THE AUTHORISED KING JAMES HOLY BIBLE
THE soundness of doctrine in the Authorized King James Bible (referred to hereafter as the AV Bible) has not been questioned among all the adverse comments that have been leveled against it in recent years.
This Bible was first publishedin 1611 in the English language. Apart from four minor corrections, it has remained as originally translated ever since. It has been further translated into a very large number of other languages. So it has been the basis on which the spreading of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world has been achieved. This is in accordance with the instructions given by Jesus to his disciples in Luke 24:47:
“… and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name (Jesus’s) among all nations beginning at Jerusalem.”
This is further confirmed in Acts 1:8:
“ye (the disciples) shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.“
Note that this underlined part of scripture is singular. At that time that particular part of the Earth was the present day area of north west Europe and the British Isles.
For nearly 400 years now the AV Bible has promoted God’s word world wide. It is not possible that The Almighty would have permitted this translation of his word to be faulty or that it is not in accordance with his original word which the prophets and others wrote under His inspiration. We can be sure that it would have been a very small act on God’s part to ensure that this word maintained its truth and integrity. Matthew 19-26 tells us:
“…with God all things are possible”.
In Luke 1:37 the angel Gabriel tells Mary:
“For with God nothing shall be impossible”.
These words of Jesus and Gabriel are of supreme truth. Of course God has and is quite able to protect his word as it has come to us in the Bible.
(1) THE ORIGIN OF THE AV BIBLE
In England in 1603 King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England. He was a man of wide learning and an avid reader of scripture. At Hampton Court Palace in 1604 James called for a conference of many eminent representatives of the Anglican and the Puritan communities to consider the Bible as it existed then. At this time several English translations of the Bible had already appeared. In the ensuing discussions Dr John Reynolds of Corpus Christi College, Oxford suggested that a new translation of the Bible into English should be undertaken. The conference agreed. Subsequently fifty-four of probably the greatest and most learned Bible scholars ever brought together were appointed to prepare this translation of the Bible. This was a great achievement by James in bringing these two communities together at this time. The fifty-four set to work together with a will in small groups to carry out this momentous task.
(2) THE TRANSLATION
The translation was made using the English language of that time in the 17th Century which is not very dissimilar to our present day English. Modern English does not always convey the true meaning as indeed does the AV Bible language. Little difficulty is usually experienced by the patient and interested reader. The whole local context should be reviewed in order to reach understanding. Obscure words can often be explained by reference to a good dictionary. Your writer uses the Lesser Oxford Dictionary which contains words not in general usage today. It has to be admitted that some passages are not always understood. At the same time there is no doubt that the Bible’s passages may sometimes be meant by God for a certain time and/or place or for a certain person. These comments apply to all translations. A modern translation will not solve this situation. If difficulty in understanding is experienced and determination to clarify is present, it is necessary to consult with The Almighty in prayer. If it be His will understanding will come immediately or perhaps in His own good time. Never get impatient with God!
The 17th Century translators based their work on the Hebrew Masoretic Text for the Old Testament and the Greek Received Text for the New Testament. They also used the earlier English translations and some old Hebrew translations
It has been claimed that the above Greek and Hebrew Texts used were faulty. But this just cannot be true. What sort of God do these critics envisage? Would they dare to think that our Omnipotent God is unable to ensure that his word, which was to be related in the greatest and most used Bible ever, remains inerrant, of absolute truth and in accordance with his will? Paul tells us in I Corinthians 3:19:
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”
How true this is in Theology and elsewhere.
As already stated, for nearly 400 years the AV Bible has remained the main means whereby God’s word was and is spread throughout the world. It has been translated into most languages. It is unthinkable that God would allow his word to lose its inerrancy.
The translators were careful to translate word for word from the Texts. At times they needed to add words which were implied in the Greek or Hebrew Texts to make meanings clearer in the English language. These words were therefore printed in italics in the AV Bible to distinguish them from the original Texts.
Another problem they had was that the pronoun ‘you’ in the Greek and Hebrew Texts indicates that the ‘you’ is either singular or plural. They therefore used the English pronouns ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ to indicate the singular pronoun and left the pronoun ‘you’ to indicate always the plural. In the 17th Century the pronouns ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ were tending not to be used very much in general day to day conversation.
Thus the translators ensured that the original Texts were translated as far as possible correctly into English. So remember when you read ‘you’ in the AV Bible, it is not directed at yourself necessarily. It is in the plural sense and directed to more than one person, a group of people, a nation or all mankind.
Some passages of scripture appear to be ambiguous. The translators maintained this ambiguity unaltered from the Texts.They left interpretation to the reader to be guided by the Holy Spirit. If the Text included interpretation, they included it in translation. Otherwise if they had added interpretation it might be wrong. At any case some passages of scripture can have two or more meanings each of which may be right.
The translators also printed the word ‘LORD’ in capital letters, but only where it referred to God. But where a pronoun referred to God, they did not use a capital first letter, to be in keeping with the Texts.The translators were all men of God and true believers, as well as learned in Greek and Hebrew. The present day doubts and disbelief in God’s word which has undermined Theology over many years, was not present in these 54 translators. They believed all of God’s word as inspired by the Holy Spirit, as indeed should all Christians.
In 1611 the translation was completed and printed. A few minor amendments were made subsequently. The AV Bible as stated above has now spread the wonderful word of God throughout the whole earth. The wording of this Bible is both majestic and magnificent. Even some non-believers have praised its literary merit.
The critics of the AV Bible also say it is out of date. NO WAY! It is more up to date than any other Bible. It contains the everlasting word of The Divine Author Almighty God who is from everlasting unto everlasting. Is it not fitting that the word of our God should be in a language set apart from every day to day spoken English? Thus this AV Bible language identifies itself as God’s word. No other Bible is written in the AV language. Psalm 12 verses 6 and 7 sum up the Bible in God’s own divine words:
“The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them (the words of God), O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”
This quotation is of vital importance and the basis for this article. Note that Psalm 12 dwells on the wickedness of mankind. Verse 7 is saying that God’s word shall be preserved from ‘this generation’ of the wicked (verse 7). The word ‘generation’ here means all of mankind in time and space who may decry God’s word. This is further proof of the integrity of God’s word.
(3) THE INHERENT TRUTH OF THE BIBLE
From reading the AV Bible it is found that the main principles of this divine book are the advocacy of absolute truth, righteousness, honesty, justice, kindness, love, belief, faith, mercy, compassion etc. All the virtues. This being so, it is totally illogical to claim that some parts are not true or that it is not a true copy of God’s original inspirations to the many writers thereof. As we saw above in Psalm 12 God has ensured that his word is maintained in all truth. We read in scripture that God never lies. In Proverbs 30:5 we are told:
“Every word of God is pure…”
In all human activity we leam to be able to trust those who always speak the truth. There are no lies in the Bible or false evidence to make us doubt the veracity of God’s word. We can trust all its many pages in view of its advocacy of all the virtues alone. The fulfilled prophecies and promises also add great weight to such trust. Most prophecies scheduled before the second advent of Jesus the Christ have now been fulfilled. Many promises have been fulfilled and others are yet to come. One of the fulfilled prophecies made by God in the Bible was recorded in 1730 B.C. in Genesis 35:11 where God tells Jacob (Israel):
“I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee.”
Today, nearly 4,000 years later, that “nation” is the United States of America, and the “company of nations” is the British Commonwealth of Nations.
(4) KING JAMES I AND HIS AUTHORITY FOR THE AV BIBLE
Another prophecy which has been fulfilled is given in Jeremiah 31:35 and 36:
“Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; the LORD of hosts is his name: If these ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.”
Here we have a categorical statement with proof that Israel is existent as a nation today. Some of the Jews form only a small proportion of Israel and only a few of them accept the gospel of salvation, which is the New Covenant promised by God for Israel. Probably almost all of the children of Israel have been absent from the holy land since 70 A.D. They are now scattered world wide. The present Israeli state in Palestine consists of only a small percentage of true descendants of Jacob. Again few of them have accepted the new covenant and become Christians.
A further prophecy which is fulfilled is related in Jeremiah 33:17:
“For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel”.
II Samuel 7:16 tells a similar story:
“And thine (David’s) house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever”.
To doubt that God is able to fulfill these prophecies comes from our enemy Satan. He delights in persuading us to disbelieve God’s word. These three prophecies therefore establish the existence of true Israel for ever and the royal Davidic line from David’s time. The Bible contains several hundred prophecies conceming Israel; her existence and her glorious future which is solely due to God’s mercy and his word.
For those who maintain that the Jews solely are the descendants of Israel, it should be noted that the Jews have never had a royal family or a king. They rejected Jesus who told them in Matt. 21:43:
“Therefore say I (Jesus) unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given unto a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof”.
This quotation should be read in conjunction with Jeremiah 33:17 above, wherein it should be noted that David’s royal line was to sit on the throne of the ten tribed house of Israel, not in the house of Judah where David came from.
Finally it must be noted that the Jews have never been a great nation or a company of nations. See Genesis 35:11 above. May your writer say at this juncture that he has great sympathy for the Jewish peoples who have had great hardships over-many centuries, and a great sadness that they have not accepted Jesus as their Messiah.
Since David the line of royal descent has been clearly identified, up to the final exile of the house of Judah from Jerusalem, in the Bible. The last Israel king Zedekiah was taken to Babylon as were his sons, where they died. The Bible records that Jeremiah took the two daughters of Zedekiah who were named Scota and Tea Tephi (these were the last survivors of the royal line) to Egypt about 586 B.C. From this time the line of royal descent is obscure. No further history is given in the Bible. We, of course, have the prophecies that the royal line was to continue for ever.
Therefore the royal line must be in existence somewhere today.Where is this royal line? Take a look round the world today, where is there any long established royal line still in being? The only place is here in Great Britain, where for countless years a royal line of kings and queens have been reigning, up to our present much loved Queen Elizabeth II. Related royalty have also been reigning in the Scandinavian countries. The British and the Scandinavians and their many descendants are the true descendants of the children of Israel today and their royal line(s) have descended from David. How did this come about?
Secular history has revealed that in all probability, Jeremiah took Zedekiah’s two daughters to Ireland, where some of the children of Israel were then living. So the royal line continued down through the centuries in the Irish, Scottish and English kings and queens to our present day.
Back to King James. He also was in the royal line from David. He was a God fearing man of learning and an avid reader of scripture. Attempts to denigrate him have been made. But they have no substance in view of his biblical achievement. He authorized the translation and production of the AV Bible as detailed above, no doubt under the inspiration of Almighty God.
This Authorized King James Bible is the only inerrant Bible which reveals the true and authentic WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD. Praise and thanks be to God. The words in Jude verses 24 and 25 eloquently present to us all the supreme need of all mankind for the true word of God:
“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen”.
