The books that comprise the Holy Bible were written over a period of about 1,500 years, or from about 1,400 B.C. to about 95 A.D. These are approximate dates and the actual dates are not known with certainty.
The Old Testament books were originally written primarily in Hebrew but a few chapters were written in Aramaic.
The New Testament books were originally written in Greek but they occasionally included a very limited number of words in either Hebrew or Aramaic. But those words were immediately translated into Greek in the same sentence in which they appeared.
The Masoretic Text contains the traditional Hebrew text.
Greek and Latin Translations of the Holy Bible
In the year 2024 there now exist more than 12,500 copies of the ancient manuscripts that contain the books of the "Old Testament." Some of these manuscripts can be dated back to approximately 300 B.C. These manuscripts were handwritten in several different languages, including Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin. At the current time we do not know what a few of the words meant when they were originally written. However, this only applies to about 2 percent of all the words, and those words do not impact any major religious concept or doctrine.
The Old Testament books were first translated into the Greek language sometime between 285 to 247 B.C. and it was called the Greek Septuagint or the LXX (Translation of the Seventy). The translation was done by 72 Hebrew translators who understood Hebrew and Greek. This consisted of 6 Hebrews from each of the 12 tribes of Israel and each man had been formally educated in the religious books of the Jews. These men knew the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek words they translated with the exception of a few Hebrew words that had not been used for hundreds of years, such as the names of some birds or jewels that appeared in a long list of birds or jewels. The translators also translated a few ancient Hebrew idioms into equivalent idioms that would be understood at that time. When Alexander the Great made Greek the official language of his empire, the Greek Septuagint very gradually became the official Bible of the Jews because very, very few Jews still spoke Hebrew. Later it became the official Old Testament Bible of the New Testament church and it was frequently quoted in the New Testament books.
Beginning in the year 382 A.D., Jerome began translating some of the Hebrew Old Testament books from Hebrew into Latin. He finished most of the Old Testament books in 405 A.D. Jerome’s translations of those books was gradually augmented with the Latin translations of the remaining Old Testament books by other men. A collection of the Latin translation of the entire Old Testament was officially adopted by the Catholic Church in 1590 A.D. and it is called the Latin Vulgate.
In the year 2024 there now exist more than 5,800 copies of Greek ancient manuscripts that contain the various books of the "New Testament." There also now exist more than 18,000 copies of ancient manuscripts where the Greek New Testament manuscripts were translated into Latin, Armenian, Syrian, and other languages.
English Translations of the Holy Bible
William Tyndale began translating the original Hebrew and Greek texts into English. However, he relied heavily on the Latin Vulgate and on Luther's German New Testament to guide him in his work. Before Tyndale was able to finish translating every book into English he was arrested and he was executed for heresy in 1535 A.D. Myles Coverdale finished translating the remaining books into English. Coverdale printed the combined Tyndale/Coverdale manuscript as the first English Translation of the entire Holy Bible in 1535 A.D. Later Coverdale was commissioned to publish a revised English edition of the entire Bible and it was printed in 1539 and it was officially approved by King Henry VIII and it was called the Great Bible.
After King Henry VIII died his daughter, Mary I or "Bloody Mary," was a Catholic and she persecuted the Protestants by putting them in prison and by executing some of them. Therefore many Protestants fled to Geneva, Switzerland. They worked together to create and publish a revised English translation of the Bible in 1560 and it was called the Geneva Bible. It was based on the original Hebrew and Greek texts. It was unique because it added "verse" numbers to the scriptures and it was printed in an easy to read "Roman typeface." It also included annotations, cross-references, maps, introductions to each book, and it was mass-produced so it was affordable. It was the first "user-friendly" Bible to be published. It was the Bible that was carried by the pilgrims when they migrated to North America on the Mayflower in 1620.
In 1603 King James issued a directive that a new and better English translation of the Holy Bible should be created and that its would replace all previous English translations, and that it should not contain any "notes" in the margins of pages. Work began in 1604. The Old Testament was based on the Masoretic Hebrew texts. The New Testament was based on the Greek Textus Receptus. The translators were permitted to consult previous English translations of the Bible if they encountered a translation problem. The translators also used the Greek and Latin versions of the Apocrypha. The finished Bible was originally called the King James Version, the King James Bible, the Authorized Version, and the Authorized King James Version. It was published in 1611. In the early 1700s rules for punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and the exact spelling of all English words was agreed upon and then standardized, and the Apocrypha books were omitted, and the Bible became known as the "THE HOLY BIBLE" and the "King James Version." Since then it has become the most widely printed and distributed book in history.
King James Version (KJV)
Some people have difficulty understanding the King James Version of the Holy Bible. This is generally because of the use of the words: "ye, thee, thou, thy, thine." Each of these words simply means "you or your." Therefore when you see one of the words "ye, thee, thou, thy, thine" simply read it as "you or your." The following table may help you to understand how to interpret these words correctly:
Old English
Modern English
Singular or Plural
ye
you
refers to more than one person
thee or thou
you
refers to one person
thy or thine
your or yours
refers to one person
Some examples of how to interpret the words ye, thou, and thy are as follows (King James Version):
Exodus 20:23 - neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold = neither shall you make unto you gods of gold.
Exodus 20:15 - Thou shalt not steal = You shall not steal.
Exodus 20:17 - Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house = You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
Exodus 20:12 - Honor thy father and thy mother = Honor your father and your mother.
Other English Translations of the Holy Bible
Since the year 1611 there have been several additional English translations of the Holy Bible. In the 21st century the most popular English translations are the New King James Version, the New International Version, and the English Standard Version.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Thomas Nelson Publishers commissioned the NKJV in 1975. The NKJV "New Testament" was completed and published in 1979. The entire NKJV Bible was published in 1982. There was a very minor revision in 1984. The NKJV has not been revised since 1984 and it has remained unchanged for more than 40 years.
The NKJV translation was made by a team of 130 scholars, church leaders, and lay Christians who were educated in the Hebrew, Greek, and English languages. Their primary objective was to create an English translation that almost anyone could understand and that was based on the Masoretic Hebrew texts and the Greek Textus Receptus. They also wished to retain as much of the original wording of the King James Version as possible. But they did occasionally adjust the position of some words in a sentence in order to make it easier to understand the sentence the first time the sentence was read. They also replaced some words that were no longer used, such as "ye" and "thy" and "maketh" and "victuals," with words that were easier to understand, such as "you" and "your" and "makes" and "food."
When a decision had to be made on which ancient manuscripts would be followed, the NKJV simply mentions their decision without saying that they followed the "best" or "most reliable" or "oldest" manuscript. In other words, they did not attempt to justify their decision in an effort to get the reader to agree with their choice. Instead they simply presented each of the translations in a footnote so that the reader could select the translation the reader preferred.
The NKJV also added quotation marks around spoken sentences but the KJV does not have any quotation marks. The NKJV also capitalizes pronouns, such as He and My, when the pronoun refers to God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit. The NKJV also added a very short comment before a paragraph or before a section so a reader would know what he or she was about to read. This also helped a reader quickly scan several pages to find what he was looking for. Some people object to these additions because the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts do not have quotation marks, or capitalized pronouns, or comments. But the original manuscripts also do not have chapter numbers or verse numbers.
In 1996 I bought and I began reading the NKJV Personal Study Bible. Over a period of many years I read that Bible from cover to cover many times. In my opinion, the NKJV of the Bible is a reliable and an easy to understand English translation of the Holy Bible. And it does not omit any of the scripture verses that appear in the KJV.
New International Version (NIV)
The NIV was published by Zondervan Bible Publishers (Biblica or New York Bible Society) in 1978. Even though the “Revised Greek Critical Text” had some documented flaws, it became the foundation for the NIV in 1978. It had a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. The NIV uses word-for-word and phrase-by-phrase translations. This means that entire sentences can be completely paraphrased based on the opinion of the translator.
The first major issue with the NIV is that it changes some extremely important words in a sentence to a different word. For example, in Revelation 8:13 the NKJV says, "I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice," but the NIV says, "I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice." An angel can talk but an eagle can't talk. Another example is in Ephesians 5:9 where the NKJV says, "the fruit of the Spirit" but the NIV says, "the fruit of the light." There is a big difference between the Spirit and light.
The second major issue with the NIV is that it deletes words, parts of sentences, entire sentences, and entire paragraphs that are included in the KJV and the NKJV and in most other English translations of the Bible. For example, the NIV has deleted the word "Selah" from the main text of Psalms because they do not know what "Selah" means.
In 1979 I purchased a 1978 printing of the NIV and I read it from cover to cover. I did not notice that some of the verses were omitted from the body of a chapter and that there was a footnote at the bottom of the page that said that some manuscripts did include the missing verse. In addition, some pages contained a brief footnote at the bottom of a page that provided an alternate interpretation for a specific verse. Overall I was pleased with the clarity of the sentences in the NIV.
However, I was very disappointed each time I read a comment in the body of a chapter that said “The earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not have the following verse (or verses).” In 1979 after I had read the entire NIV, I stopped reading it because I suspected that those negative comments in the body of a chapter would cast doubt on everything else in the Bible and this could weaken or destroy the faith of a new Christian or a weak Christian. Several years later, after I had read several favorable NIV reviews, then I began reading the NIV Study Bible but I still did not appreciate the way it omitted significant scripture verses, or the many “critical” comments throughout the NIV.
Now that I am aware of what the NIV has become after the 2011 update, I will no longer be giving free copies of the NIV to people, or use quotes from the NIV in my future books or in the future articles that I post on my website.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The ESV was published by Crossway in 2001. It was based on the “Revised Greek Critical Text” and on the 1971 edition of the Revised Standard Version. The ESV was revised in 2002 and again in 2007. In 2011 it changed about 500 words in 275 verses. In 2013 Crossway gave the Gideons International permission to distribute the ESV and to modify some ESV verses.
In 2016 the ESV changed 52 words in 29 verses. For example, the words that God spoke to Eve in Genesis 3:16 were changed.
The 2001 ESV version says, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
The 2016 ESV version says, "Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you."
This change cannot be supported by the original Hebrew text. This change clearly suggests that God intended for a wife to be constantly undermining the leadership of her husband. What impact do you suspect this one simple change will have on the harmony within a home? What impact do you think it will have on the children in that home?
I have a 2011 copy of the ESV Study Bible and I have been reading it almost every day since I purchased it and I have been pleased with the translation that I have. However, I am now ashamed that I have been buying the 2016 edition and freely giving it to anyone who asked for a copy of the ESV. Now that I am aware of what the ESV Bible has become as a result of the 2016 update, I will no longer be giving free copies of the ESV to people, or use quotes from the ESV in my future books or in the future articles that I post on my website.
Crossway has publicly stated that they will revise the ESV in the future based on whatever standards they believe are appropriate. I hope that they will reconsider some of their previous revisions and that they fix any translation that is based on opinion instead of the original texts.
Other Translations
Some translations claim they are based on the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts but they are significantly different than those manuscripts. And they add a lot of stuff that is not in those manuscripts as being the "new inspired work" of men who claim they have been chosen by God to reveal how God has changed His mind about many things. Examples are the "bibles" used by the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses.
A Comparison of a few Verses
in the KJV, NKJV, and NIV
The NIV has changed some critical words in many, many verses throughout the Bible.
For example, please consider the following scripture verse.
Philippians 2:7 KJV: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: NKJV: 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. NIV: 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
The above NIV verse appears in the 1978 printing of the NIV and in every printing of the NIV since then. From the time that Jesus was incarnated as a baby until the time of His resurrection, Jesus was fully God and fully man. Jesus was never "nothing."
The NIV also omits a lot of critical verses throughout the Bible. Some examples are the following.
Matthew 5:44 KJV: 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; NKJV: 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, NIV: 44 But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
The 1978 of the NIV omitted a significant part of verse 5:44 but it did include a footnote in small print at the bottom of the page that says that some translations include more in 5.44. But the 2011 printing of the NIV completely omits a significant part of verse 5:44 and it does not have a footnote that says that part of verse 5:44 has been deleted.
Luke 9:56 KJV: 58 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. NKJV: 58 For the Son of man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them. And they went to another village. NIV: 58 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
The 1978 printing of the NIV omitted part of verse 9:56 but it did include a footnote at the bottom of the page that said that some translations do include more words in verse 9:56. But the 2011 printing of the NIV completely omits that Jesus said He came to the earth to save men and he did not come to destroy men. This is a critical part of the Gospel message and to delete this sentence is simply wrong.
Matthew 18:11 KJV: 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. NKJV: 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. NIV:
The 1978 printing of the NIV omitted verse 18:11 but it did include a footnote at the bottom of the page in small print that said that some translations do include 18:11. However, the 2011 printing of the NIV has completely erased the words of Jesus about His mission to the earth and it does not include a footnote at the bottom of the page that mentions that 18:11 has been omitted. When you are reading a Bible you do not keep track of the verse numbers as you read and you will not notice that one or more verses no longer exist. This is simply wrong because the primary purpose of the New Testament is to explain why Jesus came to the earth, and to teach us how our sins can be forgiven, and to explain how we can spend eternity in heaven with Jesus.
Mark 11:26 KJV: 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. NKJV: 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. NIV:
The 1978 printing of the NIV omitted verse 11:26 but it did include a footnote at the bottom of the page in small print that said that some translations do include verse 11:26. But the 2011 printing of the NIV completely omits 11.26 without any type of explanation. Do you think verse 11:26 is important?
Acts 8:36-37 KJV: 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. NKJV: 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" 37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." NIV: 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"
The 1978 printing and the 2011 printing of the NIV omitted verse 8:37 but they do include a footnote in small print at the bottom of the page that said that some translations do include 8:37. Please read verse 8:37 above. Do you believe it should be omitted from the Holy Bible?
The above deletions and word changes make it very difficult for a person who has an NIV to understand what God wants His children to know, or to discuss the Bible with someone who has a different translation. This is not an issue of translating some words differently. It is an issue of completely omitting parts of the Bible, or completely changing the meaning of a word. The NIV sometimes deletes verses without providing any reason and those verses contain critical support for the Christian faith. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have stories about men who infiltrated the church and they did everything in their power to corrupt and pervert the faith of the church. The New Testament also warns us that evil men will continue to do everything in their power to pervert the Christian faith.
In summery, the NIV omits many critical spiritual concepts and it also plants doubts in the minds of its readers about the accuracy and the truth of scriptures. In other words, the NIV significantly undermines the eternal Words of God and the reason Jesus died on the cross.
It should be mentioned that the NIV Study Bible contains a lot of beautiful pictures, and it contains a lot of useful information about how things were done during the Old Testament and New Testament time periods. However, these additions cannot justify the intentional deletion of so many critical scripture verses from the Words of God. Most people have heard the proverb, "Don't judge a book by its cover." In my opinion the NIV should be judged based on what it changed in the book, and on what it intentionally omitted from the book.
The last chapter of the last book of the Holy Bible says:
Revelation 22:19 (New King James Version):
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
The Revised Greek Critical Text
In 1881 two men (and only two men), Westcott and Hort, rejected the "Greek Textus Receptus" and they created their own "New Testament in Greek" or the "Critical Text." Their work was based primarily on the "Codex Vaticanus" and the "Codex Sinaiticus" and they ignored the thousands of other Greek manuscripts that were available. About 80 years later their work was updated and it was called the "Revised Critical Text." Even though it had some documented flaws, the "Revised Critical Text" became the foundation of the NIV in 1978. After it was used to create the NIV the "Revised Critical Text" was revised several more times based on newly discovered ancient manuscripts. The last revision was in 2012 and it was called the 28th edition of the Nestle-Aland text. This revision process will probably continue each time a new significant ancient manuscript is discovered. This means that the NIV Bible will be in a constant state of revision based on the interpretations of each new group of men who believe they know exactly what the authors of the books of the Holy Bible really intended to say. And they will insist that their new interpretations are far superior to the inspired men of 1611 who created the English translation of the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Do you believe that Jesus is constantly changing His mind about what He wants us to believe? Or do you believe the following verse?
Hebrews 13:8 (New King James Version):
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
In your opinion, do you believe that God would allow the KJV to be accepted as the Truth by millions of people from 1611 to 1978 if God did not approve of the translation of the inspired men who created the KJV in 1611? Do you believe that God would allow His children to believe a lie for 367 years? Or is it possible that we are in the end times and that we should remember what the Apostle Paul said in the following scripture verses:
1 Timothy 4:1 (New King James Version):
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
1 Timothy 6:20-21 (New King James Version):
20 Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge —
21 by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith.
Conclusion
The above collection of scriptures are just a few examples so you can compare the KJV, the NKJV, and the NIV.
No translation of the Holy Bible is perfect in every way. Every translation of the Holy Bible has some verses that are slightly different from other translations. The reason is because the precise meaning of a few of the original Hebrew words is not known with certainty.
I recommend that you purchase and read either the King James Version, or the New King James Version, of the Holy Bible. I purchased a few extra copies of the KJV and the NKJV and I have given them to people who have visited my wife and I in our home and who said that they would like to have a copy of the Holy Bible. I allow then to examine and then select either the KJV or the NKJV and I do not try to pressure them to accept either version. If you are a Christian and if you would like to share the good news about Jesus Christ, then perhaps you may wish to do the same thing.
The Christian School that three of my grandchildren attended required all their students to have a copy of the NIV. It is sad but all the young people who graduated from that school now believe that the NIV is the preferred translation of the Bible because it was the Bible recommended by their school.
However, the Christian School that my 13-year old granddaughter attends will not allow the NIV in their school. Instead they require all their 6th to 12th grade students to have either a KJV or a NKJV because those Bibles are used on a daily basis in the classes that the students attend.
Which translation of the Bible will you be using beginning today? Will you be able to justify your decision when you meet Jesus face-to-face in Glory?
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com
