There are far too many debates about the KJV of the Bible than there should be, not because debating it is wrong but because many people are placing their trust in a translation instead of in Christ.
I read different versions because I know that no translation is inspired. Even the KJV of the Bible states in its forward that it is not perfect. Also an inspired word would not need updating. And I might ask "Authorized by Whom", when so many are saying they only read the 1611 Authorized version, you will find no where in that Bible that God authorized it. Nor will you find anywhere in the Bible that God commanded all men everywhere to read the KJV of the Bible. Not one scripture can be found to support this.
All this debate over translations are meaningless and could discourage a non-believer from ever picking up a Bible. Satan loves this. If you like the KJV wonderful read it, but do not cause division by fighting over translations when God never spoke about it. It is the Holy Spirit who enlightens when we read, which ever version that may be.
In nearly all of the different translation the differences are minor and do not change the meaning of the context. I might add too that God's Word is not "copy written" as are all of the translations.
The very last sentence of this preface to the KJV of the Bible says, "may this translation improve." Anything that is inspired does not need to imporove.
PREFACE TO THE KING JAMES VERSION
1873 EDITION
The most time-honored and widely used edition of the English Bible is the translation of 1611, commonly known as the Authorized Version or King James Version (KJV). But
though it has served as the standard translation for millions of users through nearly four centuries, there has never been a standard edition to which all printings are conformed.
"No two early printings of the KJV were identical—not even the two printings of 1611—
and no two modern settings are identical, either. These differences are due to accidental
human error as well as to intentional changes by printers and editors, who sought to
eliminate what they judged to be the errors of others and to conform the text to their
standards of English usage. This said, most differences involve only spelling,
punctuation, and italics, and few variations materially affect the meaning of the text.
As early as 1616 there were systematic attempts to revise and standardize the KJV.
Other important early editions were issued by Cambridge in 1629 and 1638. In the
eighteenth century, the two great English universities (who were also officially chartered
printers) commissioned thorough and systematic revisions. The edition of Dr. F. S. Paris
was published by Cambridge in 1762 and that of Dr. Benjamin Blayney by Oxford in
1769. Though far from perfect, these remained the standard editions until The
Cambridge Paragraph Bible of 1873.
The Cambridge Paragraph Bible began with the simple plan of arranging the text of the
KJV according to the sense of the literature: arranging the prose sections into
paragraphs and the poetic sections into parallel lines. This simple plan, however, was
enhanced by the editor’s desire to create the most thorough standardization of the text
ever attempted. To this task Dr. F. H. A. Scrivener devoted seven laborious years: 1866
to 1873.
Because the translators’ original manuscript no longer exists, the KJV text must be
established by consulting the earliest settings. Dr. Scrivener compared at least 15 early
settings and important revisions, including both settings of 1611; Bibles of 1612, 1613,
1616, 1617, 1629, 1630, 1634, 1638, 1640; and the significant editions of Drs. Paris
(1762) and Blayney (1769).
In his 120-page introduction, Dr. Scrivener addressed the various features of the KJV he
worked to standardize:
Marginal notes. The KJV does not contain explanatory or doctrinal comments but does
include annotations “for the explanation of the Hebrew and Greek words.” In the Old
Testament of 1611, there are 6,637 such notes. The more literal meaning of the original
Hebrew or Aramaic (“Chaldee”) is expressed in 4,111 notes, indicated by the
abbreviation “Heb.” or “Chald.”; 2,156 give alternate renderings, indicated by the word
“Or”; 63 give the meaning of proper names; 240 harmonize parallel
passages; and 67 refer to various readings in the Hebrew manuscripts used by the
translators.
In the New Testament of 1611, there are 765 marginal notes. Alternate translations are
given in 583 notes, indicated by the word “Or”; 112 provide a more literal rendering of
the Greek, indicated by the abbreviation “Gr.”; 35 are explanatory notes or brief
expositions; and 35 relate to alternate readings in the Greek manuscripts used by the
translators.
Significant notes from later editions have also been included in square brackets [ ].
There are 368 additional notes in the Old Testament (for example, Gen. 1:20) and 105 in
the New (for example, Mat. 1:20,21).
Many of the best King James Version Bibles include a significant system of cross
references in addition to the translators’ notes. Cross references are indicated by letters
(a, b, c, etc.), while translators’ notes are indicates by numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.).
Italic type. Italic type was used in the KJV, as in the Geneva Bible, to indicate words in
the English translation that have no exact representative in the original language. Dr.
Scrivener, following many earlier scholars, noted that the KJV translators were
noticeably inconsistent in their use of italics, sometimes even in the same paragraph and
verse. To cite one small pattern from the 1611 edition, Leviticus 11:20 has “upon all
foure,” while for the same Hebrew 11:21 and 42 have “upon all foure,” and 11:27 has “on
all foure.”
Dr. Scrivener carefully analyzed why italic type was used throughout the KJV, reduced
this analysis to 14 major principles, and then applied these principles with meticulous
consistency throughout the entire Bible. A substantial portion of the editor’s “seven
laborious years” was devoted to this significant improvement.
Punctuation. Later printings of the KJV added a great deal of punctuation to the editions
of 1611. Dr. Scrivener restored the major punctuation (periods, colons, parentheses,
question marks) of 1611, and used commas and semicolons to help divide longer
sentences into more manageable units for reading.
Spelling and capital letters. Spelling of proper names and common words was very
fluid in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: “Inquire” and “enquire” were
interchangeable, as were “ceiling,” “cieling,” and “sieling.” Most differences between
modern settings of the KJV and early settings involve standardization of spelling. Dr.
Scrivener’s general rule was that whenever a word was spelled more than one way, he
conformed all occurrences to the standard spelling of the late nineteenth century.
Proper names, on the other hand, vary according to their spelling in the original
languages, so “Elijah” throughout 1 and 2 Kings and in Malachi 4:5 becomes “Elias”
throughout the New Testament, as in Matthew 11:14 and 17:3. For the benefit of modern
readers, three spelling patterns are changed in this edition that are not changed in
Scrivener’s edition: twenty-nine occurrences of “mo” and “moe” are conformed to “more”;
four occurrences of “unpossible” are conformed to “impossible”; and “neesed” in 2 Kings
4:35 is spelled “sneezed.”
Paragraphs and poetry. According to Dr. Scrivener and other scholars, the paragraph
marks (¶) were unequally and inconsistently distributed, and they disappear altogether
after Acts 20:26. So, while consulted, the original marks were not always followed in The
Cambridge Paragraph Bible.
Hebrew poetry is characterized by rhyming of thoughts rather than rhyming of words. In
The Cambridge Paragraph Bible, as well as in most modern translations, lines of similar
or contrasting content are set in parallel lines to show this parallelism of thought. In
Psalm 1, verse 5 has two lines of similar parallelism, while verse 6 has two lines of
contrasting parallelism:
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous:
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
The best King James Version Bibles use a verse setting, that is, each verse begins a
new line and each verse is set as an independent unit. Paragraphs are indicated with the
traditional paragraph mark (¶).
The best King James Version Bibles also conform their setting of the King James or
Authorized Version to its most highly regarded edition: The Cambridge Paragraph
Bible of 1873, edited by F. H. A. Scrivener. As in the case of the first edition of the
version of 1611, this is done out of “zeal to promote the common good, whether it be by
devising any thing ourselves, or revising that which hath been laboured by others” (“The
Translators to the Reader,” the preface to the version of 1611). With the original
translators, we hope our efforts will be “welcomed,” not “with suspicion” but with “love,”
and that the reissue of this edition will contribute to improvement of this great treasure of
the English-speaking church.
JOHN R. KOHLENBERGER III
