Current  KJV  (1850)

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

A strange and new doctrine concerning the King James Bible is held by some today. It is said that the KJV is an absolutely "infallible" translation that "perfectly preserves the word of God in English" from 1611 to the present. In this insistence on absolute perfection for "every word" of the translation, it is common to hear some argue that the KJV has not undergone any significant "revision or change" since 1611. Those of us who refuse to "bow the knee" to such claims, contending for the inerrancy of the original texts ONLY (Hebrew & Greek words), are viciously denounced as "Bible correctors" and "apostates without final authority!"

But when the real question is raised about the many changes that have occurred in the editions of the KJV since its initial publication in 1611, the "KJV-innerrantist" attacks and accuses his "opponent" of propagating "myth". Favorite cliches are repeated about "the myths of revision". One of the most popular objections stated by KJV-ONLYites is, "Those were all mere changes in spelling and typesetting. None of the words themselves were actually changed". Actually, that's NOT True!

Rather than taking the word of brethren on either "side" of the issue, we have investigated the authoritative sources on the alleged "changes" firsthand. In 1884, Dr. F. H. A. Scrivener, perhaps the greatest authority on the history of the "Authorized Version" (1611 KJV), aptly said concerning these changes the following —

"Most readers will be aware that numberless and not inconsiderable departures from the original or standard edition of the Authorized Translation as published in 1611, are to be found in the modern [KJV] Bibles which issue from the press by thousands every year. Some of these differences must be imputed to oversight and negligence, from which no work of man can be entirely free; but much the greater part of them are deliberate changes, introduced silently and without authority by men whose very names are often unknown."

F. H. A. SCRIVENER

[The Authorized Edition of the English Bible (1611), Its Subsequent Reprints and Modern Representatives  CAMBRIDGE, 1884 pg. 3]

Dr. Scrivener did a masterful collation of such CHANGES in the KJV occurring from the revisions of 1613, 1629, 1638, 1744, 1762, and 1769. Also, Dr. Benjamin Blayney, whose 1769 edition best represents the current KJV, said concerning his revision that "many errors that were found in former editions have been corrected, and the text reformed to such a standard of purity, as, it is presumed, is not to be met with in any other edition hitherto extant" [Scrivener, pg. 238, emphasis ours].

Most importantly, however, is a key reason for many of Blayney's 1769 "corrections" when he says, "Frequent recourse has been made to the Hebrew and Greek Originals" [Ibid.]. It will be shown below in the following list of "changes" taken from Scrivener's book (some of which were made on the basis of "the Hebrew and Greek Originals") [copies, of course], that there were indeed deliberate alterations in the KJV revisions affecting the sense of many passages. Revision is no "myth" at all !

We must hasten to say that in spite of the following PARTIAL LIST of changes, the King James Version is a trustworthy, accurate translation, a faithful giving of the original texts to the English language (like many other English and foreign translations). Our purpose here is to reproduce enough evidence to explode the real "myth" — the ERRONEOUS "infallible" translation theory that parrots the notion that there were only "changes in spelling and typesetting" in the many KJV revisions. It is hoped that this well help re-establish the scriptural and historic doctrine of the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible in the ORIGINAL LANGUAGES.

"Allowing all due honour to the English translation of the Bible, it must be granted to be a human performance, and, as such, subject to imperfection. Where any passage appears to be mistranslated, it is doubtless proper for those who are well acquainted with the original languages to point it out, and to offer, according to the best of their judgment, the true meaning of the Holy Spirit."

[Andrew Fuller's WORKS pg. 990]

SINCE  1613,  PROOF  OF  ACTUAL  WORD  CHANGES  IN  KJV  REVISIONS  AFFECTING  THE  SENSE  OF  MANY  PASSAGES...

SAMPLES  BELOW

KJV Differences & Revision Changes are in BOLD

SCRIPTURE	A.V.  KJV  (1611)	Current  KJV  (1850)
Genesis 19:21	concerning this thing	concerning this thing also
Genesis 23:18	gates	gate
Genesis 39:1	hand	hands
Genesis 39:16	her lord	his lord
Genesis 47:6	any man	any men
Exodus 15:25	he made a statute	he made for them a statute
Exodus 21:32	thirty shekels	thirty shekels of silver
Exodus 23:13	names	name
Exodus 35:29	hands	hand
Leviticus 2:4	it shall be an unleavened cake	it shall be unleavened cakes
Leviticus 10:14	sacrifice	sacrifices
Leviticus 19:34	shall be as one born	shall be unto you as one born
Leviticus 20:11	shall be put to death	shall surely be put to death
Leviticus 25:23	were strangers	are strangers
Leviticus 26:23	be reformed by these things	be reformed by me by these things
Leviticus 26:40	the iniquity of their fathers	their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers
Numbers 4:40	houses	house
Numbers 7:55	charger of an hundred and thirty shekels	charger of the weight of an hundred and thirty shekels
Deutnomy 5:29	keep my commandments	keep all my commandments
Joshua 3:11	covenant, even the Lord	covenant of the Lord
Joshua 7:14	households   [2nd occurrence]	household
Ruth 3:15	and he went into the citie.	and she went into the city.
1 Samuel 18:27	David arose, he and his men	David arose and went, he and his men
1 Samuel 28:7	servant	servants
2 Samuel 16:8	to thy mischief	in thy mischief
2 Kings 11:10	in the temple.	in the temple of the LORD.
2 Kings 23:21	this book of the Covenant	the book of this covenant
1 Chron 7:5	were men of might	were valiant men of might
1 Chron 11:15	of David	to David
2 Chron 28:22	this	his
Job 33:22	His soul draweth near	Yea, his soul draweth near
Psalm 141:9	snare	snares
Proverbs 7:21	With much fair speech	With her much fair speech
Eccles 2:16	shall be forgotten	shall all be forgotten
Sg of Solm 4:6	mountains	mountain
Sg of Solm 5:12	water	waters
Isaiah 34:11	The cormorant and the bittern	But the cormorant and the bittern
Isaiah 49:13	heaven	heavens
Isaiah 49:13	God	the LORD
Isaiah 57:8	and made a covenant	and made thee a covenant
Jeremiah 4:6	standards	standard
Jeremiah 31:14	be satisfied with goodness	be satisfied with my goodness
Jeremiah 31:18	thou art the Lord my God	for thou art the Lord my God
Jeremiah 51:12	watchman	watchmen
Jeremiah 51:30	their	her
Ezekiel 6:8	that he may	that ye may
Ezekiel 12:19	violence of them	violence of all them
Ezekiel 24:5	him	them
Ezekiel 24:7	poured it upon the ground	poured it not upon the ground
Ezekiel 48:8	they	ye
Daniel 3:15	the midst of a fiery furnace	the midst of a burning fiery furnace
Daniel 12:13	the lot	thy lot
Joel 3:13	the wickedness	their wickedness
Amos 8:3	Temples	temple
Zechariah 7:7	of the plain	and the plain
Malachi 3:4	offerings	offering
Matthew 12:23	Is this the son of David?	Is not this the son of David?
Matthew 14:9	othes	oath's
Matthew 16:16	Thou art Christ	Thou art the Christ
Mark 6:26	othes	oath's
John 11:3	sister	sisters
John 12:22	told	tell
John 15:20	the Lord	his Lord
Acts 5:34	a doctor of law	a doctor of the law
Romans 14:10	we shall all stand	for we shall all stand
1 Corinth 10:28	The earth is the Lords	for the earth is the Lord's
1 Corinth 12:28	helps in governments	helps, governments
1 Corinth 15:6	And	After
Philippians 4:6	request	requests
2 Thessa 2:14	the Lord Jesus Christ	our Lord Jesus Christ
1 Timothy 1:4	rather than edifying	rather than godly edifying
2 Timothy 4:8	unto them also	unto all them also
Hebrews 3:10	hearts	heart
Hebrews 12:1	run with patience unto the race	run with patience the race
1 John 5:12	he that hath not the Son, hath not life.	he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Revelation 13:6	dwelt	dwell
2 Chron 33:19	[Cambridge  KJV  Editions] sin	[Oxford  KJV  Editions] sins
Jeremiah 34:16	whom ye	whom he

(with the above evidence)  A QUESTION for "KJV-ONLYites" —

Since the revisions of the KJV from 1613-1850 made (in addition to changes in punctuation, capitalization, and spelling) many hundreds of changes in words, word order, possessives, singulars for plurals, articles, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, entire phrases, and the addition and deletion of words — would you say the KJV was "verbally inerrant" in 1611... or 1613, 1629, 1638, 1644, 1664, 1701, 1744, 1762, 1769, or 1850?

Is it from GOD or MAN ?? — the theory that the KJV is the "ONLY", ...or "BEST", ...or "PERFECT" translation of the original "verbally inerrant" inspired Hebrew & Greek words...

 IS  REVISION  of  a  Bible  Translation  Always  Wrong?

"All subsequent copies or translations are "inspired" only to the extent that they accurately represent the autographs." [HOMER KENT, Spire (Fall, 1983), pg. 3]

"Versions, or translations, are not inspired. If they were, all of them would be just alike. But the original manuscript was inspired." [B. H. CARROLL, as quoted in James M. Gray's A Coffer of Jewels About Our Infallible, Eternal Word of God pg. 272]

"As to our being "left without a standard", through the multiplicity and variety of translations, we have only to say that there can, in the nature of things, be no perfect standard but the Hebrew and Greek originals; these, being written by inspired men, are infallible, while all translations by men uninspired must be more or less imperfect. The number of translations cannot affect the original." [SAMUEL AARON  &  DAVID BERNARD, The Faithful Translation (1842) pg. 30]

"The Holy Spirit chose as the language of the New Testament revelation the colloquial language of everyday people, not an ancient classical idea. The modern insistence upon the supremacy of the King James Version of 1611 represents a reversal of the action of the Holy Spirit by insisting that for us the best idiom for the word of God is not the modern colloquial idiom, but the ancient classical language of Shakespeare." [GEORGE ELDON LADD, The New Testament and Criticism pg. 88]

"Are translations inspired? The position is here taken that so far as a translation faithfully represents the original Scriptures, it is characterized by the same inspiration with them. If it exactly coincides with the original as to matter, it is substantially the same with it. So far as it deviates from the original, it ceases to be inspired... The translation was effected by fallible men, and therefore contains some errors... The translators were uninspired men, and consequently liable to mistakes; the translation is inspired, so far it exactly gives the original — so far, no more." [JOHN GIRARDEAU, Discussions of Theological Questions (1905), pgs. 368-370]

"We have no right to expect that the inspiration of the original writer will be followed by a miracle in the case of every copyist. Why believe in infallible copyists, more than in infallible printers? God educates us to care for his word, and for its correct transmission. Reverence has kept the Scriptures more free from various readings than are other ancient manuscripts. None of the existing variations endanger any important article of faith. Yet some mistakes in transcription there probably are." [AUGUSTUS H. STRONG, Systematic Theology pg. 226]

"Why so strenuous of exact inspiration of the words, when you admit there may be errors of transcription? What do you gain? We answer, we gain all the difference there is between an inspired and an uninspired original; all the difference between a document truly divine and authoritative to begin with — though the copies or translations may have in minute particulars varied from it — and a document faulty and unreliable at the outset, and never really divine... There is even now, with some ignorant persons, an assumption of the infallibility and equality with the original of some particular translation, as the Vulgate, or King James, or Luthers." [BASIL MANLEY JR., The Bible Doctrine of Inspiration (1888) pg. 84]

"The nature of language does not permit a 'perfect' translation — the semantic area of words differs between languages so that there is seldom complete overlap. A 'perfect' translation of John 3:16 from Greek into English is impossible, for we have no perfect equivalent for "agapao" [translated "loved" in John 3:16]." [WILBUR NORMAN PICKERING, The Identity of the New Testament Text (1977, 1980)]

"We affirm and avow, that the very meanest [poorest or least esteemed] translation of the Bible in English, set forth by men of our profession... contains the Word of God, nay, is the Word of God. Though it be not interpreted by every Translator with like grace, the King's speech is still the King's speech; no cause therefore why the word translated should be denied to be the word, or forbidden to be currant [used], notwithstanding that some imperfections and blemishes may be noted in the setting forth [translating] of it." [KING JAMES TRANSLATORS, Translators to the Readers Preface of the King James Version 1611]

"Variety of translations is profitable for finding out of the sense of the scriptures." [Ibid.]

"For any preacher or theologian who loves God's Word to allow that Word to go on being misunderstood because of the veneration of an archaic, not-understood version of four centuries ago is inexcusable, and almost unconscionable." [THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN, as quoted in D. A. Carson's The King James Version Debate pg. 102]

"To the Bible in its original languages is every translation to be brought, and by it to be examined, tried, and judged, and to be corrected and amended: and if this was not the case, we should have no certain and infallible rule to go by." [JOHN GILL, A Body of Divinity pg. 13]

"I do not hesitate to say that I believe that there is no mistake whatever in the original Holy Scriptures from beginning to end. There may be, and there are MISTAKES of translation — for translators are NOT INSPIRED — but even the historical facts are correct... there is not an error in the whole compass of them. These words come from him who can make no mistake, and who can have no wish to deceive his creatures." [C. H. SPURGEON, from sermon The Bible Tried and Proved MTP Vol 35, Year 1889, pg. 257, Psalms 12:6]

"Believers in verbal inspiration should be studiously careful to be verbally correct. The gentlemen who see errors in Scripture may think themselves competent to amend the language of the Lord of hosts; but we who believe God, and accept the very words He uses, may not make so presumptuous an attempt. Let us quote the words as they stand in the best possible translation, and it will be better still if we know the original, and can tell if our version fails to give the sense." [C. H. SPURGEON, Greatest Fight in the World  book  pg. 23]

"A perfect translation of the Bible is humanly impossible. The words in one language do not have exactly the same color and meaning as opposite words in another language, and human frailty and imperfection enter in. So, let us say, there are no perfect translations." [JOHN R. RICE, Our God-Breathed Book — The Bible pg. 376]

"To claim, therefore, inerrancy for the King James Version, or even for the Revised Version, is to claim inerrancy for men who never professed it for themselves; is to clothe with the claim of verbal inspiration a company of men who would almost quit their graves to repudiate such equality with Prophet and Apostle." [WILLIAM BELL RILEY, his message, The Meaning of Modernism]