“Hello. May I help you?”
“Yes. I’m looking for a Bible I can use in my church. Could you help me?”
“I’d be happy to. I would recommend the NIV. It is our most popular seller.”
“Do you know the story of the Ethiopian eunuch?”
“Sure.”
“Well, the only verse that tells us what we need to do before baptism is in Acts 8:37. It’s really important that my Bible states this clearly. Would you read it to me?”
“Certainly…” (The helpful employee looks and looks.) “Uh, it’s not there.”
“What’s not there?”
“I’m sorry, but there is no verse 37…”
“Well, I don’t want a Bible that is missing something that important. Let’s try another Bible.”
“Well, we have another popular one, the Revised Standard version.”
“My Bible has to be clear about the virgin birth of Christ. Would you please check Isaiah 7:14?”
“Hmm. It says ‘a young woman shall conceive…’”
“Then forget the Revised Standard! What other Bibles have you?”
“Well, we are very proud of the New American Standard. It’s called ‘the most literal’ version.”
“Alright, then let’s look up John 6:47. It’s the one place where Jesus tells us to believe in Him to have eternal life.”
“Wait! It only says ‘he who believes has eternal life.’ It doesn’t say who to believe in.”
“My old occultic friends would love that. They believe, but not in Jesus Christ. So much for the NASV.”
“Let’s try again. When I witness to Jehovah’s Witnesses, I like to use Revelation 1:11, where Jesus says, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.’ What do you have left?”
“Here’s our New Living Translation. Let me see. Huh? It says, ‘Write down what you see…’ No ‘Alpha and Omega’ here.
“All I see left is an old American Standard. Would you look up 1 John 5:7? It tells us the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost are one God.”
“I’m very sorry. It says, ‘And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth.’ There’s no Trinity here.”
“Well, then, I’ll just stay with my Bible. It has everything I mentioned to you.”
“What Bible is that?”
“God’s preserved words in English: The King James Bible.”
Copyrighted by Jack T. Chick. Reproduced by permission.
- David Daniels
I appreciate your conviction that God’s Word be preserved and honored, and I especially agree with your assesment of the RSV in Isaiah. I also am not a fan of the NLT. However, it is a mistake to use the KJV as a standard rather than the abundance of evidence from existing greek texts for the New Testament. Referring specifically to your quotes of John 6:47, Acts 8:37 and 1 John 5:7. What you report as missing is not in the earliest known greek manuscripts. The context of John 6 gives ample support that we are to believe “in me (Jesus),” and the footnotes for most English translations supply the Acts verse, noting that it is not in most manuscripts. 1 John 5:7 is also not seen in the earliest manuscripts, nor was it quoted by any of the early church fathers who were defending the doctrine of the Trinity. If it were in the manuscripts they had access to it most certainly would have been used for that purpose.
Again I commend you for your dedication to the preservation of God’s word, and I do agree that the KJV is a beautiful translation, but it is not flawless. Instead of holding to a position of “King James Only” I would ask that you would instead encourage becoming familiar with the greek, and promoting Bible study with a few good literal translations such as the KJV, NASB, ESV and NKJV.
God Bless you for your ministry, and may you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Stories like this one often lead to mistrust in the bible instead of understanding. If I were to translate from one language to another and you did the same we would most likly come up with different words but the same meaning.
As for missing verses, remember the KJV also was influenced by the latin vulgate and the great bible. In addition the resources of greek manuscripts were limited. Today older and more numerous manuscripts (dead sea scrolls) are available for reference. In addition some copied manuscripts are affected by local dialects (Bizatine) and therefore have different translations.
The KJV was at the time the best translation available. Today’s translation, even those 1611s are still not the origional translations made by the KJV. In fact because our language has changed so much the KJV has been changed as well.
The KJV only movement causes more problems then it helps. This is why I use multiple versions (my greek and hebrew need help).
Anyone truly seeking will find God. Anyone truly seeking truth in the word will also find it as long as they don’t have a closed mind. Above all else love one another. We can’t do this if we are being told your not saved unless saved by the KJV bible. Romans declares we can be saved even if we have never heard the word because he has engraved it on our heart and that the creation declares the power of God. Don’t let version be your stumbeling stone.
Take heed that no man deceive you. The earliest Greek MSS are dodgy versions that disagree with each other as well as the 95% of Greek MSS that form the foundation of the TR. They are so old because no genuine Christian bothered reading those gnostic-poisoned forgeries. Ten different scribes added 15,000 corrections to the Sinaiticus and eventually gave up! Vaticanus is no better. Do your diligence and look at what the heretics Westcott and Hort said about their “faith”, and then look at what they did to the faith of others. Most of all, look at what they did to the Word of God. Truth is not cheap, easy or popular, and in these last days where mass apostacy and great delusion are predicted, it would be wise to do one’s homework. Proverbs 25:2
I will be short and add my voice to the conversation. The KJV is a great translation which I have no problem with, however the mocking derisive tone that I find in this article is something to be ashamed of, and to by proxy disdain numerous translators who share a different opinion from your own regarding the appropriate manuscripts to use, etc. I checked my ESV, HCSB, YLT and NET Bible and they all reference those verses as appearing in some manuscripts. There is no massive conspiracy, but we will all be held responsible for our attitudes towards our brothers and sisters.