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Why I Love the KJV

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coram_deo 25-Jul-21, 13:20	Why I Love the KJV The King James Version of the Holy Bible was the first Bible I ever bought (about 12 years ago.) I was in a Barnes & Noble bookstore to buy a chess book to lift my spirits, but the bookstore had moved the chess section so I walked around the store to see where it was. As I did, I walked past a display of Bibles and one at eye level had the symbol for the king in chess on its cover. At the time, I didn’t own a Bible, but figured I should have one and so purchased the KJV Bible with the symbol for the king in chess on its cover. I find this is often how God communicates - in a “still small voice” that He used with Elijah the prophet in 1 Kings 19:9-13. I had no intention of buying a Bible when I walked into the bookstore and if the chess section hadn’t moved and if a Bible with the symbol for the king in chess on its cover wasn’t at eye level, I probably wouldn’t have. I tried reading my KJV Bible the way most people read a book - from the first page to the last - but I couldn’t get through Genesis. It just didn’t hold my interest. But then I realized the Bible was divided into two sections - the Old Testament and the New Testament - so I started to read the New Testament. I found the New Testament to be much easier to read and it really held my interest - so much so that I looked forward to reading it at the end of the day. After I finished reading the New Testament, I figured I should read the Old Testament, but it again proved too difficult in the KJV so I picked up a New Living Translation of the Bible to read the Old Testament. I then joined a church and a Bible study group affiliated with the church. I think I was the only one in the group who brought a KJV Bible to the meetings (most seemed to have the New International Version of the Bible, which was the version pastors at the church used in sermons,) and the leader of the Bible study group said I liked the King James Version because of the “thee’s” and “thou’s.” That was partially true, but I also favored the KJV over other translations because I believed at the time that it was the oldest English translation of the Bible (I later learned the Geneva Bible is older.) But after I learned the KJV was based on the “Textus Receptus,” which I believe is a more reliable source than the Alexandrian texts, I grew to love the KJV even more. Why I believe the “Textus Receptus” is a more reliable source than the Alexandrian texts is too long to go into in this thread, though I may create a separate thread for that in the future. Anyway, I usually base my opinion on different versions of the Bible on how Isaiah 7:14 has been translated. If the English translation uses “virgin,” which the KJV, NIV and NLT (and others) do, I figure it’s a good version. If a Bible instead uses “young woman” in Isaiah 7:14, that version, in my mind, immediately becomes suspect (see the Messianic Prophecies thread for why “virgin” is the better translation.) The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was originally written in Greek so there will be words and maybe even passages that are hard to find appropriate English words for. The KJV, for example, unfortunately uses the word “evil” in Isaiah 45:7 (and in a few other places where God speaks) whereas most translations use a different word. “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7) “I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7 - NIV) “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7 - New King James Version) “I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.” (Isaiah 45:7 - NLT) So this is probably my only objection to the KJV. On May 1, 2019, I started handwriting the Bible (transcribing it by hand) and, as of today (7/25,) I have completed more than 75 percent of it (by chapters) and hope to finish by Resurrection Sunday (what most people call Easter) in 2022. I’m not handwriting the Bible in order. I started with 1 John and then went to (I think) Romans. Most of the first few books I handwrote were in the New Testament, though I handwrote Psalms in the Old Testament pretty early on (Psalms is my favorite book in the Old Testament.) I think the Gospel of John was the first Gospel I handwrote because it’s my favorite Gospel. BTW, the KJV I have is the one with contemporary letters of the alphabet. I think there’s a version (I think it’s called KJV 1611) with odd letters that I would not be able to read with any degree of ease. Oh, and after not being able to read the Old Testament in the KJV when I first purchased it, I can now read the Old Testament in the KJV with ease!

From

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coram_deo
25-Jul-21, 13:20

Why I Love the KJV

The King James Version of the Holy Bible was the first Bible I ever bought (about 12 years ago.)

I was in a Barnes & Noble bookstore to buy a chess book to lift my spirits, but the bookstore had moved the chess section so I walked around the store to see where it was. As I did, I walked past a display of Bibles and one at eye level had the symbol for the king in chess on its cover.

At the time, I didn’t own a Bible, but figured I should have one and so purchased the KJV Bible with the symbol for the king in chess on its cover.

I find this is often how God communicates - in a “still small voice” that He used with Elijah the prophet in 1 Kings 19:9-13. I had no intention of buying a Bible when I walked into the bookstore and if the chess section hadn’t moved and if a Bible with the symbol for the king in chess on its cover wasn’t at eye level, I probably wouldn’t have.

I tried reading my KJV Bible the way most people read a book - from the first page to the last - but I couldn’t get through Genesis. It just didn’t hold my interest. But then I realized the Bible was divided into two sections - the Old Testament and the New Testament - so I started to read the New Testament. I found the New Testament to be much easier to read and it really held my interest - so much so that I looked forward to reading it at the end of the day.

After I finished reading the New Testament, I figured I should read the Old Testament, but it again proved too difficult in the KJV so I picked up a New Living Translation of the Bible to read the Old Testament.

I then joined a church and a Bible study group affiliated with the church. I think I was the only one in the group who brought a KJV Bible to the meetings (most seemed to have the New International Version of the Bible, which was the version pastors at the church used in sermons,) and the leader of the Bible study group said I liked the King James Version because of the “thee’s” and “thou’s.” That was partially true, but I also favored the KJV over other translations because I believed at the time that it was the oldest English translation of the Bible (I later learned the Geneva Bible is older.)

But after I learned the KJV was based on the “Textus Receptus,” which I believe is a more reliable source than the Alexandrian texts, I grew to love the KJV even more. Why I believe the “Textus Receptus” is a more reliable source than the Alexandrian texts is too long to go into in this thread, though I may create a separate thread for that in the future.

Anyway, I usually base my opinion on different versions of the Bible on how Isaiah 7:14 has been translated. If the English translation uses “virgin,” which the KJV, NIV and NLT (and others) do, I figure it’s a good version. If a Bible instead uses “young woman” in Isaiah 7:14, that version, in my mind, immediately becomes suspect (see the Messianic Prophecies thread for why “virgin” is the better translation.)

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was originally written in Greek so there will be words and maybe even passages that are hard to find appropriate English words for. The KJV, for example, unfortunately uses the word “evil” in Isaiah 45:7 (and in a few other places where God speaks) whereas most translations use a different word.

“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.”

(Isaiah 45:7)

“I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.”

(Isaiah 45:7 - NIV)

“I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.”

(Isaiah 45:7 - New King James Version)

“I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.”

(Isaiah 45:7 - NLT)

So this is probably my only objection to the KJV.

On May 1, 2019, I started handwriting the Bible (transcribing it by hand) and, as of today (7/25,) I have completed more than 75 percent of it (by chapters) and hope to finish by Resurrection Sunday (what most people call Easter) in 2022.

I’m not handwriting the Bible in order. I started with 1 John and then went to (I think) Romans. Most of the first few books I handwrote were in the New Testament, though I handwrote Psalms in the Old Testament pretty early on (Psalms is my favorite book in the Old Testament.) I think the Gospel of John was the first Gospel I handwrote because it’s my favorite Gospel.

BTW, the KJV I have is the one with contemporary letters of the alphabet. I think there’s a version (I think it’s called KJV 1611) with odd letters that I would not be able to read with any degree of ease.

Oh, and after not being able to read the Old Testament in the KJV when I first purchased it, I can now read the Old Testament in the KJV with ease!

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