Is the New King James True To The Hebrew & Greek Texts?

9. Is the New King James True To The Hebrew & Greek Texts?

Question: Is the New King James Version trustworthy to the Hebrew and Greek text?

Answer: After reading the preface in the NKJV concerning the King James Translation, one would wonder why Thomas Nelson publishers would even consider it possible to improve upon this translation. Here is what is said in the preface of the NKJV concerning the King James Bible.

"The King James translators were committed to producing an English Bible that would be a precise translation, and by no means a paraphrase or a broadly approximate rendering. On the one hand, the scholars were almost as familiar with the original languages of the Bible as with their native English. On the other hand, their reverence for the Divine Author and His Word assured a translation of the Scriptures in which only a principle of utmost accuracy could be accepted." The next paragraph continues by substantiating the previous
"In 1786, Catholic scholar Alexander Geddes said of the King James Bible, 'If accuracy and strictest attention to the letter of the text be supposed to constitute an excellent version, this is of all versions THE MOST EXCELLENT."

Thomas Nelson Publishers acknowledge the translators of the KJT as producing a translation that is "precise," with the "utmost accuracy." The Catholic scholar states that the KJT is the most excellent of all versions. Then WHY the New KJV? Remember, if you can fool the publisher into thinking that something new is better, it generates MONEY in your bank account. Of all the people I have talked with about why they use the NKJV, the answer is basically the same. "It is easier to read without the "thee's" and "thou's."

Now, let us look into the NKJV and examine some of the changes that are not readily noticed by the casual reader. But, before we do, allow me to quote from the next to last paragraph at the end of the preface, which states,

"…Furthermore, no established DOCTRINE is called in question by any doubts about the correct reading in this or that text. The Christian can approach his New Testament, i.e., NKJV, with confidence."

Yes…only if you are ignorant enough to believe this statement! The NKJV uses a multiplicity of references that they state do not appear in the "NU." Most people have no idea what "NU" stands for. The "N" is referring to the 26th Edition of the Nestle- Aland Greek New Testament. The "U" is referring to the 3rd Edition of the United Bible Society's Greek New Testament. Remember, the "NU" New Greek Testament is based largely upon two corrupt manuscripts, the Sinaitic and the Vaticanus. These two manuscripts disagree with each other in hundreds and hundreds of places. Let us examine some of the changes and suggestions that the NKJV makes, in leading you to doubt whether certain verses are supposed to be in the Bible or not.

Luke 4:8 : "Get behind me Satan" is referenced to a footnote at the bottom of the page which reads, "NU omits, Get behind me Satan."

Mark 9:44 : "Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." The NKJV has a footnote which says "NU omits Verse 44."

Mark 9:45-46 : "Into the fire that shall never be quenched, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." The footnote to the last part of Verse 44 and Verse 45 says, "NU omits the rest of Verse 45 and all of Verse 46."

Matthew 6:13 : "For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. A footnote which reads, "NU omits the rest of Verse 13."

Matthew 13:51 : "Jesus said unto them, Have you under- stood all these things? They said to Him, ‗Yes Lord." Their footnote reads, "NU omits "Jesus said unto them." NU omits "Lord."

Matthew 17:21 : "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." Footnote says, "NU omits Verse 21."

Matthew 18:11 : "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost." Footnote says, "NU omits Verse 11."

Matthew 1:25 : NKJV has "firstborn Son" with a reference to the footnote which says, "NU a Son." The NU, by omitting "firstborn" discredits the fact that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. Since Mary had four other sons, James, Joses, Simon, Judas, and at least two daughters (Matthew 13:55-56); by omitting "firstborn," Jesus could have been the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even the 7th child born to Mary. Therefore, if Jesus was not the firstborn; then Mary would not have been a virgin when Jesus was born. Is it any wonder people are confused by the NKJV.

Acts 3:13; Acts 3:26 : NKJV substitutes "Servant" for "Son."

Why?

Acts 4:27; Acts 4:30 : The KJT reads, "Your holy child Jesus"; but, again, the NKJV substitutes "Servant" for "child." This is purposely done by the NKJV translators, as they translate the same Greek word as "son" in John 4:51 concerning the Nobleman's biological son. Yet, when it refers to the spiritual relationship as the Second Person of the Trinity, they substitute "Servant" instead of "Child of God" and "Son of God." Anyone can be a servant without being physically or spiritually related. Very subtly did they "water down" the Deity of Christ, that "God was manifest in the flesh." (1 Timothy 3:16).

Reference English "Hell" and the Greek "Hades." In the following verses you will find that the NKJV left the Greek word "Hades" in the text, without even translating it "Hell," as done by the KJT. Look these verses up for yourself: Matthew 11:23; Matthew 16:18. Luke 10:15; Luke 16:23. Acts 2:27; Acts 2:31. Revelation 1:18; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 20:13-14. In the Publishers' Foreword of the NKJV it is stated concerning the Biblical scholars (translators) that,

"They came from England, Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Taiwan, as well as from the United States, so that the New King James Version would reflect internationally accepted English usage."

One would think that with all these so-called translators and scholars from all these countries that, at least, one would have suggested they translate the Greek word "Hades" into the English "Hell," as did the King James translators. And not only that, in every case where "Hades" appears, they never once put a reference to a footnote explaining what the English is for Hades. So, unless you know Greek, you would have no idea what the word means. You could be confused into thinking this is the "mystical underworld" of Greek myth and legend. May I draw your attention to another place where the NKJV attempts to confuse and place doubts in the minds of people concerning the Word of God. Go with me in the NKJV to Mark 16:9-20, and notice the reference to the footnote concerning these verses. This is what we read:

"Mark 16:9-20 are bracketed in NU-Texts as NOT ORIGINAL. They are lacking in Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, although nearly all other manuscripts of Mark contain them."

Now those reading the NKJV are alerted that Verses 9-20 do not appear in the Original, which is composed of two corrupt manuscripts, the Sinaiticus (Aleph) and the Vaticanus (B). Then, they admit that nearly all other manuscripts have them. In other words, they want you to believe that two corrupt manuscripts constitute the ORIGINAL Greek text, in lieu of the Majority Text of approximately 5,400 manuscripts. This is brainwashing to the height of deception! The Lord warns Christians to beware of men who use trickery and craftiness as their tools regarding the NKJV and the NU, to spread doubt as to what really is God's Word.

Ephesians 4:14 is God's warning to all,

"That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine (i.e. teaching), by the sleight (i.e. trickery) of men; and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;" This is only a drop in a rainstorm of what could be written concerning the perversion of God's Word as set forth in the NKJV. For publishers, the "name of the game" with all these new versions is MONEY! Remember, in order to avoid plagiar- ism of another work or translation, you have to delete words, add words, change words, etc. to obtain a copyright. In short, the copyright guarantees that only the publisher can reap the dividends of his work. Money is what it is all about.

If the Christian is sincere and wants God Word in English, the finest translation to be had by bringing the Hebrew and Greek, word for word, into the English, is the King James Translation of the Bible.

"Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." - Proverbs 30:6 "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." -Psalms 118:9 10. Are the Sinai & Vatican the "Oldest and Best" Manuscripts?

Question: Is it true that the Sinai and Vatican manuscripts are the most reliable; and are they the ones used to translate our New Testament?

Answer: The Codex Sinaiticus is coded as "Aleph" and the Codex Vaticanus as "B". Whenever you see these codes in Bible footnotes, it refers to these two manuscripts, described as the oldest and most reliable. However, nothing could be further from the truth! Aleph and B are, presumably, Fourth Century uncials which had very little use by their owners. Uncial manuscripts were written in capital letters, with no spaces or punctuation marks between the letters. Today we have about 267 uncials, which make up a small part of the approximately 5400 Greek manuscripts in existence today. Of the 267 uncials, only 9 agree with the Sinai and Vatican codices. 258 of the 267 uncials agree with the Majority Text, also known as the Received Text (Textus Receptus) which underlies our King James Bible. The Sinaiticus (Aleph) and Vaticanus (B) disagree with each other in hundreds of places.

There could be a couple of reasons why these two manuscripts were preserved so well. First, the owners could have recognized that these manuscripts had been perverted by heretics. Those who copied them probably disagreed with many of the doctrinal passages. Therefore, they omitted many passages and changed others to agree with their beliefs. This could account for the fact they were recognized as fraudulent and not distributed to other churches. Second, they were in Egypt where the climate was favorable for their preservation.

Aleph and B. Most people are not aware that Aleph and B, and a handful of their allies (other corrupt manuscripts), make up the only about 1% that disagree with the 99% of the 5400 or so manuscripts, known as the Majority Text which underlie your King James Bible today. The Sinaitic (Aleph) was discovered by Dr. Constantin Tischendorf, a German Biblical scholar and professor, in 1844. He was visiting the Monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai, when he noticed a basket of parchments that the monks had discarded as worthless. There were 43 leaves of parchment, which contained a portion of the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament).

He returned in 1853 and found nothing more. He returned again in 1859, commissioned by the Czar of Russia; and, again, finding nothing he was about to leave. He was talking to one of the stewards, just prior to departing, who advised him he had kept in his room some copied manuscripts the monks had discarded. These contained about half of the Old Testament (Greek Translation, the Septuagint); the New Testament, with the exclusion of Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53; John 8:1-11. Tischendorf secured these in return for some gifts to the monastery at Sinai. They were given to the great Imperial Library at St. Petersburg, (now Leningrad), Russia. In 1933, the U.S.S.R. sold it to the British Museum in London, England, where it resides today. This collection of manuscripts omits some 4,000 words from the Gospels alone; plus, about 1500 readings that show up in none of the 5400 New Testament manuscripts of the Majority Text. It also contains many other discrepancies.

Vaticanus or B. Its early history is obscure. Scholars believe it was copied in the Fourth Century. It was written in Greek, not Hebrew, and first appears in the Vatican Library Catalogue in Rome, Italy, in 1481. For the next 328 years there didn't seem to be much interest in it. Then, when the Pope and the papal states were captured in 1809 by Napoleon, he carted off wagon loads of documents, papal archives and books. He also took the Cardinals and all the chief officers of the papal government, along with the Codex Vaticanus (B) to Paris, France. It was restored to Rome in 1815. In 1889-90, Pope Leo XIII allowed the Vatican Press to release a photographic facsimile of the manuscript. Copies could now be obtained by libraries where scholars could have access to them. It is presently in the Vatican Library in Rome, Italy, and the property of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vaticanus contains many omissions. There are some from Genesis, 2 Kings, Psalms; and, in the New Testament, Mark 16:9-20 and John 7:53; John 8:1-11 are missing. Also, Hebrews to the end of the New Testament are missing.

What is interesting about these two fraudulent copies, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, are the hundreds and hundreds of passages in which they disagree with each other, exposing those that copied them as heretics. One scholar said, "The Sinai and Vatican disagree with each other a dozen times on every page." Another scholar states, "It is easier to find two consecutive verses in which these manuscripts differ, than two in which they agree." Yet another says, "They disagree 70% of the time and in almost every verse of the Gospels."

"Aleph" and "B" were the two main manuscripts that B.F. Westcott (1825-1901) and F.J.A. Hort (1828-92) used to form their New Greek Testament in 1881. These two men were apostate Anglican preachers. For example, in his biography, Volume I, P.207, Westcott states, "I reject the words

"INFALLIBILITY of the Holy Scriptures" overwhelmingly." Hort's opinion was the same. These two denied most of the fundamental doctrines of the Bible. The opinions of these two apostate men with their two corrupt manuscripts, Aleph and B (and a handful of others), underlie almost all of your new versions; which are in disagreement with the 5,400 Greek manuscripts making up the Majority, or Received Text, and which underlies the King James Translation. The Nestle/Aland Greek Text, with its many revisions, took over from the Westcott and Hort era, along with the United Bible Society (UBS). These used basically the same Sinaitic (Aleph) and Vaticanus (B) manuscripts with its allies, which amount to less than 1% of the 5400 Greek manuscripts that make up the Majority Text. For example, the New International Version (NIV) concerning Mark, Chapter 16:9-20, wants you to believe these verses do not belong in God's Word. They draw a line across the page after Verse 8 and insert their explanation. "The two most reliable early manuscripts do not have Mark 16:9-20." The two manuscripts they are referring to are the Sinaitic and the Vaticanus, two corrupt manuscripts which disagree with each other in hundreds of places.

Notice the New King James Version (NKJV), published by the Thomas Nelson Publishers, regarding Mark 16:9-20. The footnote concerning these verses supports what we have been saying thus far. "Vss. 9-20 are bracketed in NU as not in the original text. They are lacking in Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, although nearly ALL OTHER Mss. (manuscripts) of Mark contain them." The "NU" stands for Nestle/Aland, United Bible Society. In other words, they want you and me to believe that the two corrupt manuscripts, Aleph and B, are the original texts. We are to, supposedly, follow their blinded philosophy and disregard the Majority Text composed of 5400 manuscripts.

Remember, all of your new versions and so-called translations are under laid by these corrupt manuscripts making up less than 1% of the Majority Text, composed of 5400 manuscripts. The NIV (New International Version), the NASB (New American Standard Bible), the NEB (New English Bible), the NKJV (New King James Version), the NAB (New American Bible), the NRSV (New Revised Standard Bible) are all the corrupt product of manuscripts Aleph and B, and their handful of allies. These were fostered on to the unsuspecting public from Westcott and Hort's corrupt Greek Testament in 1881. Nestle/Aland "took the baton" and raced to the finish line, hand- in-hand with the United Bible Society. Then, publisher after publisher had visions of Fort Knox! Their dreams were realized as new translations poured on to the market. Their coffers were being filled; while the pockets of the unsuspecting were being emptied.

Satan is the "master deceiver," as he uses people to deceive other people. Through the greed of many, the publishers have poured out versions of perversions, leading millions into spiritual poverty. It is only natural for a person to ask, "Which version IS the real Word of God?" May I, in closing, relate to you that the King James Translation is under laid by the Majority Text (5400 manuscripts). It is the finest translation we have, and this is why Satan wants to discredit it so badly. For example, the largest selling imitation of a Bible today is the NIV. What the publishers don't tell you is that there are approximately 64,000 words missing. Whole verses are missing: and, in many places, they never even translated the Hebrew and Greek words. As evidence, look up and see if you can find the following verses in the NIV. Matthew 17:21; Matthew 18:11; Matthew 23:14. Mark 7:16; Mark 9:44; Mark 9:46; Mark 11:26; Mark 15:28. Luke 17:36; Luke 23:17. John 5:4. Acts 8:37; Acts 24:7; Acts 28:29. Romans 16:24. These are only a handful. My prayer is that this limited information will stimulate you to a more in-depth study, so you can help others beware of Satan's deceits through these corrupt new versions.