Why The King James Bible?
Many people question why it is so important to read the King James Bible, I will tell you that I have read several of the new versions of the Bible and I do not care what people say about them being easier to understand, they are not. They are confusing and some are so way off the subject it is no wonder why people cannot believe that the Bible is was written by God and not man. Of course, any version written by man can bring one to Christ, but no one can grow in their walk with God unless they have the entire Word of God. Modern versions of the Bible eliminate important factors that we need to know about, things like the need for remission of sins and hell. In this day and age it is imperative that we know the truth because Jesus returning, and ignorance does not save anyone.
“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” – Hebrews 13:7-9.
Most modern versions are the work of men, but the King James is a divine work of the Holy Spirit. The translators were not the ones inspired to write God’s Word, those were only the men who penned down the original manuscripts. The term “Authorized” has traditionally been applied to the King James Bible alone, for this is the one Book which led King James and other men to translate the Bible into the English language. The fact that it bears no copyright allows printing ministries throughout the world to print millions of copies each year for the mission field.
If you glanced that the page where I listed several versions, and how some have completely removed or added something completely different, than you may understand that the consequences could be costly. How? It could be a matter of life and death of a soul. Thousands of people believe in Jesus today, but the majority of them do not know the reason He died was to save them from hell, of which all are damned to if they do not understand that they are sinners and that Jesus died to save them from the punishment of sin, which is death and hell.
Jesus is the living Word of God and God never changes! Why then are we so ready to accept changes to God’s Word in the form of different versions? The Authorized King James has faithfully served the body of Christ for hundreds of years. During this time, and during its translation, Satan has viciously and relentlessly attacked it.
Even the world knows the Authorized King James Bible has been listed on Norton Anthology’s list of “the world’s best literature” for decades. I know that God has the power to preserve His Word and that He would not leave us out in the dark with an “imperfect” translation. In the authorized King James, God assembled, a team of some of the world’s best scholars to translate His word into the world’s most popular language, English. Today, the King James Bible is available in more languages than any other version, it is important to have a true translation in your native tongue because you think and understand it best in your own language.
We must remember also, that the Bible is a spiritual book and is understandable to those who are led by the Holy Spirit. It is not possible for the natural man to understand it, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” -I Corinthians 2:14. The Bible is not supposed to read like a fairy tale book, it is a biography of the life of the Jews, other godly nations, early Christians, and Jesus Christ Himself. Peter said, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” – II Peter 1:16.
Why Read The King James Only
1. The King James Is The Pure Preserved Word of God
God’s Word has been preserved for all time. It has been preserved for every generation. We know that God’s Word has not been hidden or lost to man, since it was first spoken and recorded in God’s written revelation. We can be assured that we have not had to depend on the latest discoveries of the oldest manuscripts, or on the efforts of fallible man to uncover God’s words. God has preserved his words to all generations, without fail! These words state very clearly that God’s preserved word must be available to us today, because God promised to preserve it for us. “For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” – Psalm 100:5.
The King James Bible was translated from the preserved and infallible words of God. It does not merely contain the word of God: it IS the Word of God. The word pure of God is defined as being free from anything contaminating, in other words, it is genuine and free from error. The word preserved is defined as something to keep alive, meaning to keep it in existence. God promises that His Word is pure, genuine and free from error. He also promises that it is preserved, meaning that no matter how many people try to take it out of existence they cannot. “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” – Psalm 12:6,7.
God places supreme importance upon His Written Word and warns anyone who tries to altar it in any way of the consequences they face. “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” – Revelation 22:18,19.
God has preserved His Word for us through the King James Bible, when two different Bibles say two different things, it poses a major problem. If they are different, at least one of them is incorrect. I simply do not want my Bible to be a source of confusion.
2. Translators Were God-Ordained
The main subject of the Bible is the kingdom which God intends to give to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will be crowned “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,” according to Revelation 19:16. Ecclesiastes 8:4 says, “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” Unlike most modern versions, the King James was translated under a king. In fact, the king’s name was James, which is the English word for Jacob, whom God renamed Israel, because he had power with God and with men.
Most modern Bibles which have come into being in the past hundred and twenty-five years are based on the Westcott-Hort texts. The Westcott-Hort texts are frankly false texts in that they have been tampered with. Scrivener, a contemporary of Westcott and Hort, produced a Textus-Receptus New Testament Greek text in which he documents that Westcott and Hort changed the New Testament text 9,970 times. They amended! They emended! They deleted! They added things! They literally pilfered the Greek text. Therefore, no matter how sincere or how skilled the translators are, if you have them working with a bad text, you will come out with a corrupt version.
The complete translator’s notes of the Authorized King James scholars are not included in today’s publishing’s. This is unfortunate because these notes say a lot about these men, were humble, loved the word of God, loved the King, were berated by the Catholic religion, and desired a translation for the common man who was kept in darkness. Some of the translators where killed for their faith. This book was created literally from blood, sweat, and tears.
Unlike many of today’s versions, the authorized King James translators let us know which words they used to aid in translating the original texts to give the full meaning of the original text (these are the words in italics in the James James Version). Keep in mind these were not adding to the texts, only making them understandable as English words defer greatly from other languages. These men went through the extra trouble of identifying which words they added. That’s real scholarship and integrity.
3. The King James Version Has No Copyright
While the original King James (1611) had a copyright, it does not forbid anyone today from reprinting the Authorized Version. It was only copyrighted then for the purpose of allowing the printer to finance the publication. For over four hundred years, millions of copies of King James Bibles have been printed without requesting permission from anyone. Over eight-hundred million copies of the Authorized Version have been printed without paying royalties. This cannot be said of any of the new translations, they cannot even be quoted above a certain amount of characters unless they have permission.