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Conversation In A "Bible" Bookstore

January 9, 2008

“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

Leave a Reply

19 comments on “Conversation In A "Bible" Bookstore”

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

  4. 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.

  5. Thank you to the four who wrote thoughtful [& gracious] comments. They will be helpful to young believers who read this and think they have been doing everything wrong and need to throw out their bibles. I appreciate NGJ, but didn’t appreciate the condescending tone of this article 🙁

  6. It’s amazing how offended people become when you take away their “easy way” to live as a Christian. All verses except the KJV are watered down to the point of just making you feel good and not being accurate or challenging. Praise God for your article and insight and I’m sorry if it stepped on people’s toes but is the closest version to the Greek translation and should be followed if only for that reason!

  7. To my fellow Brothers and Sisters,
    Please check out a video entitled "The Truth about the Dead Sea Scrolls" by Pastor Stephen Anderson on YouTube. There were 2 Dead Sea Scroll texts of Isaiah, the most famous of the Dead Sea findings. One agreed completely with the Masoretic text (King James) the other had numerous passages removed and words changed to match the cult beliefs of the "custodians". This cult of less than 200 people also changed other texts into the root of what comprises todays translations differences from the King James. As you look into the beliefs and changes made, it is clear that the other texts found in that cave matched the original Masoretic O.T. texts and the original N.T. Greek Received texts. The Dead Sea Scrolls are a departure from God's Word and all other modern translations side with the corrupted Dead Sea Scrolls whenever there is a discrepancy. When you study who funded most of these translations, it is the Catholic church. The Greek they use is the Biblia Hebraica from 300AD which was corrupted, so of course their translation "matches the Greek", wrong Greek, not the Received Text. To think that God hid His Word for nearly 2000 years until the Dead Sea Scrolls is unlogical. To think we need something different after 400 years is also unlogical. That was the height of the English language (as Hebrew and Greek were in their time). People are lazy today, if a 3 year old can understand the KJV it is laziness that an adult needs a watered down version to understand. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, He will do His job. College professors who teach anti-KJV arguments do not understand the true dangers of changing, omitting, and adding to God's Word. Thus saith the Lord, not what doth man thinketh, or picketh and chooseth what God's Word says. Contend for the faith. Hope you will check out that video, it sheds much light on the argument. It is Satan who attempts to alter God's Word.

  8. P.S. It was the corrupted Alexandrian texts (not Masoretic O.T.) from which Constantine (Sun worshiper) ordered the Latin Vulgate to be written from. Everything other than a KJV agrees with the corrupted Gnostic, Catholic texts. Changed words means changed meanings, changed doctrines.

  9. Its really eye opening when the proof is given of how modern versions of the Bible begin adding to or taking away from Gods Word. To those who like to claim that the King James Bible is flawed and newer translations include heretofore unearthed, earlier manuscripts remember: earlier isn't a guarantee of better. If the god you serve is so small that he can't get his word to you perfectly and completely, why worship him.
    My God is more than capable of this simple task. The replication of the King James Bible is a literary impossibility in todays society where the educated masses can't agree on any one topic more than a single news cycle.
    Where were the numerous scholars for the modern translations that had to come to a 100% agreement on each and every word that was translated? The verses and subject shown to be left out or moved to another verse are important and what was the driving force that made such actions necessary?
    The King James Bible has proven its accuracy and worth from the moment it was released. Lives have been brought to Jesus to save with its opening. Why is another translation needed!?! Why do you need a "simpler, modern" version that is basically just an excuse to dumb down your vocabulary.
    Let the truth offend and if you can't handle it, then quit crying and research it yourself. To say the Word of God is flawed is evil from the mouth of satan because Yahweh God has gotten His unadulterated, pure Word to his flock.
    Finally, I pray for the lying spirit in the modern church to be destroyed so the people can cling to the Word of God and break this cycle of "need a better version". I don't need a decaffinated bible, I need the clear Word of God that I can find in the King James Bible. I thank No Greater Joy Ministries for the blessed articles and steadfastness in these times of falling away! 'Nuff said.

  10. when verses are translated in some way or in a similar way with other translators, it is logical to understand this.
    HOWEVER, when verses are NOT translated or missing, this is the issue.
    this is not a slight variance, this is wrong.

  11. What I also love about the KJV is that it is the only Bible where Jesus and Hosea agree on the 3rd aspect of the husband/wife relationship mentioned in Genesis....1) male/female, 2) head/help meet, 3) lifelong unconditional commitment til death do they part sacrificial love free gift...picture of God’s devotion to His chosen (& very undeserving) people, picture of salvation security that children & circle of influence can observe....the worse the spouse the easier it is to demonstrate God’s irrational unfair suffering love for the sinner that every unbeliever & believer alike are (thoughts grieve the Holy Spirit too), and a picture of Jesus’ love for his bride the Church, including the disgusting fornicating Corinthian believers. Can’t earn salvation security nor spousal devotion security. It is a free gift, gift, gift, free gift, gift, and free gift.

  12. Thank you for opening my eyes! Many people don't know this. I just switched from NIV to KJV after reading this and checking it all up in my NIV bible. So much is missing! I never realized!

  13. People have forgotten history! Throughout the dark ages, there was a great war between the Church of Rome and Alexandria, and the church in the wilderness. The church in the wilderness preserved the Greek texts of Lucian, whereas the Church of Rome favored the perverted texts of Gnostic occultists Origen and Eusebius. Eventually, a mixture of the two was translated into Latin by St. Jerome, which became the official Bible of Rome--the Vulgate. This became the basis for modern Romish translations of the Reformation era, such as the Douay version.

    Throughout the dark ages, Waldenses and others in the East maintained the uncorrupted Greek manuscripts. Their missionary activities created an abundance of these manuscripts, and in the early 16th Century, around 3000 of these were collected by Erasmus, found to be practically identical, and compiled into what was termed the "Received Text." Received, not from Rome, but from those who had escaped death for the crime of holding such contraband.

    This notwithstanding the perverted Greek manuscripts of Eusebius/Origen, of which Constantine had ordered a measly 50 copies for the Church. Today, these "older," "more reliable" Greek perversions are indeed older, because some of them were mothballed and locked away for many centuries in Rome, Alexandria, the papal monastery at the phony Mount Sinai in Egypt, and a few other places.

    In the 19th Century, Westcott and Hort, who were undercover agents of Rome and Lucifer, resurrected the old Gnostic Greek perversions, and presented their work to the world as "older, more reliable" Greek on which we should base our faith.

    The Protestant Bible is the nemesis of Rome. The best way for her to destroy it now, is to destroy faith in it. And what better way than to create doubt as to its reliability, and introduce and endless variety of meanings, and question that many passages may have been added through the ages of darkness?

    The goal of Rome, especially since going underground in the late 18th Century, has been to "recoup Scripture." And they now confidently state that they have successfully done this, through cooperative efforts with the Protestant churches.

    Through this means, faith is again transfered from Christ and His living Word, to the Church, to theologians, to mortal men. And faith falls. Ichabod! The glory is departed!

  14. Thank the Lord for you , your wife , and everyone associated with God's ministry, through you and yours! Brother, I love reading your work; and your wife's. Please stay the course that your readers love to read. I'm one of a fortunate few to have sat under Floyd Nolan Jones , He,like you, is a huge fan of KJV, for many reasons. Thank you, for staying the course, all these years. God Bless You and yours, til Jesus comes and gets us! With much love ,
    John

  15. The scripture is our supreme authority and must be preserved. It is also true that we are to walk in the unity of the Spirit, not just the letter of the law Eph 4:6, II Cor. 3:6.

    As diligent workmen studying and showing ourselves approved, accurately handling the Word of truth, we advocate a FULL study of the scriptures, II Tim 2:15. The scripture proves ans supports itself. Every verse you mentioned, and practically every other point in the Bible, has one or more corresponding, describing, even duplicate verse within the Word of God.

    Matt. 28:19, I Cor 8:6, II Cor 3:17 - The Holy Trinity
    Rev. 22:13 - Alpha Omega
    John 3:15, John 3:36 - Believe in Jesus for eternal life.
    Matt 1:23, Luke 1:27 - Virgin birth
    Act 8:12 Acts 19:4 - Belief in Jesus before baptism

    I also have a preference for the Bible I read and there are versions I will not read, as I don't find them very accurate. But instead of taking the opportunity to prove my point about my bible preference, I will study, and allow the Spirit to bring to remembrance other verses which will call people to our Lord. If our goal is to love God and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you Matt 28:19-20, we should do that. Being kind able to teach, not trying to argue II Tim 2:24 and trust that the God we serve is able to reach whomever He will, through whichever means He sees fit.

    Thank you.