Dr. Terry Watkins | Dial-the-Truth Ministries |
There exists literally hundreds of Bible versions scattered throughout Christendom. We have feminist versions such as the TNIV. We have new-age contemplative versions like The Message. We have youth Bibles of every gender, age and flavor imaginable. If there’s a buck to be made – there’s another Bible to be published. The subtle serpent of Genesis 3 pulls every little "trick ‘n treat" in his bag of deceits to question the authority and authenticity of the Word of God.
One such "trick ‘n treat" is the so-called updated "King James Bibles" flooding the Bible horizon. Unlike the NIV, NASV, NCV or NRSV these King James "wannabes" come with courageous claims of faithfulness to the "original" King James Bible. They wouldn’t dare deviate from the beloved text of our King James Bible (or would they?). They possess impressive sounding "King James" names such as the New King James Bible, 21st Century King James (KJ21), King James III and the Modern King James version. But as we’ve discovered many times, despite the sincerity or spiritual motivation for updating the King James Bible – the results are always the same – a departure from the text of our King James Bible. Whenever the feeble and fallible hands of men touch the Word of God wearing the devious gloves of change – it always breeds corruption and confusion. The Apostle Paul zeroed in on this enticing corruption of the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 2:17: For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. Our attention in this article is on the corruption in the Modern King James Version (MKJV). The MKJV was released in 1962 with several revisions including the latest in 1999. It is the work of Jay P. Green, Sr. and published by Sovereign Grace Publishers in Lafayette, Indiana. According to the Sovereign Grace website, the MKJV is being replaced with Green’s King James 3. Green is the author of several Bibles including the King James II, King James 3, Literal Translation and his most popular work the Interlinear Hebrew-Greek-English Bible. THE EXPLANATION. . . Green poses as a defender of the King James Bible and has even written books defending the King James Bible including the popular, Unholy Hands on the Bible: A Comparison Between Six Major Bible Versions. Green includes a section in the MKJV titled "The Explanation" in which he "explains" his reasoning and rational for the Modern King James Bible. Even in the Explanation and Preface to the MKJV, Mr. Green praises the King James Bible while condemning the other versions for their departure from the King James Bible. In the Explanation section of the Modern King James Bible, Green writes: Every lover of the beloved King James Version should be aware by now that those who are willing to add and subtract words from God's Word have used the archaic Elizabethan English of the KJV as an excuse to issue new versions. And though the translators of these new versions praise the KJV, they then depart from its message, and from its Greek and Hebrew texts. . . (the Received Text and the Masoretic Text). (Green, Jay P., Modern King James Bible, Explanation) After blasting the new versions for "changing" the King James Bible, then Green writes (in BOLD capitals, no less):
Uh oh. . . Here it comes. . . Then Green parades the same "dirty" laundry list used by the other Per-versions for "cleaning up" the King James Bible. Green writes: First, the Authorized/King James Version, as we know it, has been changed several times. . . (Green, Jay P., Modern King James Bible, Explanation) Parroting the mantra of the other perversions, Green presumes since the "original" King James Bible has been changed – it must be ok to change it again. Anyone familiar with this worn out excuse recognizes it as fraud. For anyone interested in the truth about the mythical "revisions" of the King James Bible read Dr. Reagan’s excellent work entitled, "The King James Version of 1611the Myth of Early Revisions." Dr. Reagan demolishes the mythical "revisions" of the King James Bible. Presenting the evidence, Dr. Reagan concludes his expose with these reflective words: The purpose of this book is to expose a fallacious argument that has been circulating in fundamentalist circles for what it is: an overblown myth. That is, the myth that the New King James Version and others [aka Modern King James Version] like it are nothing more than a continuation of revisions which have periodically been made to the King James Version since 1611. There is one problem with this theory. There are no such revisions. Next Green, digs up a fabled "dinosaur." He claims the King James Bible should be "revised" since the King James Bible is simply a "revision" of Tyndale’s work. Green writes: Secondly, "William Tyndale's influence on various versions down to the Bishop's Bible fixed the general tone of the translation....it [the AV/KJV] is a revision, not a new translation" (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 112). In fact the majority of the wording of the New Testament of the Authorized/King James Version is that of Tyndale, but in updated English. . . (Green, Jay P., Modern King James Bible, Explanation) Anyone familiar with the history of the King James Bible acknowledges not only the English influence of Tyndale’s work, but more important the work of the Bishop Bible. Fifteen general guidelines were established by the King James translators. The first guideline read, "The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called the Bishops Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the Truth of the original will permit." So Green’s assertion the King James Bible was merely a revision of Tyndale’s works crumbles quickly with the hammer of truth. It was the Bishop Bible used as the "model" by the King James translators, not Tyndale. But even then, the King James translators were not bound by any English, Hebrew or Greek text. Green then sings the popular new-version song titled "You Can Not Understand the Archaic, Out-Dated, King James Bible." Green writes: School teachers do not want pupils to read the KJV, because it confuses their ability to spell English words (for inability to spell is one of the weaknesses of pupils in our day). Not only the spelling, but the archaic words stumble younger readers today. Besides, there are many awkward, strange words which were the style in the seventeenth century, which today turn away readers. Therefore, it is important for us to give the new reader a Bible they can read, yet one that keeps every one of the God-breathed words. (Green, Jay P., Modern King James Bible, Explanation) This is easily the most persistent excuse triumphed by the King James rebels to change the King James Bible, and it’s also the easiest to 100% disprove. Gail Riplinger has a chapter in her best-selling New Age Bible Versions titled "King James for Kids". Mrs. Riplinger provides 23 pages of irrefutable evidence proving the King James Bible is far easier to understand and read. She lists over 350 examples in the New Testament where the King James Bible is much easier and simpler to understand. In comparing the first chapter of the first and last books of the Old and New Testaments, the Flesch-Kincaid research company’s Grade Level Indicator shows "The KJV ranks easier in 23 out of 26 comparisons" (Riplinger, New Age Bible Versions, 1994, p. 195) betrays the strictly
Mrs. Riplinger writes: "Why is the KJV easier to read? The KJV uses one or two syllable words while new versions substitute complex multi-syllable words and phrases." (Ibid, p. 196) She lists over 270 examples in the New Testament. Mrs. Riplinger also attributes the King James’s ease of understanding to "Simple sentence structure. . .." (Ibid, p. 204) She again lists many examples. Much of Green’s foundation for "replacing" your beloved King James Bible is built upon humanistic sinking sand. And make no mistake, while Green may masquerade as a King James "man," Green’s motive in the Modern King James is to replace your King James Bible. As Green writes (again BOLD caps to emphasis): IF NOT UPDATED, THE KJV WOULD FADE AWAY Then Greens writes: Who is it that has quit reading the KJV, and have gone either to reading the new versions, or have quit reading the Bible altogether? It is not a secret that this generation, and most of the last generation, has on the whole refused to learn Elizabethan English in order to read the Bible. While Green claims most people are no longer reading the King James Bible, again the facts tell a much different story. According to surveys by Barna Research of people who read their Bible on a daily basis, "The King James Version is more likely to be the Bible read during the week than is the NIV by a 5:1 ratio."(Barna Research, The Bible survey, http://www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PageCategory.asp?CategoryID=7) Like ever other Per-version since 1611, after molesting the "beloved" King James Bible, Green just happens to have the solution to the unread, archaic, bumbling King James Bible – you guessed it - the Modern King James Version. Green writes: IS THE MKJV THE ANSWER? The Explanation and the Preface of the Modern King James Version provides much more fodder for the trampling of the King James Bible, but let us examine the Modern King James Bible in the light of our "beloved" King James Bible. THE EXAMINATION. . . To show the hypocrisy of the MKJV, as we examine the MJKV, we’ve also listed the text of some the new perversions such as the New International Version (NIV), New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) to show their agreement with the MKJV. JESUS OR LUCIFER? One of the more shocking changes in the MJKV is the removal of "Lucifer". Matching the corrupt NIV, NASV, RSV, NRSV, NCV and the "Bible change team," the MKJV changes Isaiah 14:12 from "Lucifer" to "shining star". Consequently, Isaiah 14:12 and Revelation 22:16 create a serious issue by equating and confusing Lucifer with Jesus Christ, who is also called the "the bright and morning star" in Revelation 22:16. Not only that, the Hebrew word kowkab for star is not in Isaiah 14:12! Isaiah 14:12 KJB JESUS CHRIST A PAGAN "SON OF THE GODS?" One of the more blatant attacks at the Lord Jesus amongst the new versions occurs in the book of Daniel. The fourth person in the fire protecting Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is no longer like "the Son of God" as the King James Bible declares, but the pagan "like a son of the gods." Daniel 3:25
THE LOVE OF MONEY? Again agreeing with the NIV, NASV, RSV, and the "Bible correctors union" the love of money is no longer THE root of ALL EVIL but "A root of all EVILS". 1 Timothy 6:10
CREATOR OR NEW AGE BEING? In the KJB, John 1:3 is an empathic and clear declaration that Jesus Christ was the sole Creator of "all things." But not so in the MKJV. For the MJKV changes the Creator’s active, personal work of "made by Him" into a passive, New Age evolutionary, progression of "came into being through Him." John 1:3 KJB Again in Colossians 1:16, the KJB tells the world that Jesus Christ is Creator and "BY him were all things created". And again the MJKV muddles the clear scripture to negate the Creative power of Jesus Christ by replacing the simple word "BY" with "IN" and "THROUGH". This also rubs shoulders with the New Age teaching of a pantheistic "all in all" Christ. Simple. . . Slight. . . But Fatal. Colossians 1:16 KJB DUMPING KEY BIBLE WORDS In the Preface to the Modern King James Version, under the heading, "Homogenizing he Scriptures By Dumping Key Words," Mr. Green "blasts’ the new versions for their "dumping" of established Bible terms: In the new versions there is no propitiation, nor mercy seat, but in one of them it is merely "a remedy for sins;" justification by faith is gutted by adding words that make it a justification by a faith that works to bring about salvation; redemption becomes a mere release; believing degenerates into a simple yielding of allegiance; meekness is gentleness; righteousness is goodness; and demon-possession is only epilepsy (Matthew 4:24; 17:15). (Green, Modern King James Version, Preface 1) But like the Pre-Version he berates, Mr. Green quickly "dumps" "Key Bible Words". Don’t look for "New Testament" in the MKJV, just like the NIV NASV, NCV, NKJV, RSV, NRSV and about ever other perversion known to man, it’s now the "New Covenant." The replacement of "covenant" with "testament" is a subtle attack at the written Word of God. It’s interesting that all these new versions with their "new covenant" still print "New Testament" on the cover of their Bibles. Wonder why? They know nobody would buy a Bible with "New Covenant" on the cover. And you’d better believe if most people knew the "new covenant" underneath the cover – they wouldn’t touch it . . . DUMPING THE NEW TESTAMENT Hebrews 9:15 (see also Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Cor. 11:25, 2 Cor. 3:6) KJB DUMPING THE HOLY GHOST "Holy Ghost" is "dumped" 88 times in the MKJV (For some strange reason, it appears ONE time in Acts 10:47?). DUMPING THE DAMNED The MKJV "dumps" the key word "damn" (damned, damnation etc.) for the NIV, REV, NRSV, NASV, NKJV and boys diluted "condemn". Obviously, "condemned" is not as serious as "damned". Damned is eternal! One can be "condemned" and not "damned". Romans 14:22 says, ". . . Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth." Webster defines "condemned": to declare to be wrong, but the much more serious and eternal "damn": "to condemn to hell". Mark 16:16 KJB NOT VIRTUE BUT POWER That "obsolete" word "virtue" is replaced with "power" in Mark 5:30, Luke 6:19, 8:46. How does anybody confuse "virtue" with "power"? Simple - by being "bosom-buddies" with the NIV, NASV, RSV, NRSV, NKJV! That's what they did! Mark 5:30 KJB NO MO DEVILS Like the NIV, NRVS, NKJV and the legion of Per-Versions, the MKJV removes "devils" from the New Testament and replaces with the New Age "demons." And like it’s buddies the NIV, RSV, NRSV, NASV,NKJV and crew, the MKJV replaces "devils" with the "transliterated" Greek word "demon", A demon and a devil are not necessarily the same. The Theosophical Dictionary describes demon as: ". . . it has a meaning identical with that of 'god', 'angel' or 'genius'". Even Vines Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (p.157) defines "demon" as: "an inferior deity, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD". Webster defines "demon" as: "divinity, spirit, an attendant power or spirit", but "devil" as: "the personal supreme spirit of EVIL. . ." Matthew 7:22 KJV THE MYTHICAL HADES Like the NIV, RSV, NRSV, NASV,NKJV and friends the MKJV replaces "hell" for the transliterated "hades" in Acts 2:27, 31. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines Hades: "the underground abode of the dead in Greek MYTHOLOGY". The MKJV turns your Bible into MYTHOLOGY. Act 2:31 KJV SHEOL Agan, the MKJV borrows more fodder from the "boys" by replacing "pit", "grave", "hell" with the transliterated Hebrew word Sheol. Why does anyone replace plain English with a vague Hebrew in an English Bible? Nothing but confusion emerges (see 1 Cor. 14:33). The word Sheol occurs 65 times in the Hebrew text, but for some confusing reason, the MKJV refuses to translate it 5 times. Obviously, integrity of translation is not a characteristic of the MKJV. To add insult to the inconsistency and lack of translaton integrity, the NKJV has Sheol 18 times, NRSV 65, Living Bible 5 and NASV 67. Total translation lunacy. . . Numbers 16:33 (see also 1 Samuel 2:6, Psalm 139:8, Jonah 2:2 and Habakkuk 2:5
TARTARUS Another bizarre display of translation lunacy and confusion in the MKJV occurs in 2 Peter 2:4. Green replaces the word "hell" with the Greek word "Tartarus". That should can the silly excuse for the archaic, hard-to-understand King James Bible. Does anyone really believe "tartarus" is easier to understand than "hell"? By the way, did you notice how many times the MKJV removes the word hell? Hell ranks among the Per-Versions greatest disappearing act. For instance, the NKJV removes hell 22 times, NASV 41, NRSV 41, RSV 41, NIV 40 and the NCV 39. Seems someone has a personal interested in removing the place of hell. Hmmm. .. Wonder who it could be? Interesting, the MKJV was the only version I could find that was foolish enough to change the word "hell" to "Tartarus". "Tartarus" ranks high in the mythology, new age world. The on-line encyclopedia Witkipedia says of Tartarus, "Tartarus in Greek mythology, Tartarus is both a deity and a place in the underworld even lower than Hades." Anyone still believe the Modern King James Bible is faithful to the "old" King James Bible? 2 Peter 2:4 KJB THE DARKNESS COMPREHENDED IT NOT John 1:5 KJB SPIRIT WORSHIP The MKJV in John 4:24 removes the object to worship - "him" to produce a New Age vague "spirit" worship. John 4:24 KJB GOD THE SLAVEOWNER? In the MJKV Christians are not "servants" of the Lord, but "slaves"! The MKJV in Romans 6:22, reads: "But now, being made free from sin, and having become slaves to God. . ." The MKJV, in 1 Corinthians 7:22, calls the Christian, "a slave of Christ". Talk about a contradiction! Why aren’t Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton boycotting and protesting the pro-slavery MKJV? John 8:36 says, "If the Son therefore shall make you FREE, YE SHALL BE FREE INDEED." But isn't a Christian supposed to serve? Yes, in love. Not as a slave! Galatians 5:13 explains it, perfectly: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto LIBERTY;(not slavery!) only use not LIBERTY for an occasion to the flesh, but BY LOVE SERVE one another." A few examples of "slaves" in the MKJV: Romans 6:22 KJB Act 2:18 KJB Romans 6:16 KJB BIBLE CORRUPTERS BEWARE Like all good Bible "corrupters," the MJKV must cover his tracks. So something must be done with 2 Corinthians 2:17 where the Lord warns of those that "corrupt the word of God". The MKJV wins the award for the goofiest translation of 2 Corinthians 2:17. Green changes "corrupt" to the goofy "hawking"! Is this the same guy that complained that the King James was hard to read and full of archaic words? 2 Corinthians 2:17 KJB THE GLORIOUS APPEARING DISAPPEARS A little funky, mishandling of Titus 2:13 and the MKJV turns the promise of the glorious appearing of the second coming of Jesus Christ into a neuter "appearance of the glory". I’ve been in many wonderful church services that were filled with the "appearance of the glory of our great God" but never the "glorious appearing". The change removes the "glorious" appearing of the person of Jesus Christ for simply the essence of "glory". What a shame. . . Titus 2:13 KJB Interesting, in Titus 2:13, the MKJV surpassed the corruption of the NIV, NASV, NKJV, RSV, et al. for they all kept the text "glorious appearing". It took the ultra-liberal NRSV to agree with the MKJV in Titus 2:12! EASTER ERASED Like all good per-versions, the MKJV automatically changes "Easter" in Acts 12:4 to "Passover." The fact is Acts 12, could not possibly refer to the Passover, as the new Bibles falsely claim. Dr. Sam Gipp in his book The Answer Book, examines Acts 12:4. After several pages of irrefutable proof from the Word of God, Dr. Gipp writes: Verse 3 shows that Peter was arrested during the days of unleavened bread (April 15-21). The Bible says: "Then were the days of unleavened bread." The passover (April 14th) had already come and gone. Herod could not possibly have been referring to the passover in his statement concerning Easter. The next Passover was a year away! But the pagan holiday of Easter was just a few days away. Remember! Herod was a pagan Roman who worshipped the "queen of heaven". He was NOT a Jew. He had no reason to keep the Jewish passover. (Gipp, Dr. Sam, The Answer Book) Acts 12:4 KJB THE EVIDENCE. . . These are just a few of the hundreds of verses in the MKJV that departs from the text of the King James Bible. As we stated in the beginning, whenever the feeble and fallible hands of men touch the Word of God wearing the devious gloves of change it always breeds corruption and confusion. And the Modern King James Bible is no exception. . . For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:17 |
HOME | ORDER ITEMS | TRACTS | MP3 SERMONS | STREET PREACHING | 666 WATCH |