
last days, to study the Apocrypha. At the decree of the Council of Trent (April 18, 1546),
request of friends, this brief overview has is to be guilty of a mortal sin. Oddly enough, it
been prepared in order to save our people a was not until that date that the Vatican ever ruled
lot of work. After reading this, your curios- that the Apocrypha was divinely inspired!
ity about the Apocrypha will very likely be When the 16th-century Reformation began,
exhausted. How thankful we can be that there it took time for the Protestants to successfully
is so much beautiful light and truth in the part with many of the errors and myths of Ro-
Bible and Spirit of P rophecy
rophecy.. In strong con-
Prophecy manism. For this reason, some of the earliest Prot-
trast, the Apocrypha is very
very,, very empty
empty.. estant Bibles had the Apocrypha in them,—al-
With the exception of 1 Maccabees (a valid though Christians have never accepted those
historical account), the Apocrypha is not worth writings as inspired.
reading. Interestingly enough, Jerome only included
THE INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD the Apocryphal books in his Latin Vulgate at the
The Old Testament Scriptures were com- insistance of the pope. Jerome did not believe
pleted when Malachi penned his book, about they were divinely inspired.
the year 400 B.C. From that time, down to the WHY CHRISTIANS REJECT
THE APOCRYPHA
birth of Christ in 4 B.C., is about 400 years.
During those years of Scriptural silence, there There are several very good reasons why
was a lot of activity in Palestine, both political Christians do not accept the Apocrypha as di-
and written. vinely inspired writings:
From the conquest of Palestine by Alexander 1 - The Apocryphal books are not included
the Great (332 B.C.) to the destruction of the in the Hebrew canon of Scripture.
Temple (A.D. 70), there was considerable reli- 2 - Though they are included in the
gious and political activity. Four events im- Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old
mensely affected the Jewish people: (1) the Testament), Jesus never quoted from them.
Babylonian captivity (605-538 B.C.), (2) the up- 3 - The early Christian church totally rejected
rising under Antiochus Epiphanes (c. 175 B.C.), them from the canon.
(3) the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple 4 - The writer of 1 Maccabees recognized
(A.D. 70), and (4) the Bar Cocheba revolt (A.D. that there was no prophet among the Jews at
132-135). that time (1 Maccabees 4:46; 9:27; 14:41).
Because of one or more of those events, 5 - They teach false doctrines:
many uninspired Jewish writings were pro- • An angel says of the smoke of a burning
192 The King James and the Modern Versions
fish heart, that it “driveth away all kinds of dev- history and legendary narratives, covering the
ils.” period 175-160 B.C. An independent, divergent,
• God is urged, “Hear now the prayer of the and more elaborate account of events in 1
dead of Israel” (Baruch 3:4). Maccabees 1-7, it was written by moralizing
• “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought Jews about the 1st century B.C. and includes a
to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed variety of supernatural miracles which helped
from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:43-45). the warring Jews.
6 - They contain major historical and geo- ETHICAL APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
graphical errors. Wisdom of Solomon—This book, written
7 - Josephus, contemporary of John the Rev- in Greek about 50 B.C. (probably at Alexan-
elator, mentions the Apocrypha, but never con- dria), says that good living is best; and sin and
siders it inspired. idolatry are wrong. The author claims to be King
8 - Philo Judaeus, Jewish leader at Alexan- Solomon.
dria during the time of the apostles, left a large Scholars who study ancient manuscripts de-
collection of writings and quoted extensively clare that this book combines Old Testament
from the Old Testament—but never from the teachings with Alexandrian ideas derived from
Apocrypha. Platonism and Stoicism.
9 - They lack the high spiritual tone and gen- Ecclesiasticus (also called Wisdom of
eral excellence of the Biblical writings. Jesus, the Son of Sirach)— The theme is also
DESCRIPTION OF about good living. In some passages, the book
THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
sounds like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
These are the books that Roman Catholics The most famous passage in Ecclesiasticus
are required to accept as inspired of God, on is a series of stories (chapters 44-50) beginning
pain of mortal sin if they do not do so: with the familiar words, “Let us now praise fa-
HISTORICAL APOCRYPHAL BOOKS mous men.” Yet that is a concept foreign to true
1 Maccabees—This is the only worthwhile Scripture!
book in the Apocrypha. It is fairly reliable his- There are errors in both the Wisdom of
tory and covers the Maccabean revolt against Solomon and Ecclesiasticus.
Antiochus Epiphanes, from 175 to 135 B.C. LEGENDARY APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
This is an important historical book, and Tobit—a legendary romantic narrative, said
tells about the struggles of the Jews for religious to have occurred during the Babylonian captiv-
and political liberty in the 2nd century B.C. The ity and written about 200 B.C.
name is derived from Judas Maccabeus, the third According to this novel, Tobit was a Jew liv-
son of Mattathias, a priest. (The word, “Macca- ing in Babylon who became blind (chapter 1:2);
beus,” comes from the Hebrew word for “ham- and, then, after a quarrel with his wife, he wished
mer.”) he might die. At the same time, a widow named
Written in Hebrew by a Palestinian Jew Sarah, living in Ecbatana in Media, had seven
about 100 B.C., it is our best source for the his- husbands slain on her wedding night by a de-
tory of the first 40 years of the Maccabean wars mon named Asmodeus. So she also prayed that
and gives a reasonably dependable account of she might die. The angel, Raphael, was then sent
the period from Antiochus Epiphanes (175 B.C.) to help them both. Raphael comes to Azaria and
to John Hyrcanus (c. 135 B.C.). We are first told lies to him, saying he is a man named Azarias.
of events leading up to the Maccabean rebellion Leading him to the Tigris River, Raphael has him
(1:1 to chapter 2); then about the military ex- catch a large fish, the intestines of which later
ploits of Judas (3:1-9:22) and his brothers, help banish the demon, Asmodeus, and cure
Jonathan (9:23-12:53) and Simon (13:1-16:24), Tobit’s blindness. Arriving in Ecbatana, the an-
who succeeded him in the ongoing struggle first gel helps Tobit find a lot of money; and he mar-
for religious and political freedom. The empha- ries the woman who, according to the angel, was
sis of the book is on military activity; and little destined for him from all eternity (7:9). Yet Tobit
is told about the social, economic, and religious was already married to another woman! Tobit
aspects of the period. then praises God (10-14).
2 Maccabees—This book is a mixture of Judith—The story of the bravery of Judith,
Appendix 193
a Hebrew widow, written about 150 B.C. put in the lions’ den.
In this totally fictitious story, after the Jews In the first story, the Babylonian priests of
returned from the Babylonian captivity, Nebu- Bel (Marduk) have claimed that their heathen
chadnezzar, the Assyrian king ruling from idol was eating the food presented to it. Daniel
Nineveh, decided to punish the Jews for not as- disproves this claim by sprinkling ashes on the
sisting him in his conquest of Media. (As you floor, demonstrating that the 70 priests and their
know, Nebuchnezzar was a Babylonian king, rul- families would sneak in by a secret door and
ing from Babylon, and he was not alive after the take the food.
Babylonian captivity.) In the second story, a great dragon was be-
Holofernes, his Assyrian general, is said to ing worshiped by the people. Daniel kills it by
have besieged the city of Bethulia; but, through feeding it a concoction of pitch, fat, and hair,
trickery, Judith cuts off his head with his own boiled together. The creature bursts and dies.
sword while he is in a drunken stupor. Because he did this, Daniel is cast (a second
Additions to Esther— Fictitious stories, time) into a lions’ den for not one, but six days.
written about 150 B.C., are inserted in various While there, he is miraculously fed by Habak-
places in the book of Esther; and part of a chap- kuk, the prophet, who is flown by an angel from
ter and six other chapters are added at the end Judea to Babylon for this purpose.
of Esther. A total of 107 verses are added. PROPHETIC APOCRYPHAL BOOKS
Additions to Daniel—There are three of Baruch—This book purportedly was writ-
these. Here they are: ten by Jeremiah’s scribe, Baruch, during the
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of Babylonian exile. It is thought to have been writ-
the Three Holy Children—The prayer of Abed- ten, in the first century A.D., by a Jew in order
nego, plus the song of the three Hebrews, be- to warn his people that the destruction of
cause their prayer in the fiery furnace was heard. Jerusalem (A.D. 70) happened because of the
This is the first of the additions to Daniel and is sins of the Jewish nation. The final chapter
inserted between Daniel 23 and 24 in the promises the restoration of Israel and predicts
Septuagint, the Vulgate, and most Catholic the humbling of all her oppressors.
Bibles. Letter of Jeremiah (also known as the
As the three stand inside the fiery hot fur- Epistle of Jeremy)— This book is included at
nace, Azariah prays for help so they will not die the end of Baruch in ancient manuscripts. But
(1-22). Then, when it comes (23-28), the three it is a separate production, which non-Catholic
praise God for deliverance (29-68). Ignored is scholars believe to have been written after the
the fact that they had to be helped as soon as destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, to encour-
they were pushed into the fiery furnace! age them to remain true to Judaism.
Susanna and the Elders—A story about In this manuscript, based on Jeremiah 10:11,
how Daniel saved Susanna from being con- the writer warns his people not to forsake Ju-
demned to death as a result of false accusations. daism, lest they experience another captivity.
In the Vulgate, this religious romance follows
PART 2 - THE PSEUDOPIGRAPHA
the last chapter of Daniel and is numbered as
chapter 13. It apparently was written in Hebrew By order of the Council of Trent, the above
in the 1st century B.C. books are all included in Roman Catholic Bibles.
Two Jewish judges tried to seduce Susanna, There are also five other books which are called
the godly wife of Joakim, a prominent Baby- the Pseudopigrapha.
lonian Jew. When she refused, they accused her Roman Catholics are not required to accept
of adultery. Daniel rescued her by independently any of the following books, and they have never
cross-examining each of the elders, proving their been considered canonical by any denomina-
stories contradictory and fallacious. tion.
Bel and the Dragon—This consists of two 3 Maccabees— This book of seven chap-
fabulous stories, written probably in Hebrew ters is clearly folklore; it tells the story of the
during the 1st century B.C. and included as victory of Ptolemy IV Philopator, over Antiochus
chapter 14 of Daniel: (1) Daniel proves that Bel’s the Great at the Battle of Raphia (217 B.C.) in
priests and their families ate food offered to an order to deliver the Jewish people.
idol. (2) After Daniel kills a dragon, he is then 4 Maccabees— This brief book urges the
194 The King James and the Modern Versions
Jews to practice temperance and self-control by a Pharisee or Essene about 125 B.C., Jubilees
studying the Torah. teaches that the coming Messianic kingdom will
Prayer of Manasseh—You will recall that gradually develop until both man and nature
King Manasseh was carried to Babylon; and, will reach perfection, happiness, and peace. At
while there, he repented and was restored to that time, everyone will live a thousand years;
his throne (2 Kings 21:1-18; 2 Chronicles 33:1- and, at death, all will then go to heaven. A frag-
20). ment of this work was discovered among the
This Pseudopigraphal document, written in Dead Sea scrolls in Qumran Cave I.
Hebrew about 100-150 B.C., purports to be First Enoch (or Ethiopic Enoch)— This is
Manasseh’s prayer while in captivity. It is not a compilation, partly in Hebrew and partly in
considered canonical even by Catholics. Aramaic, of the works of several authors who
1 Esdras—Written by an Egyptian Jew were Pharisees. It is called “Ethiopic Enoch” be-
about 150 B.C., this book is often described as cause our only source is an Ethiopian version.
historical fiction. Neither Catholics nor Protes- It has a variety of teachings, some contra-
tants accept it as canonical. 1 Esdras purports dictory, about the coming Messiah and his king-
to tell more about portions of 2 Chronicles, dom: It will be eternal on earth and in heaven
Ezra, and Nehemiah. and will begin after the last judgment (37-71);
It is best known for its account (1 Esdras it will be eternal only on the earth, beginning
3:5-4:63) of three young bodyguards of Darius after the last judgment (1-36); it will be tempo-
I who, one day, sought the best answer to the rary and on earth, and will be followed by the
question, What is the strongest thing in the last judgment (91-104).
world? The first said, “Wine is strongest.” The The evil one is Azazel who “hath taught all
second said. “The king is strongest.” The third unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eter-
said, “Women are strongest, but truth is victor nal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven,
over all things.” At this, the people applauded and which men were striving to learn” (9:6).
him and cried, “Great is truth, and strongest of Second Enoch (Slovonic Enoch)— Extant
all.” Does that sound like anything worth read- only in a Slavonic version, this manuscript has
ing? This event is supposed to have given some similarity to First Enoch, but also to early
Zerubbabel the opportunity to obtain from Dar- Christian literature. Part of it is thought to have
ius the command to resume building on the been written by Christians in a later century A.D.
Temple in Jerusalem (4:48-57). Second Baruch— A compilation of several
A point of confusion needs to be mentioned works, this book declares that men are saved
here. In Catholic Bibles, the books of Ezra and solely by their works and that the Messianic
Nehemiah are called 1 and 2 Esdras. But, of kingdom is soon to be established; then Israel
course, the Pseudopigraphal books, 1 and 2 will be a world empire with Jerusalem as its
Esdras, are quite different! capital. Probably written during the first or sec-
In the Latin Vulgate, 3 and 4 Esdras are in- ond century A.D., it is extant only in a Syriac
cluded as an appendix to the New Testament, version.
as is the Prayer of Manasseh. Third Baruch—This book, probably writ-
2 Esdras—This book apparently was writ- ten in the second century A.D., advocates a be-
ten by Christians between A.D. 150 and 250. It lief in seven heavens and three classes of angels
speaks of the rejection of the Jews and the call- who intercede for three classes of men.
ing of the Gentiles (chapters 1-2), in chapter 1 Fourth Ezra—Probably written about the
and verse 30, and is similar to Matthew 23:37; end of the first century A.D., this book teaches
chapter 1 and verse 37 is similar to John 20:29). that Israel is great, the Jews are God’s only
Chapters 3-14 are supposed to have been people, the law was a special gift to them after
written by someone named Salathiel, who is its rejection by other worlds, and that God loves
identified with Ezra. It is thought that the book the Jews more than any other people.
was written by a Christian and named “Ezdras” Testaments of the T welve P
Twelve atriarchs—
Patriarchs—
in order to get the Jews to read it. At its end This book, which may have been written by a
(14:48), Ezra is supposed to have been trans- Jew during the Maccabean rule, teaches that
lated to heaven, without experiencing death. through the Jews all the Gentiles will be saved.
Jubilees—Written in Hebrew apparently by The promised Messiah will come through the
Appendix 195
tribe of Levi, not Judah. Part of this book was kuk Commentary.
found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Qumran Consider how empty and dreary your life
Cave I. would be, if you did not have the precious Bible
Sibylline Oracles—This is a work com- and Spirit of Prophecy! The Inspired Writings
prised originally of 15 books and several frag- are your path to heaven. Stay on the path. Noth-
ments containing oracles developed by Jews ing else is safe.
and probably also Christian authors, from the
2nd century B.C. to about the 5th century A.D. FROM THE ENGLISH REVISED
Assumption of Moses—Probably written TO THE
during the 1st century A.D. by a patriotic Jew, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
this work originally had two different books: the A LIST OF 134 BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
Testament of Moses and the Assumption. The There has been a deluge of new translations
author teaches that the ten tribes will return in the 20th century. Some have been very strange.
and rejoin Judah and Benjamin, and eventu- For example, Jordan’s Cotton Patch Version
ally Israel will be the greatest nation on earth. substitutes contemporary Southern U.S. people,
Psalms of Solomon—This is a collection places, and parties for the Biblical ones! Corinth
of 18 psalms which declare that Israel is righ- becomes Atlanta in 1 Corinthians 1:2, Jews be-
teous and all other nations are wicked. It prob- come ‘whites,” and Gentiles become “Negroes.”
ably was written in Hebrew in the first century Several different Sacred Name versions have
B.C. been published, frequently, in order to rival one
PART 3 - THE QUMRAN DOCUMENTS another, with competing ancient names for God
It is believed that the Jews who lived in the and Christ.
Qumran Community, near the Dead Sea (1st Such has been the flood of modern transla-
century B.C.-1st century A.D.), were Essenes. tions, that it is difficult to keep track of them. In
In addition to preparing copies of Old Testament the following list you will find 134 translations,
books, they also wrote several original docu- from 1893 to 1973.
ments; only a few of these are complete enough The translations are arranged by the date
to be useful. the entire Bible was published. Earlier parts of
The Manual of Discipline— This is the important translations are listed under that date.
most important of the non-Biblical books found If only the New Testament has been translated,
at Qumran. It contains the rules and regulations it is, of course, listed under its date. If no com-
of the group which had a democratic organiza- plete New Testament or Old Testament exists,
tion, but no private ownership of property or then the date of the first portion is used. When
even money. Strict rules include making false or known, the name of the translator is given. Ad-
foolish statements, interrupting another’s speech, ditional data is given within parentheses, when
or sleeping during a meeting. Everyone was re- it significant enough.
quired to eat together. Initiation rituals, water For additional information, consult the fol-
purification rites, etc. are included. The rules lowing:
are similar to the Essene rules which were de- • Margaret T. Hills, ed., The English Bible in
scribed by Philo and Josephus. America: A Bibliography of Editions of the Bible
The Habakkuk Commentary (1Qp Hab.)— and the New Testament Published in America,
Habakkuk 1 and 2 are said to be prophecies 1777-1957. New York: The American Bible So-
which were fulfilled in the times in which the ciety and the New York Public Library, 1961.
writer lived. • A.S. Herbert, Historical Catalogue of
The W ar of the Sons of Light with the
War Printed Editions of the English Bible, 1525-
Sons of Darkness (1QM)—Rules of warfare are 1967. London.
outlined, which the faithful Jews are to obey in • The British and Foreign Bible Society, Lon-
their soon-coming war against evil forces. don.
The Damascus Document—Discovered in • The American Bible Society, New York.
a Genizah (manuscript storeroom) of a Cairo
synagogue near the close of the 19th century, 1893 Revised Version (New Testament,
Version
this document parallels rules and teachings 1881; Old Testament 1893; today called
found in the Manual of Discipline and Habak-
196 The King James and the Modern Versions
English Revised Version
Version
ersion). Moulton.
1900 Hayman’s Epistles. The Epistles of 1908 Rutherford’s Epistles. By W.G.
the New Testament. An attempt to Rutherford, London, 1908.
present them in current and popular 1909 The Bible in Modern English.
idiom, by Henry Hayman.
1909 Weaver New Testament. By S.
1901 American Revised V Version
ersion (English Townsend Weaver.
Revised Version, with a few changes by a
team of U.S. scholars, today called the 1910 Cunard’s. By F.W. Cunard.
American Standard V ersion
Version
ersion). 1914 Numeric New Testament. Edited by
1901 Modern American Bible. The New Ivan Panin.
Testament. The Modern American Bible. 1914 Cunnington’s New Testament. By E.E.
By Frank Schell Ballantine. Cunnington.
1901 Moffatt’s Historical New Testament. 1916 McFadyen. By John Edgar McFadyen.
The Historical New Testament, by James
1917 Jewish Publication Society Bible. By
Moffatt (a different translation from
Jewish Publication Society (Jewish).
Moffatt’s later translation, and not as
influential). 1918 Anderson New Testament. By H.T.
Anderson.
1901 Way’s Epistles. The Letters of St. Paul
to Seven Churches and Three Friends. 1919 The Messages of the Bible. Edited by
Translated by Arthur S. Way. Frank K. Sanders and Charles F. Kent.
1901 Young People’s Bible. The Young 1919 The Adelphi New Testament. By T.
People’s Bible or the Scriptures Fosher Unwin.
Corrected, Explained, and Simplified. By 1921 Common Speech. By T.W. Pym.
Harriet Newell Jones.
1921 Shorter Bible. By Charles Foster
1902 Rotherham: Emphasized Bible. The Kent.
Emphasized Bible. By Joseph Bryant
Rotherham. Old Testament (1902), New 1922 Plainer Bible for Plain People. By
Testament (1897). Chaplain Frank Schell Ballentine
(Amish).
1902 Godbey’s New Testament. By W.B.
Godbey. 1923 Riverside New TTestament.
estament. By
William C. Ballantine.
1902 Twentieth Century New Testament:
The Holy Bible in Modern English. By 1923 Robertson. By A.T. Robertson.
Ferrar Fenton. 1924 Labor Determinative Version.
1903 Weymouth ’s New T
eymouth’s Testament
estament: The
estament 1924 Montgomery’s Centenary
New Testament in Modern Speech. By Translation—By Helen Barrett
Richard Francis Weymouth. Montgomery.
1904 Worrell’s New Testament. By A.S. 1925 Askwith’s Psalms. By E.H. Askwith.
Worrell. 1925 People’s New Covenant. By Arthur E.
1905 Lloyd’s New Testament: The Overbury (Christian Science).
Corrected English New Testament. By 1925 Children’s Bible. By Henry A.
Samuel Lloyd. Gherman and Charles Foster Kent.
1906 Forster. 1926 The Western New Testament. By T.
1907 Bourne’s Gospels. By A.E. Bourne. Fosher Unwin.
1907 Moulton’s Modern Reader’s Bible: The 1926 Moffatt: A New Translation of the
Modern Reader’s Bible. By Richard G. Bible. By James Moffatt.
Appendix 197
1927 Kent’s Student’s Old Testament. By 1938 Buttenweiser’s Psalms. By Moses
Charles Foster Kent. Buttenweiser.
1927 Smith- Goodspeed: The Bible. An
Smith-Goodspeed: 1938 Clementson’s New Testament. By
American T ranslation. Old Testament
Translation. Edgar Lewis Clementson.
by J.M. Powis Smith; New Testament by 1939 Oesterley Psalms. By W.O.E.
Edgar J. Goodspeed. Oesterley.
1928 Christian’s Bible. By George N. 1940 St. Mark in Current English. By Mary
LeFevre. L. Matheson
1928 Czarnomska Version. By Elizabeth 1941 The Book of Genesis Complete. The
Czarnomska. Ephramaean Version.
1928 Spiritualist’s Matthew. Edited by J.W. 1941 Twelve Minor Prophets.
Potter (spiritualist).
1944 Callan’s Psalms.
1928 The Psalms Complete. By William
Wallace Martin. 1944 Wand’s New Testament Letters. By
J.W.C. Wand.
1929 The Book of Job and Ecclesiastes.
1945, 1948 Knox. Monsignor Knox (RC).
1929 Gowen’s Psalms. By Herbert H.
Gowen. 1945 Stringfellow’s New Testament. By
Ervin Edward Stringfellow.
1930 The Book of Mark. By Loux.
1946 Lenski
Lenski—By R.C.H. Lenski.
1932 Kleist’s Memoirs of St. Peter: The
Memoirs of St. Peter, or the Gospel 1947 Eerdmans’ Psalms.
according to St. Mark. By James A. 1947 Swann’s New Testament. By George
Kleist. Swann.
1933 Torrey’s Four Gospels. By Charles 1948 Letchworth New Testament.
Cutler Torrey.
1949 Basic Bible: Basic English (Basic
1934 Royds’ Epistles and Gospels. By English is a system of simplified English
Thomas Fletcher. with a primary vocabulary of 850 words,
1934 Old Testament in Colloquial English. devised by C.K. Ogden as an
international auxiliary language and as
1934 Wade: The Documents of the New an aid in learning English. In 1940 a
Testament. By G.W. Wade. committee, under the direction of S.H.
1935 Westminster Version. By Cuthbert
Version. Hooke of the University of London,
Lattey (RC). produced an independent translation of
1937 Cornish’s St. Paul from the Trenches. the New Testament, using the 850 words
By Gerald Warre Cornish. in the primary vocabulary of basic
English, to which 50 special Bible words
1937 Greber’s New Testament. By and 100 others were added.)
Johannes Greber.
1949 Leslie’s Psalms. By Elmer A. Leslie.
1937 Martin’s New Testament. By William
Wallace Martin. 1950 The New Testament of our Messiah
and Saviour, Yahshua. Sacred Name
1937 Spencer’s New T Testament.
estament. By
Francis Aloysius Spencer (RC). Version.
1954 Kleist and Lilly’s New Testament. By 1959 Modern Language Bible
James A. Kleist, S.J. (Gospels), and (Berkeley)
(Berkeley)—Gerrit Verkuyl, editor-in-
Joseph L. Lilly, C.M. (Acts to Revelation) chief and translator of the New
(RC). Testament section (Berkeley Version of
the New Testament, 1945).
1954 Kleist and Lynam’s Psalms. By James
A. Kleist, S.J. and Thomas James 1960 The Children’s “King James” Bible.
Lynam (RC). By Jay Green (wording) and “Peter”
Palmer (stories); translated from the
1955 Fides Translation (Psalms) (RC). Textus Receptus.
1955 Schonfield’s Authentic New 1961 New World Translation (Jehovah’s
Testament. By Hugh J. Schonfield Witnesses).
(Jewish).
1961 Noli’s Greek Orthodox New
1956 Laubach’s Inspired Letters. By Frank Testament. By Fan S. Noli.
C. Laubach (Romans-Jude), written in
short, clear sentences with a limited 1961 One Way: The Jesus People New
vocabulary of about 2,000 words. Testament. By Olaf M. Norlie.
1963 The Holy Name Bible. By A.B. 1969 Barclay’s New Testament. By
Testament.
Trama. This translation is understood William Barclay.
to have been made by A.B. Trama and 1969 Children’s New Testamen. By Gleason
reprinted at his expense. The version H. Ledyard.
attempts to restore Semitic proper 1970 The Mercier New Testament. By Kevin
names to their Aramaic or Hebrew form Condon (RC, translated from critical
and to clear up difficulties in the text in Greek Texts).
the light of possible Semitic background.
1970 New American Bible (Genesis, 1948;
1964 Anchor Bibl
Bible. Edited by William F. Vol. I, Genesis-Ruth, 1952; Vol. III,
Albright and David N. Freedman Sapiential or Wisdom Books, 1955; Vol.
(individual translators for books). IV, Prophetic Books, 1961; Vol. II,
1964 Hadas’ Psalms: The Book of Psalms Samuel-Maccabees, 1969, RC).
for the Modern Reader. By Gershon 1970 New English Bible with the
Hadas. Apocrypha
Apocrypha. (New Testament, 1961; 2nd
1965 Amplified Bible. By Frances E. ed., 1970. The Old Testament and
Siewert. Apocrypha, 1970).
1965 Bruce’s Expanded Paraphrase. By F.F. 1971 Blackwelder’s Exegetical Translation:
Bruce. Letters from Paul. By Boyce W.
1966 Burke: God Is For Real, Man. By Carl Blackwelder.
F. Burke. New York: Association Press 1971 Living Bible
Bible, Paraphrased. By
(some Bible passages in heavy slang). Kenneth Taylor (Living History of Israel,
1966 Jerusalem Bible (RC). a paraphrase of Joshua, Judges, 1
and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2
1966 Living Scriptures. By Jay Green Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, 1970.
(based on Textus Receptus). Living Prophecies: the Minor Prophets
1966 Today’s English Version: Good News
Version: paraphrased with Daniel and the
for Modern Man (ABS edition). Revelation, 1965, 1967. Living New
Testament Paraphrased, 1967. Living
1967 Dale’s New World. By Alan T. Dale
Letters: the paraphrased Epistles, 1967,
(New Testament).
c. 1962).
1967 Liverpool Vernacular Gospels: The
1971 New American Standard Bible
Bible.
Gospels in Scouse. By Dick Williams
and Frank Shaw (“a rollicking, carefree 1972 The Bible in Living English. By
interpretation of some Gospel Steven T. Byington.
passages”). 1973 The Translator’s New Testament.
1968 Cotton Patch Version (Southern U.S. British and Foreign Bible Society. (35
dialect version). By Jordan. Bible scholars and 18 missionary
linguists prepared this translation in
1968 Hanson’s Psalms in Modern Speech.
order “to make available, to those
By Richard S. Hanson.
translators of the New Testament into
1968 Restoration of Original Name New their own mother tongue who depend on
200 The King James and the Modern Versions
English for access to the sources of the United Bible Societies’ Greek Text,
Biblical scholarship, such help as is 1966.)
necessary for the making of effective 1973 The Better Version of the New
translations in the languages of today.” Testament. By Chester Estes.
Includes Notes and a Glossary. Based on
1973 Common Bible (Joint Protestant-RC
Bible, with Apocrypha).
1973 New International Version
Version