the translators’ preface to the King James Version of 1611<\/a>. It’s easily found online, and some older King James Bibles may contain it. It helps provide some context when trying to see the value in various translations.<\/p>\nPeople today make claims about KJV that the translators did not make. The translators seemed to be reasonable in their explanation and in answering detractors. What they accomplished was great for their time and for what they had to work with. There is just so much more to work with now than what they had, and this makes their work at the time impressive.<\/p>\n
When the King James Bible was being assembled, it was criticized greatly. Even after it was initially done, many changes were made, and it took decades before it was more generally accepted and surpassed the Geneva Bible. The panning of new translations is nothing new, and the KJV was no exception to facing harsh criticism either then or now.<\/p>\n
In answering critics, the translators of the King James Bible defended the making of translations in general. They said, “Now to the latter we answer; that we do not deny, nay we affirm and avow, that the very meanest translation of the Bible in English, set forth by men of our profession, (for we have seen none of theirs of the whole Bible as yet) containeth the word of God, nay, is the word of God.” They were not claiming that the KJV was the only proper translation, but were wanting to improve upon what was already available (e.g., the Bishop’s Bible, as the KJV was not the first Bible in English).<\/p>\n
They further state: “No cause therefore why the word translated should be denied to be the word, or forbidden to be current, notwithstanding that some imperfections and blemishes may be noted in the setting forth of it. For whatever was perfect under the Sun, where Apostles or Apostolic men, that is, men endued with an extraordinary measure of God’s spirit, and privileged with the privilege of infallibility, had not their hand?”<\/p>\n
They defended the idea that translations were necessary and they should not be forbidden “to be current,” even if there are some imperfections. They saw value in updating where needed, and this is one reason why newer translations today should have a seat at the table.<\/p>\n
They defended the changes they were making: “Yet before we end, we must answer a third cavil and objection of theirs against us, for altering and amending our Translations so oft; wherein truly they deal hardly, and strangely with us. For to whomever was it imputed for a fault (by such as were wise) to go over that which he had done, and to amend it where he saw cause?”<\/p>\n
Later, they write, “But the difference that appeareth between our Translations, and our often correcting of them, is the thing that we are specially charged with; let us see therefore whether they themselves be without fault this way, (if it be to be counted a fault, to correct) and whether they be fit men to throw stones at us…”<\/p>\n
In stating their purpose, they say this: “But it is high time to leave them, and to show in brief what we proposed to ourselves, and what course we held in this our perusal and survey of the Bible. Truly (good Christian Reader) we never thought from the beginning, that we should need to make a new Translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good one, (for then the imputation of Sixtus had been true in some sort, that our people had been fed with gall of Dragons instead of wine, with whey instead of milk:) but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against; that hath been our endeavor, that our mark.”<\/p>\n
They say, “We desire that the Scripture may speak like itself, as in the language of Canaan, that it may be understood even of the very vulgar.”<\/p>\n
They were not claiming perfection, and they were not claiming this to be the one and only final translation, never to be touched again. They saw value in translations for reaching the common people.<\/p>\n
It’s fascinating to me. I recommend reading the KJV. It’s beautiful. But also read other translations, for in them all there is much to learn and appreciate.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer I recommend reading the translators’ preface to the King James Version of 1611. It’s easily found online, and some older King James Bibles may contain it. It helps provide some context when trying to see the value in various translations. People today make claims about KJV that the translators did not make.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[313,311],"class_list":["post-68231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-king-james-version","tag-translations"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15377,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-origin-of-the-king-james-version\/","url_meta":{"origin":68231,"position":0},"title":"The Origin of the King James Version","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Ethan R. Longhenry In my personal reading, I have just completed two books that discuss the origins of the King James Version: In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture, by Alister McGrath, and\u00a0God's Secretaries: The Making\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Genesis_Chapter_One_from_a_1620-21_King_James_Bible.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Genesis_Chapter_One_from_a_1620-21_King_James_Bible.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Genesis_Chapter_One_from_a_1620-21_King_James_Bible.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Genesis_Chapter_One_from_a_1620-21_King_James_Bible.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Genesis_Chapter_One_from_a_1620-21_King_James_Bible.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Genesis_Chapter_One_from_a_1620-21_King_James_Bible.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-bible-translations-are-the-best\/","url_meta":{"origin":68231,"position":1},"title":"Which Bible translations are the best?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Which Bible translations have the highest accuracy? Answer: At one time, Bible translations were an arduous task that took years, if not decades, to complete. Now translations are appearing in rapid succession, and it is becoming difficult to keep up with the many that are available. I'll restrict my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50437,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-kjv-the-only-true-bible-version\/","url_meta":{"origin":68231,"position":2},"title":"Is the KJV the Only True Bible Version?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ethan R. Longhenry via\u00a0De Vibro Vitae There has been some discussion in the world today, even in the church, that there is one Bible version which is the only true version, the Authorized or King James Version. Is this so? How can we determine which Bible version is better,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56485,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-forbid\/","url_meta":{"origin":68231,"position":3},"title":"God Forbid!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Benjamin M. Shropshire via Lifeline, 7\/15\/00 My use of the New King James Version in my preaching and teaching was criticized a few years ago on the basis that the phrase \"Certainly not!\" is used in place of \"God Forbid!\" in the old King James Version (see Romans 3:4,6,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8065,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-think-about-the-new-living-translation\/","url_meta":{"origin":68231,"position":4},"title":"What do you think about the New Living Translation and the Complete Jewish Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am of need of some help with Bible translations. What I would like is a list of good translation Bibles and a list of bad Bible translations. I don't like the NIV and I always felt in the spirit that it indeed was not trustworthy. However, I have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24911,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-thou-shalt-not-revile-the-gods\/","url_meta":{"origin":68231,"position":5},"title":"What is meant by “Thou shalt not revile the gods”?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Exodus 22:28 in the King James Version states we are not to revile the gods. Some explain it meaning governors while some translations state \"do not revile God.\" What is the true history of this verse? Thank you. Answer: The word in question is\u00a0elohim in the Hebrew. This word\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68231\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}