Bible Versions

SBS    Vital Topics    Booklet Index

Part One...File 1 of 7

Part One

1. Introduction

Two of the greatest deceptions ever to confront the human race came to the fore in the 19th century: deceptions so subtle and dangerous that between them they have destroyed the faith of multiplied billions of souls in and out of the Christian Church. The first was the unproved theory of evolution: fascinating, plausible and seized upon by the godless mind which chafes at the commandments of the Almighty God. The second was the Revised Version of the Bible posing as the "Word of God"; a version as corrupt as it was potent, for it spawned a host of unholy offspring.

The first deception has, over the years, turned hundreds of millions away from the Christian church; for it taught that the very first chapter of the Bible was not really the truth, but legend. This pernicious theory is still taught, as fact, in thousands of colleges and schools the world over. Our article on Evolution exposes the theory for what it really is - a fallacy!

The second deception, the Revised Bible is equally dangerous, for it casts doubt on the real Word of God and starves believers of the Bread of Life. Sad to say it is also taught in thousands of churches, Bible schools and religious colleges the world over. This article deals with the second deception - Counterfeit Bibles! Read it with special care, several times over, because if you have avoided the first deception, you are most certainly the target of the second.

Divine Inspiration

Millions of Christians believe, and rightly so, in the divine and verbal inspiration of the Bible: that the Holy Ghost motivated the minds of the prophets and apostles of old to pen every word of Scripture. Our faith in divine inspiration is based on Bible texts such as:

Providential Preservation

Millions also believe in the providential preservation of the Bible: that JEHOVAH, the Holy One of Israel has also preserved His Word down through the ages; and that His work of preservation is as important as His initial work of inspiration. After all it would have been of limited value if the original inspired Scriptures were lost to posterity a few decades after being penned. Providential preservation, in other words, is as essential a work as that of divine inspiration. Our faith in providential preservation is based on Bible texts such as:

Concerning Providential Preservation the Westminster Confession of Faith (17th century) says this on page 23:
Quote: "The Old Testament in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek, being immediately inspired by God and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical, so as in all controversies of religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them."

In the past most Christians accepted these facts, but of late there are a growing number who have strong reservations about divine preservation. They will allow that the original autographs, which of course are no longer available, were inspired. But they have strong reservations about divine preservation. They believe that much of Scripture is in need of update, because some of the oldest manuscripts were not available to the 17th century translators of the King James Version (KJV). That is why, they maintain, the Revised Version of 1881 and its many descendants became necessary; and how that each new English translation (well over 100 at the present count) is an improvement on the one that went before. In other words, the Bible is also evolving and each new version brings us one step nearer the original.

This is an extremely disturbing development; for when we examine modern translations, which like the Revised Version are all based on corrupt manuscripts, we find they do not simply use modern language, which, arguably, may have been in order; but they say things entirely different from the early English and foreign language versions of the Scriptures, which in past centuries God used to further His work. In this article you are about to learn many startling facts about the modern English translations of the Bible, that they all:

These discoveries are disturbing to say the least and should cause true believers around the world to ask: Is all this true? Are these allegations justified? And if so, what spirit is behind the deception and confusion caused by the modern translations? Visit any Bible study group where believers are using a variety of modern "Bibles" and comments such as these are common:

The question is: Which English Bible is the real Word of God? Anyone can see that they cannot all be the Word of God if they are saying different things. After all, God doesn't contradict Himself and is certainly not the author of confusion. (1Corinthians 14:33) Scores of conflicting translations, all claiming to be His Word, cannot possibly be the work of the Holy Spirit of Jehovah. Besides, would the Almighty flood the English-speaking world with well over 100 conflicting translations of the whole Bible and over 300 translations of the New Testament? Of course not: the very idea is ludicrous if not blasphemous. Something is terribly wrong somewhere and it's time to find out.

Since my conversion in 1952, when I was 21 years old, I have used a number of modern versions and translations of the Bible: the Revised Version, Moffatt Bible, Revised Standard Version, Amplified Bible, the Living Bible, the New English Bible, Knox Bible, Good News for Modern Man, Amplified Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Version   and the New International Version.   During all that time I also used the King James Version (KJV), also called the Authorised Version. But never in all those 45 years did I suspect that anything was seriously amiss with the modern Bibles: or that they are all dangerously flawed! To be sure I knew that some paraphrased publications, such as the Living Bible, could not be relied upon when deciding doctrine: and that others had several uninspired books (the Apocrypha): but never in the past 45 years did I suspect that EVERY modern English Bible cannot truthfully be called the HOLY BIBLE, the WORD OF GOD! When and how did I find out? Let me tell you my story.

In February 1996 at the age of 65 years I suffered a massive heart attack and was forced to spend weeks in bed. I was unable to move around much, and even a short walk was an ordeal. For months I was virtually house-bound. What did I do? I did the very best thing I could; I gave myself over to prayer and Bible study. There really was little else I could manage without pain. With the help of several reference books and modern versions of the Bible - I possess about 20 - I began an exhaustive study of the History of the Bible: of how we got our Bible in the first place. This article tells of my findings: of facts so stunning that they shocked me more than any truth I have ever learned; including that of the true weekly Sabbath and Festivals of the God of Israel. I felt horrified to think that as the founder of Stewarton Bible School (SBS), with students in many countries, I had been deceived for so long and had been guilty of giving sincere students faulty advice. I determined - yea I prayed desperately - that if JEHOVAH (Yahweh) the LORD God of Hosts would allow me to recover after a triple by-pass heart operation, I would join the growing band of believers who honour the King James Version and tell the world. This article is the result of my studies and I thank the Almighty for allowing me to live and place it on the Internet. The facts you are about to learn need to be studied prayerfully, several times over. Particular attention should be given to Part Two where many King James Bible texts are listed for comparison with the modern version/s you may currently be using. I will quote extensively from the reference books on Bible History mentioned in Part Three. Remember that emphasis (bold type) throughout this article is mine.

If you are reading this article on the Internet, you are reminded that SBS publications do not carry a copyright clause.   So feel free to download, print, photocopy and pass this article to your friends, because, believe it or not, the world is currently being starved of the real Word of God, the HOLY BIBLE! A great spiritual famine is overtaking mankind and, as I was, the Christian Church is blissfully ignorant of its danger. This article will answer the question: " Which English Bible is the real Word of God?"

2. THE ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPHS

As most believers know, the Bible is often referred to as 'the Holy Scriptures.' It is made up of two parts, the Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament is a collection of 39 books which were originally penned mostly in the Hebrew language. The New Testament is a collection of 27 books, written originally in Greek; though some portions were probably written in Hebrew or Aramaic, a north Semitic language. The original autographs (masters) were the hand-written scrolls penned by the inspired prophets and apostles. They were written on vellum (the skins of clean animals, such as calf, goat or antelope) or papyrus. Vellum is more durable and costly than papyrus; but an entire antelope skin would only furnish two or three pages of a manuscript. Because of this fact the vast majority of manuscripts were written on papyrus. Papyrus is a reed-like water plant with thick fibrous stems from which a kind of paper was made in ancient times. The average papyrus scroll was about ten inches in width and about thirty feet in length. After years of constant use, being rolled and unrolled, the original autographs (master scrolls) especially those of papyrus, became worn and began to fall apart.

3. COPIES OF THE MASTERS

Before the original masters completely disintegrated they were carefully copied. The Almighty, who had initially inspired their production, then moved His faithful followers, first the Aaronic Priests and later the Masorites, to make copies of the originals. Thus began the work of providential preservation. After all, it would have been short-sighted of God to infallibly inspire the Scriptures only to have them discarded after a few decades. Jehovah must needs, as promised, preserve His Word in accurate copies for the following statements to be true:

Divine Preservation

A Divine Warning

The God of Israel anticipated Satan's intended attack on the Scriptures: and how the enemy of souls would seek to frustrate the divine work of preservation by causing unbelieving scribes to add to, delete and distort the sacred writings. That is why this solemn, yea frightening, warning appears at the end of the Bible. It not only addresses copyists and translators who intentionally corrupt Jehovah's Word, but also those who knowingly promote their corrupted publications.

Revelation 22:18 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:
19: 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.

I repeat: to preserve His word, JEHOVAH the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel must needs ensure that accurate copies of the inspired masters be made; else His promise that 'the Word of the Lord abideth forever' was meaningless - if not false. Consequently the Almighty caused faithful believers to copy His Word. This is how He organised that work.

4. THE MASORITES

The Masorites were Jewish scholars who, like their B.C. predecessors the Aaronic Priests, had the sacred task of copying the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures. In his book Story of Our English Bible, W Scott wrote over a hundred years ago concerning the reliability of the copies made by these faithful priests and scribes.
Quote: "It is well known that among the Jews it was the profession of the Masorites, or doctors of tradition, to transcribe the scriptures. We know to what extent these indefatigable scholars carried their respect for the letter; and when we read the rules under which their labours were carried on, we understand the use that the providence of God (who had 'confided his oracles to the Jews') made of their superstition.
They reckoned the number of verses, words, and letters in each book. They tell us, for instance, that the letter A occurs forty-two thousand three hundred and seventy-seven times in the Bible; the letter B thirty-eight thousand two hundred and eighteen times; and so on to the end. They were scrupulous of changing the position even of a letter, though evidently misplaced, but limited themselves to noting in the margin, supposing some mystery was involved. They tell us which is the middle letter of the Pentateuch, as well as of each of the books of which it is composed.
They never allowed themselves to correct their manuscript; and if any mistake escaped them, they rejected the papyrus or the skin which they had blemished, and recommenced upon a fresh one; for they were equally interdicted from even correcting one of their own errors, and from retaining for their sacred volume a single parchment or skin in which an error had been made...

"These facts, we repeat it, together with the astonishing preservation of the Hebrew text (1200 years more ancient than that of the Septuagint), plainly tell us how the intervention of the mighty hand of God was needed in the destinies of the sacred book." (Ref:A1)

In his book God Wrote Only One Bible, Jasper James Ray confirms this fact about the faithfulness displayed by these ancient scribes in copying the Scriptures.
He writes: "In making copies of the original manuscripts, the Jewish scribes exercised the greatest possible care. When they wrote the name of God in any form they were to reverently wipe their pen, and wash their whole body before writing "Jehovah " lest that holy name should be tainted even in writing. The new copy was examined and carefully checked with the original almost immediately, and it is said that if only one incorrect letter was discovered the whole copy was rejected.
Each new copy had to be made from an approved manuscript, written with a special kind of ink, upon skins made from a 'clean' animal. The writer had to pronounce aloud each word before writing it. In no case was the written word to be written from memory." (
Ref: D1)

It is a sad fact that the Gentiles who copied the New Testament Scriptures were not as diligent as the ancient Aaronic scribes and Masorites. Therefore it is in the New Testament texts where most errors are found.

5. MANUSCRIPTS

A 'manuscript' is a hand-written document, not one that is typed or printed. The word 'manuscript' is often abbreviated as MS or ms (singular) and MSS or mss (plural). Currently there are between 5250 and 5309 extant (existing) manuscripts of the Scriptures or parts of it. Manuscripts fall into two categories:

Manuscripts produced by the early Christians fall into three categories:

  1. Copies of masters or copies of earlier copies.
  2. Versions : These are translations of Scripture made directly from the original languages. For example from Hebrew or Greek into Syriac, Latin, German, English or French. A translation from Latin into English, or from English into Chinese, cannot strictly be called a 'version.' It is simply a translation of a translation: whereas a 'version' must be a translation from the original. Bear this important fact in mind.
  3. Church Fathers: "Our third group is the early church fathers. These are the men who led the Christians in the first few centuries after the New Testament was completed. We have record of their early sermons, books and commentaries. They will be able to provide us with much information on disputed passages. Many may have seen the original autographs." Ref: B1)

As regards the format of ancient manuscripts, they are often described as:



SBS   Vital Topics     Booklet Index

June 1999
Author: David B Loughran
Stewarton Bible School, Stewarton, Scotland
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sbs777/vital/kjv/part1-1.html