THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE: A LESSON IN STUDY

(CONFUSION OF WORDS)

3 August 2008 by Carl A. Patton

Greetings Brethren,

Peace be unto you. To the Church and believing Christians everywhere. We greet you in the mighty name of our Father Almighty God and to His son our Savior Christ Jesus blessed by the Holy Spirit. It is good to feel the presence of the Spirit as I look to these words. Thus I am forever grateful for the Spirit that dwells inside me.

Our discussion today has been inspired by the countless people who have a flawed understanding about the prominence of the King James Version of the Bible as the primary study Bible. Why has this happened? Most of the people that opt for other translations are ignorant and are not avid Bible readers. Thus most are just longtime pew members who carry a Bible to the various services but have a mental block toward organized systematic study. Some also have been duped by cults to resist anything not sanctioned by the cult leaders, son, daughter, brother and pastor. Also various preachers and denominations opt for other Bibles for reasons that most cannot and will not attempt to explain.

For the record and for a primary way toward Bible study one should read and study the Bible selectively. For example center in on a particular concept, theme etc. for instance what does the Bible teach about giving? So why should we study from the King James Version first and why have many preachers/teachers etc. opted to use other translations and why haven’t they told the people anything about how to study the Bible?

Follow us as we look at the original language of the Bible. Most of the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. However there was a small portion that was written in Aramaic sometimes called Syriac. Aramaic was the language spoken by the people and Jesus during his ministry.

Meanwhile the New Testament was written in Greek. This was the language used in letters and other writings. Greek was prominent throughout the Roman Empire. It was also considered the language of culture. For the record few people can read the ancient languages of the scriptures. Therefore many versions and translations of the Bible have been made. Although translated into nearly every language of the world today the translations continue. Many spoken languages change from generation to generation. However we must be cautious that we do not distort, taken away from and take out context the meaning of the scriptures taken from the original text.

Translating the Bible is not easy. For example the Hebrew language is written in square black letters. Thus two factors make this task difficult. Hebrew was written without any space separating the word. Secondly the Hebrew alphabet consisted of twenty-two letters, all of them consonants.

Meanwhile the Greek in which the New Testament was written differs to some degree from the classical Greek of a few centuries earlier. Are there versions of the Bible leading to and after the King James Version was published in 1611?

Cont.

Part 2: Versions of the Bible

Peace and Paradise, Carl A. Patton writing for the FreedomJournal as a willing slave of Almighty God and Christ August 7, 2008 in the year of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.

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carlapatton@comcast.net