Have any of you heard about the King James Only group?

Question

There is a group today that is called the King James Only. This is because they insist that the King James Version is the preserved Word of God and the only Bible for the English speaking people. They usually attack all other versions and delight in pointing out the errors in them.

I want to raise and answer the question: is this the position of the King James translators? If I can prove that the King James translators disagreed with the King James Only group in every point, then the KJV Only group does not have a leg to stand on. They base everything on the King James translators.

The KJV advocates revere and lift themselves to the high heavens. They are the superior translators, they say. You can see how inconsistent it is to be KJV Only and believe the opposite of what the KJV translators themselves believed.

In the original 1611 KJV there are eleven pages in the front called, THE TRANSLATORS TO THE READER. (See appendix A) In this introduction, the translators explained their philosophy and beliefs about Bible translations. I want to use their introduction, taking the translators’ own words and show you that they disagreed with the KJV Only group in every point.

In the remainder of this chapter, when a page number is given, it refers to the place where the quote can be found in THE TRANSLATORS TO THE READER, included in the back of this book. (Note: The old English has been updated for readability.)

They believed the authority was in the originals. On page 3 of the translators to the reader, the King James translators said, "The original there being from heaven, not from the earth, the author’s being God, not man, the editor, the Holy Spirit, not the wit of the apostles."

And they said that all truth must be tried by the original tongues, the Hebrew and Greek. So the King James translators said the authority was in the original manuscripts.

But this is what the Christians have believed throughout Church history?

On the other hand, the KJV Only group says, "No one has the originals. Have you ever seen the originals? No. You must trust the King James translation as the final authority." This assertion contradicts the KJV Only translators."

I say, " I do not have the original ten dollar bill but I will take all the copies you will give me. " And recently on one of Smiling Don's questions someone said something to the effect, Don was going to burn in Hell for believing in any other version--wow! Was he one of the King James only group, sounds like he could have been.

Additional comments:

Check out what Amazon.com book description says about the book below:

http://www.amazon.com/King-James-Guide-Bible-Translations/dp/097024830X

Answer 1

Somewhere down the line, a rumor got started that if you did not read from the KJV, no other bible would do. Interesting because there is much to learn about Bible. First of all, a "Version" is NOT a "Translation". Also, why should any of us be speaking in Old English when we are in the year 2013? Really stupid if you ask me.



I will use many translations and often go onto biblegateway to compare. Also, as Bill mentioned they finally did come out with a KJV to Restore the Divine Name, however, they did not in the Greek Scriptures from what I see. In other words, not in every single place did they rightfully restore it as The New World Translation has done. They teach trinity, so people are still confused by using the name Jehovah. I even see people answer on here that Jehovah and Jesus are the same.



Look up God's Name Jehovah, links show Ps. 83:18



http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2083:18%20&version=ASV



http://www.jw.org/en/publications/bible/psalms/83

Answer 2

Yes, I've noticed individuals who claim such.

It figures they are an organized group of some kind.



Another thing many claim is that it was the Catholic Church that determined the canon of the Bible,

over two decades after its canon was actually closed, before the 'CC' ever came into being.



"The Bible and Its Canon"

- The Divine Library

- The Hebrew Scriptures

- Apocryphal Books of the Hebrew Scriptures

- The Christian Greek Scriptures

http://m.wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101990131



"The King James Version—How It Became Popular"

- Translation Gains Momentum

- Meeting a Challenge

- A Literary Masterpiece

- To the Ends of the Earth

- Time for Change

http://m.wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102011446

Answer 3

There is a gentleman here who claims to be Baptist and goes by Mr. followed by a letter. He is notorious for claiming the KJV is the real word of God but runs and hides when you show him it has been added to and altered to conform to the trinity bias. Not only that, it uses an archaic language out of date. Couple that with the translators improper translation (see unicorns) and we see its completely flawed. Not to mention removing the true God' s name so as to confuse worshipers is disgusting.

Answer 4

I would say the KJV is still more accurate (in regards to the intent of the original writings) than the more modern versions; The New International Version did more than update it for "readability," it actually went so far as to add words that fundamentally change the intent of the original writings.



Both versions still suffer from inaccurate translations and human bias

Answer 5

This part I like "Dr. Joyner shows the King James Only view is not the historic fundamental view. Chapter 5 shows why we can be sure our English translations are accurate. The author then shows why the background for the NIV and the NASB is far superior to the KJV. "



Have you seen this one on the NWT = http://www.amazon.com/Truth-Translation-Accuracy-Surprising-Testament/dp/0978976312/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358583242&sr=1-2&keywords=truth+in+translation+jason+david+beduhn



Good to own this.

Answer 6

Yes, It is an astounding display of ignorance. The KJV is a poor translation of a flawed underlying text. I insist on a translation that respects Ex 23:13, and does not call YHVH and YAHUSHUA by names of heathen mighty ones,,, like 'god'.

Answer 7

The KJV is NOT a translation of the Bible, but as it says of the book, a "VERSION". There are so many mistakes in the KJ VERSION . Here is a list of the web pages that point oust some of those mistakes;



http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/bible-errors.html



http://www.bible.ca/b-kjv-only.htm



http://watch.pair.com/TR-kjv-issues.html



http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/graphic1designer/errors.html



http://bible.org/article/why-i-do-not-think-king-james-bible-best-translation-available-today



http://www.geocities.com/athens/olympus/5257/kjverror.htm



http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/graphic1designer/errors.html

Answer 8

I wonder if they use the (New King James Bible) which has Jehovah's name in it 6972 times.



Jehovah's Witnesses had absolutely nothing to do with this (translation)



It can be found at (http://dnkjb.net/about.htm)



The New King James Bible does have Jehovah's name in the Hebrew & Greek, have ordered 7 of the Bible's for Brother & sisters & each one has it in the Hebrew & Greek. It is the 1611 edition of the King James & the only thing different is 6972 times of God's name.

Answer 9

My grandmother told me the KJV had flaws