by Michael Ray Baggett<\/p>\n
When King Jehoiakim of Judah heard the writings of Jeremiah read to him, he destroyed the scroll. The King did not simply disagree with what he heard but took his penknife and cut off three or four pages and threw them in the fire until the entire scroll was destroyed (Jeremiah 36:23). The LORD told Jeremiah to write another scroll. Jehoiakim is not the only person who did not like what God had to say. There are many today who want to destroy or at least modernize specific passages in the Bible to reflect current social norms.<\/p>\n
Everyone is aware of the hundreds of English translations of the Bible. Some of these translations are excellent; others are poor excuses for a translation. Some do not claim to be translations, but paraphrases — often of what the translator believes!\u00a0Avoid the Message Version,<\/em> as it does not refer to sin as\u00a0sin. (see I Corinthians 6:9-10, Message Bible). The Passion<\/em> version removes rebuking and correcting (see II Timothy 4:2, Passion Bible). The Living Bible<\/em> puts the author’s own ideas into passages such as Jesus will “come to you meekly, sitting on a donkey’s colt” (John 12:15). The Good News Bible<\/em> distorts the divinity of Christ, removes references to hell, and distorts salvation.\u00a0Others to avoid are the\u00a0Contemporary English Version<\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0New World Translation<\/em> (Jehovah’s Witness Bible), which put slants on certain verses, leading the reader into serious error.\u00a0The New Living Translation<\/em> teaches Catholicism and Calvinism, as do some other Bible versions. Being new does not necessarily make a translation bad, but be cautious of new translations, as some can be very poor. Stick to the tried and true if you are unsure.<\/p>\nA few years ago, a translation came out known as the Queen James version. Here is a quote from the translator concerning his revision of the King James version; he says his QJV translation: “edits out all references to homosexuality in order to prevent homophobic misinterpretations of God’s word.” — Christianity.com. If the King James is guilty of mistranslating passages dealing with homosexuality, then what about the other 99% of Bible versions? They are not wrong! The story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 makes it clear enough in 99% of all versions that homosexual sin is the primary reason God rained fire and brimstone on those cities! Look through the NASB, NET, CSB, ESV, ASV, KJV, NKJV, and note the numerous warnings given about sexual perversion (Jude 7, for instance). Truth will often offend. Will using a perversion of the Bible make the truth go away? Some Bibles begin the discussion of husbands and wives in Ephesians 5 with verse 21, to throttle down the force of the passage. But husbands and wives are not being discussed in verse 21. Paul, an apostle, begins comparing the relationship between husband and wife to that of Christ and His Bride, the Church, in Ephesians 5:22-33. Read it for yourself. This comparison begins in verse 22, not verse 21, as some versions teach, and, sadly, in some watered-down preaching! Friends, there is an obvious shift in the classes of people when we reach verse 22. Verse 21 concludes a discussion of the relationship between church members. Verses 22-33 discuss the relationship between husbands and wives, as well as Christ and His Church. These seemingly small changes in some Bible versions are done intentionally to modernize our thinking!<\/p>\n Friends, we live in serious times. God was removed from schools legally long ago. Today, the home is a shell of what it was just 50 years ago. Satan continues to attack the church, the home, and the word of God. Certain People, both in the religious circles and outside the churches, want to rewrite parts of the Bible to suit modern agendas. Remember, “Every word of God is pure<\/em>” (Proverbs 30:5-6). We dare not use Bibles that clearly add to or take away from God’s Holy word. Do you stand for the truth of God’s word and nothing but the truth? Beware of perversions of God’s word!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Michael Ray Baggett When King Jehoiakim of Judah heard the writings of Jeremiah read to him, he destroyed the scroll. The King did not simply disagree with what he heard but took his penknife and cut off three or four pages and threw them in the fire until the entire scroll was destroyed (Jeremiah…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[162,311],"class_list":["post-88983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-politically-correct","tag-translations"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68231,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-king-james-translators-thoughts-on-bible-translations\/","url_meta":{"origin":88983,"position":0},"title":"The King James Translators’ Thoughts on Bible Translations","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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":60809,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-death-a-burial-a-resurrection\/","url_meta":{"origin":88983,"position":1},"title":"A Death, a Burial, a Resurrection","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Josiah was one of the greater kings of Judah who initiated reform and called the people back to God. Sadly, his reforms did not last and the people soon reverted to evil after his death. While Josiah himself would not live to see Judah taken into captivity,\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":83773,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/propaganda-wars-when-people-cant-or-wont-hear-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":88983,"position":2},"title":"Propaganda Wars – When People Can\u2019t or Won\u2019t Hear Truth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton We have the book of Jeremiah only because truth wins in the end. But think of the propaganda that seemed to prevail when Jeremiah was trying to preach to the corrupt establishment. God had an important mission for Jeremiah, \"to root out and to pull down,\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":55328,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/biblical-reliability\/","url_meta":{"origin":88983,"position":3},"title":"Biblical Reliability","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dudley Ross Spears How reliable is the Bible? How do we know it is truly the word of God? What evidence is there that justifies our respect for and allegiance to the Book? In this installment, we will consider the things that prove the Bible to be a reliable\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":21396,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-did-jehoiachin-begin-reigning-and-how-long-did-he-reign\/","url_meta":{"origin":88983,"position":4},"title":"When did Jehoiachin begin reigning and how long did he reign?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When did Jehoiachin begin reigning and how long did he reign? II Kings 24:8 and II Chronicles 36:9 give two different numbers. Answer: \"Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of\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":1303,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-bible-translations-are-the-best\/","url_meta":{"origin":88983,"position":5},"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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88983","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=88983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSome modern translations avoid words such as “mankind” or “him.” As I write this, my Microsoft Word is flagging me for using the term mankind –see what I mean? Many modern versions omit men from I Corinthians 16:13, which instructs us to act like men in faith (see Strong’s Concordance, #G407). Somebody took the men out. Why? Listen to the New Revised Standard Version as it attempts to be gender inclusive: “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The plural used in the NRSV — “those” and “them” instead of “he” and “him” clouds who it is Jesus is addressing. The branches in this passage are individuals, not churches. Some take political correctness in translating gender neutral to the point of sounding unnecessarily awkward. Consider Psalms 34:20 a prophecy concerning Jesus on the cross as translated in the NRSV: “He keeps all their bones; not one of them is broken.” Whose bones are not broken? This is speaking of Jesus and the fact that none of His bones would be broken on the cross. The use of “their” sounds like many of our colleges today, where his or her is changed to theirs! Most versions read correctly, “His bones….” The NRSV, in trying to avoid masculine pronouns, not only sounds silly but uses a word (their) that never entered the mind of God! It is a serious offense to tamper with the words of God! (Revelation 22:18-19).\n