Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man. - Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man. - Luke 21:36
Corporate ownership of modern translations
The old English Thee, Thy and Thou are too hard to read
The two opposing schools of thought
This Study is not an Attack on those who prefer the Critical Text
There are 3000 differences between the manuscripts
A critical look at the making of the Critical Text
Evidence of tampering in early Alexandrian manuscripts
Assumptions, techniques and results
Are there any significant differences between these two manuscripts? Is it necessary to understand these differences before you chose a Bible version?
The answer is YES, and it is essential that Christians start to understand this issue. If the Christians do not take responsibility for keeping our sacred manuscripts pure, who will?
Many Christians are completely ignorant that there is a debate going on. Often a Christian will join a church and begin using their Bible without any other consideration. In discussions with other Christians, the most common reason for picking a modern translation is to get rid of those hard to understand thee and thus of the King James Version (KJV).
If the Grammar of the KJV were the only issue though, we would not need this paper. I cannot think of the words necessary to stress the importance of the Church as a body to study and show itself approved.
Before we start, let us define the Received Text (RT) as the Greek manuscript that was translated into the King James Version. The Received Text is the New Testament that the church has passed down from generation to generation.
In recent years, publishers have produced many modern translations of the Bible. With the exception of the New King James Version (NKJV), translators base their modern versions almost exclusively on a new Greek manuscript called the Critical Text (CT). The Critical Text is a Greek manuscript edited by Scholars who believe that the Received Text, From which we get the KJV is a corrupt manuscript.
The church should address the question of ownership before it appraises the value of the manuscripts themselves. In using modern translations, the church has turned over the guardianship of the Sacred Scriptures to big business. Is it not the church's responsibility to translate the Scriptures and spread the Gospel?
Here is the problem, when you buy a modern translation you are paying for a license to read the book, not quote from it. You own the paper and leather cover, however you do not own the words. Most publishers allow you to may make partial quotes, however you may not quote an entire book without their prior written consent.
Here are some examples of copyright permissions for different Bible versions.
You may not quote this Bible without the publisher's prior written consent.
You may quote 1000 verses, if it is less than a whole book of the Bible and less than 50% of your manuscript
You may quote 1000 verses, if it is less than 50% of a book of the Bible and less than 50% of your manuscript
You may quote 500 verses, if it is less than a whole book of the Bible and less than 25% of your manuscript
You may quote 500 verses, if it is less than a whole book of the Bible and less than 25% of your manuscript
You may quote each and every verse in the entire Bible and it can be 100% of your manuscript 
And if you do quote from one of the modern translations do not forget that you must put their copyright notice at the bottom of each page. For the NIV it reads: "Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica."
The bottom line is this, if you are using one of these modern versions you are not free to go out and proclaim the whole Gospel. Knowing history, knowing martyrs like William Tyndale, who they burned at the stake for giving us a Bible in English, why is the church turning over the stewardship of God’s Word of to commercial publishers?
Another argument in favor of modern versions says that the KJV English is too hard to read or understand. However, is the easy way the best way? Perhaps it is time that the church grows up.
For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. - Hebrews 5:12
It may take a few readings to get used to; my own seven children started reading the KJV at five or six years old, and they were reasonably fluent by age seven. With a little practice, very few adults should not be able to do the same thing.
It is easier for children to follow along in a Bible study using one translation, even if it is the KJV, than where several different modern versions are used. It is much easier for them to memorize scripture when they use one and only one version of the Bible. The KJV’s English is unique, this also makes it easier to memorize.
Finally, and most important, the archaic thee, thou and thine are one of the treasures in the King James Version and give it an interesting advantage. The thee, thou and thine are singular, while all the ye, you and yours are in the plural, sort of like "you all". These singular and plural distinctions in the Greek are missing in modern translations.
But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, [singular] and comest thou [singular] to me? - Matthew 3:14
AND
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will
make you [plural] fishers of men.
- Matthew 4:19
As you may have guessed, this is the position supported by this study.
The church has kept the Word of God through the centuries. The Church has always believed that it had the inerrant Word of God. This Word was passed down to us in what are now known as the Majority Text, called thus for obvious reasons. In the 16th century, a scholar named Erasmus compiled a complete manuscript of the New Testament using the Majority Texts; today we know this manuscript as the Received Text or for the scholars reading this Textus Receptus. The Received Text was the main manuscript used in the 17th century to translate the KJV. In a sentence, these scholars translating the King James Version used manuscripts the church had passed down through the ages as the New Testament.
Jesus said:
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. - Matthew 5:18
AND
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away -Matthew 24:35
We will see in a moment how the proponents of the Critical Text do not believe their manuscript is inerrant. Nor do they agree with each other on what were the actual words of Jesus. If you understand the underlying issues, if you are consistent and if you believe the CT is the best manuscript, you must believe that at least some of Jesus words have passed away.
The Bible warns us.
Ye shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye
may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
- Deuteronomy 4:2
AND
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. - Proverbs 30:5-6
AND
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
In spite of all these warnings, we all know that there has been tampering with some Bible manuscripts. Yet, what is the chaff to the wheat? Those who love the Word of God will take His warnings seriously. Those who believe the Scripture know that any improvements to the Sacred Scripture are done to the scribes own destruction.
If you understand this and still prefer the Critical Text, you must believe that in spite of God’s warnings the church regularly (even thousands of times) changed the Word, either to improve its harmony, clarify doctrine, or for any other reason. To quote Dr. Bruce M. Metzger a Christian authority, scholar and one of the editors of the Critical Text (Dr. Metzger will be introduced more formally in a moment):
"Other divergences in wording arose from deliberate attempts to smooth out grammatical or stylistic harshness, or to eliminate real or imagined obscurities of meaning in the text. Sometimes a copyist would substitute or would add what seemed to him to be a more appropriate word or form, perhaps derived from a parallel passage (called harmonization or assimilation). Thus, during the years immediately following the composition of the several documents that eventually were collected to form the New Testament, hundreds if not thousands of variant readings arose. …
"The chief characteristic of Western readings is fondness for paraphrase. Words, clauses, and even whole sentences are freely changed, omitted, or inserted. Sometimes the motive appears to have been harmonization, while at other times it was the enrichment of the narrative by the inclusion of traditional or apocryphal material. Some readings involve quite trivial alterations for which no special reason can be assigned. …” [The bold font is my emphasis]
How much kinder is Dr. Metzger than the apostle Peter who said, "Which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction". I myself tend to be more like Peter; The true church would never try to improve on the scriptures.
As Dr Metzger states, through the centuries, church scholars regularly and freely edited their manuscripts, therefore the Received Text has been slowly accumulating errors until it is an inferior manuscript. The oldest copy of the RT is relatively new, dating to the 16th century. (That is a complete New Testament. There are thousands of partial manuscripts and fragments that support the RT; some dating as far back as the early second century.)
The RT varies considerably with two ancient and nearly complete manuscripts dating to the mid 4th century. Scholars discovered these ancient and therefore more accurate manuscripts in the 1800’s. To be specific they found the codex Siniaticus in a monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai and the codex Vatacanus in the Vatican library (A priest discovered it earlier in the 15th century but apparently returned it to the shelf forgotten).
Both of these manuscripts originated in Alexandra Egypt, so naturally we call them the Alexandrian Manuscripts. Because of their age, many regard the Alexandrian Manuscripts as the most accurate manuscripts. This includes the majority of modern scholars and the translators of modern English versions of the Bible.
With these ancient manuscripts as their major source of inspiration and using the process of textual criticism, scholars have been able to remove many of the errors and produce a manuscript that closely resembles the original autographs.
In concluding:
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for
doctrines the commandments of men.
- Matthew 15:9
If the Bible does have errors, it is no longer the final authority. If God cannot, or did not, protect the Bible from tampering, it is no longer a divine revelation. Who should decide then; what is the word of God? and what are the doctrines of men?
While trying to show that the Received Text is pure, I am not accusing scholars and church leaders who prefer the Critical Text of any conspiratorial motivation. The goal is only to show how this movement to replace the Received Text is and has undermined the authority of the Word of God.
Attacks on the Word of God should not surprise us. They started before the apostles finished writing the epistles. Peter notes:
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. - 2 Peter 3:15-17
For Christians to be ignorant of the conspiracy, of which Peter warned, is to do so to our own harm.
Read this paper entirely before you make up your mind. It may be the shortest work to deal with the differences between the manuscripts in a thorough manor. If you study to show yourself approved, God may use you as a guardian of His Word. The Word that He said would out last heaven and earth.
There are about 3000 differences between the Received Text and the Critical Text. In order for you to decide if this is an important issue, look at some of their differences. To list all 3000 may be excessive, so I cite slightly over one hundred of the most significant disparities.
We will compare the King James Version (KJV) to the New International Version (NIV) because these two are the two most popular English versions.
The following quotes are from the KJV (Received Text). Where the words (or their modern equivalent) are struck through like this they are missing from the NIV (Critical Text) and most modern translations. So put your KJV and NIV side by side.
Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Matthew 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:27 Which of you by taking
thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
[Changed to one hour of life.]
Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. [This is also missing in Mark 2:17]
Matthew 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Matthew 18:11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Matthew 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Matthew 20:7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
Matthew 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. [The hour of what?]
Matthew 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
Mark 1:31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
Mark 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
Mark 7:16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mark 10:24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Mark 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: [Jesus said: "let him that readeth understand" Is it possible he did not tell us what to read?]
Mark 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Mark 15:28 And the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
Mark 16:8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Most modern Bibles add the resurrection account in The Gospel of Mark though it is missing from both of the Alexandrian manuscripts. Yet, it must be a controversial issue for most translators. For instance, the International Bible Society places these faith-filled words after vs. 8: "The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20."
It appears that some think the good news of Mark should have ended with these encouraging words: "Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."
Luke 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. [Replaced with the word father]
Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Luke 6:48 He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. [Replaced with the words well built]
Luke 9:55-56 But he turned, and rebuked them and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
Luke 11:2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luke 17:36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Luke 22:64 And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?
Luke 23:42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 5:3-4 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. [If you look at verse 7, you will see that it has lost its meaning when you leave verse 4 out]
John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. [What you believe is important]
John 7:53-8:11 [Again like Mark
16:9-20 the NIV prefaces this passage with the words "The
earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses
do not have John 7:53-8:11." If this is so, why is this passage
in their Bible?]
And every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled.