The Bible is the foundation of all knowledge and education. Perhaps you’ve noticed that we quote from the King James translation almost exclusively. Why? With so many translations out there today, what makes this version more appropriate? Why have we chosen this version for you as your textbook in these courses of true education?

First of all, no Bible translation is inspired. They were all put together by men. The only perfect Scripture is what God Himself actually revealed to the apostles and prophets.

The Old Testament was preserved primarily in Hebrew while the New Testament was preserved in Greek. This presents an obvious opportunity for error when translating from one language, like Greek, to English. But much of the cause for mistranslation stems from the fact that most scholars today are basing their translations on faulty Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

So why do we quote the King James Version (kjv)? Because its translators used accurate Hebrew and Greek manuscripts.

The Old Testament

“What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:1-2). In other words, God used the Jews to preserve the Old Testament. That is why it was originally inspired in Hebrew. Likewise, He used the Greeks to preserve the original writings of the New Testament. In preserving these original writings, God saw to it that the Jews and Greeks rejected the counterfeit manuscripts which have surfaced down through the centuries. Today, it is these same false manuscripts that many scholars are using to make new Bible translations!

The book Hebrew Text of the Old Testament discusses the demanding discipline of transcribers who worked from a.d. 70 to a.d. 500 to preserve the Hebrew text. “A synagogue roll must be written on the skins of clean animals; the length of each column must not extend less than 48 or more than 80 lines; the breadth must consist of 30 letters. No word or letter, not even a yod, must be written from memory …. Between every consonant the space of a hair or thread must intervene; between every book three lines. Besides this the copyist must sit in full Jewish dress, wash his whole body.”

Notice what the Companion Bible had to say about the Masoretes, those who safe-guarded the text from about a.d. 500 to 916: “The Massorah is called ‘a fence to the scriptures’ because it locked all words and letters in their places. It records the number of times the several letters occur in the Bible; the number of words and the middle word; the number of verses and the middle verses, etc., for the set purpose of preventing the loss or misplacement of a single letter or word.” Can you imagine anyone going through this painstaking experience to preserve the Bible without God inspiring them to do so?

But if the Masoretic texts date back to a.d. 916, how can we be sure they are accurate, since the very latest books in the Old Testament were written 1,300 years prior to that? Careful comparisons with other manuscripts (ranging from the sixth century b.c. to a.d. 300) have only solidified the validity of the Masoretic texts.

And the King James Old Testament is based on these texts!

But there has been more proof, uncovered in the 20th century, that has substantiated the accuracy of the Masoretic texts. In 1947, one of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls was found. In it was a complete manuscript of the book of Isaiah which dated back to 125 b.c. (over 1,000 years before the Masoretic texts). It was compared to the Masoretic text—further proving its accuracy.

Concerning this discovery, two men who authored General Introduction to the Bible , wrote, “In one chapter of 166 words (Isaiah 53) there is only one word (three letters) in question after a thousand years of transmission—and this word does not significantly change the meaning of the passage.” The book showed that, when compared to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the King James Bible is “98.33 percent pure.” But because of the near-precise accuracy in the copying of the Masoretic texts, the Dead Sea Scrolls should be evaluated compared to the Masoretic texts, not the other way around.

The New Testament

Finding proof to verify the validity of the New Testament is a daunting task. There are over 13,000 manuscripts to choose from, according to the Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament.

According to The Authority of the Bible, published by the Worldwide Church of God several years ago, “The verification of the 27 New Testament books is easier than for any other piece of classical writing.” But while it has been said that no two of these thousands of manuscripts are exactly the same, the overwhelming majority generally agree with each other. This majority of texts has come to be be known simply as the Majority Text (some call it the Common Text or the Traditional Text).

It is from the Majority Text that the King James Version of the Bible was translated. There is abundant proof that God’s words have been inspired and that they have been properly preserved.

The late Herbert W. Armstrong recommended we use the King James Version, translated in 1611. That is not to say it is a perfect translation. No translation is. The King James, however, is approximately 99 percent accurate. The small percentage of error in this translation is primarily due to the lack of understanding of the original meaning of certain Hebrew and Greek words by the translators—not because of faulty manuscripts, as we have proven.

Mr. Armstrong recommended that you use other translations only to complement your King James. The kjv was written over 400 years ago. Over that span of time, the English language has changed somewhat. Some of the awkward and archaic phrases in the King James can be cleared up by checking a few modern translations. Mr. Armstrong often used the Revised Standard Version and Moffatt translation. But he was quick to advise not using these more modern translations as your main study Bible. It is the King James Version that should be the standard by which these new translations are judged for accuracy. If you find a new translation saying something quite different from the King James, more than likely the King James is right. The ideal method of personal Bible study should be with the King James as your primary study Bible, along with one or two other translations for quick reference.

Sidebar: Thou CANST Understand the KJV!

So, we’ve recommended the King James Version of the Bible to you. But perhaps that is one of the hardest to understand—purely because of the ancient wording that it uses. Here is a simple guide that should help you in making sense of some of those old words.

You

In modern English, we use “you” when speaking to one person (singular; like the word “I”) and when talking to many people (plural; like the word “we”)—although some use the expression “y’all” and “you guys” for that. Also, modern English doesn’t differentiate between “you” when it is the subject of the sentence (e.g. “You are smart”) and when it is the direct object of the sentence (“I know you ”).

The English used in the kjv has different words for each type of “you.”

Singular:

Thou = subject of the sentence (“Thou shalt not”). Thee = direct object of the sentence (“God is with thee”). Thy, thine = possessive (like “your”); “thy” for objects beginning with consonants, and “thine” for those beginning with vowels (“thy God” and “thine eyes”).

Plural:

Ye = subject of the sentence (“Ye shall serve the Lord your God”—speaking to all Israel). You = direct object of the sentence (“The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you”—speaking to all Israel). Your = possessive.

So just replace all of these words (thou, thee, thy and ye) with you or your. In fact, seeing the word “you” in the Old English will help you to better understand the meaning of the phrase. When you may think God is talking to many people in general, you may see the word “thou” or “thee” and realize He is talking directly to you!

Commands and Questions

The word “thee” and “ye” are used in command sentences. In modern English, however, we do not use “you” in a command—it is understood. For example, we say “Go to the store,” instead of, “Go you to the store.” kjv English would say “Go thee to the store” (talking to one person) and “Go ye to the store” talking to more than one. When reading these commands, skipping over the “thee” or “ye” will help it make more sense.

Examples: “Get thee up” = Get up (speaking to one person).“Hear ye” = Hear (speaking to two or more).

In asking questions, old English puts the verb at the beginning of the sentence, which is different today. (e.g. “Seest thou?” = “Do you see?”)

Verbs

Often, old English will add suffixes like -(e)st, -(e)th with verbs. Goeth, goest = goes. Hast, hath = has. Art = are.

The “ither”s and “ence”s

When reading the Bible, replace the words on the left with the words on the right to help your comprehension: hither, hence = here. Thither, thence = there. Whither, whence = where.

Other outdated words

Aught, naught = anything, nothing. Countenance = attitude (as seen in your face, particularly). Henceforth = now. Husbandman = farmer. Lest = unless. Notwithstanding = however, although. Shew = show. Verily = truly, surely.

What Are Italics for?

The italicized words were added by the translators in an attempt to clarify what would be an obscure sentence otherwise. Sometimes, however, the translators have changed the meaning by doing this. This is why it is good that they remain in italics. Reading several passages without the italicized words will make this evident.