What About the KJV Bible?
Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together …
2 Timothy 4:3-4
“The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
“They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
And our memory refresher verse(s) for today is(are) …
Matthew 22:37-40
“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Please open your Bibles to: Psalm 119:9-16
(the CENTER of the Bible)
I have heard it said that Psalm 119 is chapter of the Bible that falls exactly in the center of the Bible. Other people say that it is Psalm 118. Either way, if you open your Bible to the middle you should be pretty close to Psalm 119.
And, what is Psalm 119 all about? Psalm 119 is about the wisdom that comes from knowing and following the Word of the LORD all the days of your life!
With that in mind let’s read from God’s Word: Psalm 119:9-16
May God bless the reading of His Word!
(Prayer for help with today’s message)
God’s Holy Word is VITAL to the life of a follower of Jesus Christ!
Does anyone know what this is? This is a King James Bible.
The KJV Bible is a good Bible.
The KJV Bible was originally translated in England between the years of 1604 and 1611. And since that time tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands or millions of Christians have depended on this translation of the Word of God for their spiritual life.
Many have been saved by the power of the Holy Spirit moving in their souls as they read through the KJV Bible.
Many have been sanctified holy and dedicated their lives to the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit moving in their souls as they studied the KJV Bible.
Many are now in heaven because they had access to the KJV Bible and the Word of the Lord came alive in their hearts as they read through the pages.
I thank God for the KJ Bible!
The KJ Bible is a good Bible.
The KJ Bible is not the best translation ever and it is not the worst translation either.
The KJ Bible is a good translation.
Did you ever wonder how the KJV of the Bible came to be?
It is not the first Bible ever to be printed in English.
So, what caused King James I to authorize the translation of the Bible?
Just as a side note …
Sometimes the KJV is called the “Authorized” Bible.
In England in the 1600’s a person could be put to death for translating the Bible into English without permission from the King.
King James I “authorized” or gave permission to have the Bible translated.
Let me give you an example of what I mean …
If I wanted to build a house I would have to go to the local authority to obtain a building permit. The building permit would “authorize” me to build a house in the area controlled by that authority.
In the same way, King James I authorized the translation of the Bible.
So … WHY did King James I authorize the translation of the Bible?
It all started with King Henry VIII. Prior to King Henry VIII England was a Catholic nation with the church properties, the priests and much political power being controlled by the Bishops who were under the control of the Pope.
King Henry VIII wanted a marriage annulment. He needed an annulment because the Catholic Church does not believe in divorce. An annulment, on the other hand, basically says that the Sacrament of Matrimony never took place to begin with.
The church would not grant an annulment so King Henry VIII seized all of the assets of the Catholic Church in England and set himself up as the head of the newly formed Church of England. This was done through an act of parliament.
After Henry’s death his son, Edward V (by Jane Seymour), reigned for six years as the head of the Church of England.
After Edward’s death, Henry’s daughter, Mary (by Queen Katherine of Aragon), came to power. Mary was a staunch Catholic and immediately returned England to Catholicism. She also began persecuting the protestant Christians, many of whom fled to Geneva, Switzerland.
After Mary’s death, Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth I (by Anne Boleyn), came to power and she reestablished the Church of England making her the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
After her death we finally arrive at King James I.
OK. So, what was the catalyst that caused King James I to authorize the translation of a new English Bible text?
When KJ came to power there were two Bibles in England that were popular; the Geneva Bible that was popular with the Puritans and others who were in favor of a less power structured church and the Bishop’s Bible which was favored by the clergy.
KJ despised the Geneva because it contained almost as much opinion on the Scriptures as it did Scripture itself. It was very much like one of the more modern study Bibles. The problem KJ had was that the commentary was hostile to a rigid church structure as was found in the Church of England and was critical of royal authority in the church.
KJ also wanted a replacement because the Bishop’s Bible was unpopular with the non-clergy population and so the Geneva Bible was gaining strength in that area.
A suggestion for a new Bible translation was made to KJ, he liked the idea and put it into action.
Do you remember when we talked about getting authority from a code enforcement officer to build a house? Well, along with that there is a code for building that must be followed.
In the same manner KJ made a list of rules for the translators to follow.
Here are some examples of the rules (modified for readability)
1. The Bishop’s Bible is to be followed and as little altered as the original Greek and Hebrew texts will permit. (about 70 to 80 percent of the Bishop’s Bible made it into the KJV Bible)
3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept; the word that could be translated as church or congregation should always be translated as church, the word overseer should always be translated as Bishop, etc.
6. No marginal notes at all to be affixed. (Don’t make this into a commentary or study Bible.)
14. If the Tyndale Bible, Cloverdale Bible, Matthew’s Bible, Whitchurch’s Bible or Geneva Bible agree better with the Greek and Hebrew texts than the Bishop’s Bible, use them instead.
Other rules were related to the careful review of the new text by other committees and scholars.
Another rule stated that the clergy was to use the KJV in place of any other Bible.
The KJV was intended to replace the Geneva Bible in popularity and to provide a Bible that would be the same in the church as in the home.
For me, it was fascinating to see how the KJV Bible drew on not only the existing Greek and Hebrew texts but it also drew on previous translations as well.
The KJV Bible is a good Bible.
One drawback is that it is written in a different dialect of English.
Let me give you a couple of examples. I DO NOT mean these to poke fun at the KJV Bible, I just use them as examples as how much the language has changed from 1611.
2 Corinthians 6:11-13 KJV
“O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.”
2 Corinthians 6:11-13 NIV
“We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange - I speak as to my children - open wide your hearts also.”
And, just one more example from one of our memory Scriptures …
Ephesians 2:10 KJV
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Now, that one is not as hard to understand but can you imagine a supervisor saying to an employee, “Here is the list of objectives I have before ordained for you, now, go walk in them.”
The employee might be able to figure it out eventually but wouldn’t it be easier to speak in the vocabulary of the time as the NIV does in …
Ephesians 2:10 NIV
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Or in Ephesians 2:10 NLT
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
Some people who love and use the KJV Bible will actually turn to a more modern translation when they run into a difficult verse which, amazingly, is exactly what the KJV translators did; they checked the other translations out to see which was the most accurate and used that one!
God LOVES His Word! God loves the KJV. God loves the NIV, God loves the NLT. God loves the NASB. God loves the ISV. God loves the RSV, and, He protects them all.
By studying any one of these Bibles you will arrive at the same foundational Biblical doctrines such as who God is, Jesus the Savior and Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, sin, salvation, heaven, hell, eternity, the sacraments, etc.
Let me give you a brief example and you can research it in various translations and see if you agree …
Fasting ….
Where in the Bible do we see fasting being misused …
Matthew 6:16
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
In Isaiah 58:1-6 the people are going through the form of fasting but even then their hearts are filled with wickedness.
Where do we see proper fasting?
In 2 Samuel 12 King David is fasting in hope that his infant son would be spared from death …
In Esther 4 all of the Jews living in Babylon were fasting so that they would not be killed according to the plans of Haman …
In Acts 13:2 the disciples are fasting and worshiping and the Lord gives them the message that they should send Barnabas and Saul out as missionaries …
In Matthew 4 Jesus is fasting before He begins His three years of ministry …
Fasting is always in order when we are burdened for the answer to a prayer or when we need strengthening, but, when fasting is reduced to a ritual and done with wicked motives it is in vain.
I use this as an example for two reasons …
1) Because you will find this to be true in any translation you choose to use …
2) Because our dear friend and District Superintendent Kevin will be undergoing extensive surgery tomorrow for stage 3 Merkel Cell Carcinoma and I would ask anyone with a willing heart to fast as much as the Lord lays on their heart and to pray for the outcome of this surgery and for his healing.
So, what about the KJV Bible?
If I suddenly found myself in a culture with no Bible and I received a KJV Bible I would shout for joy and praise God for the gift of His Holy Word and I would do the same for any translation I was capable of reading.
God Bless His Word! God Save His Word! Amen? Amen!
