Category: Christian Doctrine

Spiritual Deception in the Highest 2.2.3

What are the final problems with the Living Bible? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

We’re in the New Testament now in the Living Bible and today, we will wrap things up and then move on to the Amplified. As always, the original source is here. Let’s commence.

John 2:4

KJV: “WOMAN, WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH THEE? MINE HOUR IS NOT YET COME.”

LB: “I can’t help you now, He said, It isn’t yet my time for miracles.”

COMMENT: His hour would come at Calvary. His HOUR and His MIRACLES are not the same.

The problem here is that both sides are doing the same thing. Johnson is arguing the hour is Calvary. The Living Bible is saying it’s the time for miracles. Both are doing interpretation more than translation. There is a rule that every translation is also an interpretation. Which one is correct? I’m not going to take a side, but leave it to you to decide. Either way, it’s a flimsy argument to say “This is a bad translation because it disagrees with my interpretation.”

John 3:13

KJV: “AND NO MAN HATH ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN, BUT HE THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, EVEN THE SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.”

LB: “For only I, the Messiah, have come to earth and will return to heaven again.”

Comment: Not true, LB! Remember the angels on Jacob’s ladder?

Even if we went with the KJV, there are a number of atheists who would say that Elijah ascended to Heaven. A correct understanding has to answer both of them. When done, both translations will work.

John 6:69

KJV: “AND WE BELIEVE AND ARE SURE THAT THOU ART THAT CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”

LB: “And we believe them and know you are the holy Son of God.”

COMMENT: The word Christ means “anointed”. Why does the LB strip him of his anointing?

There are plenty of verses that speak of Jesus as the Christ. What Johnson is doing is taking one spot where this is changed. That’s hardly the way to go about a conspiracy to eliminate the Messiahship of Jesus from the text.

John 13:26

KJV: “JESUS ANSWERED, HE IT IS, TO WHOM I SHALL GIVE A SOP, WHEN I HAVE DIPPED IT.”

LB: “He told me it is the one I honor by giving the bread dipped in th sauce.”

COMMENT: Was Jesus Christ really HONORING Judas?

Actually, yes. He was. Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas. Judas was actually in a place of honor. Had he not been the one to betray Jesus, we could be hearing more about how Judas was put in a position of trust. This is part of the grace of Jesus. Even His enemies were treated with love.

Acts 9:5

KJV: “AND HE SAID, WHO ART THOU, LORD? AND THE LORD SAID, I AM JESUS WHOM THOU PERSECUTEST: IT IS HARD FOR THEE TO KICK AGAINST THE PRICKS.”

LB: “Who is speaking sir, Paul asked. And the voice replied, I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and await my further instructions.”

COMMENT: Jesus title “LORD” is changed to `SIR‘. And Saul’s name is changed to Paul.

See above at John 6:69 for the first part. Also, the Living Bible is a paraphrase trying to keep matters simple so the name of Paul being used isn’t a major deal then.

I Cor. 16:22

KJV: “IF ANY MAN LOVE NOT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA MARANATHA.”

LB: “If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed, Lord Jesus, come.”

COMMENT: Once again; Jesus Christ is separated from title ‘Lord’

Once again, in the end, Jesus is still referred to as the Lord. This simply boils down to “The LB disagrees with the KJV.”

II Cor. 8:9

KJV: “FOR YE KNOW THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.”

LB: “You know how full of love and kindness our Lord Jesus was.”

COMMENT: Lord Jesus Christ is stripped down to: Lord Jesus.

More of the same….

I Tim. 2:5-6

KJV: “FOR THERE IS ONE GOD, AND ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN THE MAN CHRIST JESUS, WHO GAVE HIMSELF A RANSOM FOR ALL, TO BE TESTIFIED IN DUE TIME.”

LB: “That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus Himself, man, is between them to bring them together by giving His life for all mankind.”

I am not sure what Johnson is upset about. He doesn’t say.

I Tim. 3:16

KJV: “AND WITHOUT CONTROVERSY GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS: GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH.”

LB: “It is quite true that the matter to live a godly life is not an easy matter, but the answer lies in Christ who came to earth as a man.”

COMMENT: Remember the test for the anti-christ. The anti-christ cannot say: “JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH“. Notice how the LB dances around this verse! Apparently the LB cannot say “GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH!

Or it’s just a paraphrase….

I John 1:7

KJV: “AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN.”

LB: “The blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from every sin.”

COMMENT: Jesus Christ is stripped down to Jesus.

It gets so tiring to see the same thing again and again.

Revelation 6:17

Rev. 6:17

KJV: “FOR THE GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH IS COME …”

LB: “Because the great day of THEIR anger is come and who can survive it?”

Comment: What do “HIS” wrath and “THEIR” anger have in common?

Well, let’s see. The KJV sees the one on the throne and the lamb likely as one and the same. The Living Bible translators think it means the Father and the Son. Both are pointing to the same source essentially.

Next time, we will look at the comparison to the Amplified Bible.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Deception in the Highest 2.2.2

Does the Living Bible hold up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

So we’re now returning again to this. I started this series and even though it’s painful to see such bad argumentation as is common from KJV-Onlyists, I intend to see it through to the end. As always, the source material is here.

Job 3:26

KJV: “I WAS NOT IN SAFETY. NEITHER HAD I REST, NEITHER WAS I QUIET: YET TROUBLE CAME.”

LB: “I was not fat and lazy yet trouble struck me down.”

In this case, I again prefer the KJV. I don’t see any basis for fat in the text. All the words seem to refer to having rest. Lazy is understandable since if Job is saying he didn’t have rest, it would mean he was busy.

Psalm 34:20

KJV: “HE KEEPETH ALL HIS BONES: NOT ONE OF THEM IS BROKEN.”

LB: “God even protects him from accidents.”

COMMENT: There are NO ACCIDENTS with God!

This is an example of how translation is a form of interpretation. This would depend on what you mean by accident. For instance, in the Aristotlean sense, God has no accidents, but other things do have accidents. Is this necessitating that God is in direct control of everything that happens? A hyper-Calvinist would have no problem with that, but what does this mean if one doesn’t hold that theology?

Johnson’s comment raises more questions than it would supposedly answer.

Ezekiel 2:1

KJV: “AND HE SAID UNTO ME, SON OF MAN, STAND UPON THY FEET, AND I WILL SPEAK UNTO THEE.”

LB: “And he said unto me, Stand up, son of dust and I will talk to you.”

COMMENT: In the book of Ezekiel `son of dust’ is used in place of `son of man’. Does the term ‘son of dust’ sound as derogatory to you like as it does to me?

I can see the reason for the Living Bible using this seeing as man comes from the dust. This is true even in the KJV. However, the reason given for the translation being wrong is just dumb. We shouldn’t go with an interpretation because Johnson finds it derogatory? Personally, I find it derogatory to be told I’m a sinner, but sadly, it’s true.

Zech. 2:8

KJV: “HE THAT TOUCHETH YOU TOUCHETH THE APPLE OF HIS EYE.”

LB: “For he who harms you sticks his finger in Jehovah’s eye.”

The Living Bible is getting at what the text is saying here. Touching refers to harming and saying anyone who harms you harms the one that YHWH loves. It’s not the way I would phrase it, but it does work.

Zech. 13:6

KJV: “AND ONE SHALL SAY UNTO HIM, WHAT ARE THESE WOUNDS IN THINE HANDS? THEN HE SHALL ANSWER, THOSE WITH WHICH I WAS WOUNDED IN THE HOUSE OF MY FRIENDS.”

LB: “And if someone asks then, what are these scars on your chest and your back, you will say, I got into a brawl at the home of a friend.”

COMMENT: The footnote about this verse says: “That this is not a passage referring to Christ is clear from the context. This is a false prophet who is lying about the reasons for his scars.” We wonder how the editor of the LB (Taylor) came to know this.

Yes, boys and girls. If someone else has an interpretation that differs, you are to question how they got to it. If Johnson has an interpretation of a text, shut up and get in line! A man of God has spoken! Taylor likely just studied the text and looked at the context and determined what was going on. He could be right, or he could be wrong, but just saying “I don’t know how he concludes this!” is not an argument.

KJV: “AND HE SAID UNTO THEM, THIS KIND CAN COME FORTH BY NOTHING, BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING.”

LB: “Jesus replied, Cases like this require prayer.”

COMMENT: Notice: fasting is left out! Wonder why Satan does not want us to fast?

I wrote about this kind of thinking in a blog post once. These people have a mindset that treats the devil as if he was the counter opposite to God with just as much power to alter reality, as if the devil alters texts regularly. These translations are just going by what the oldest and best manuscripts have and don’t think fasting was originally included. Johnson needs an argument to why the text he prefers is better instead of just saying “SATAN!”

Luke 23:42

KJV: “AND HE SAID UNTO JESUS, LORD, REMEMBER ME WHEN THOU COMEST INTO THY KINGDOM.”

LB: “Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

COMMENT: What justification is there to strip Jesus of his title “Lord”?

Probably based on the text used. Either way, the LIving Bible calls Jesus Lord in several other places and the thief does refer to Jesus as someone having a kingdom.

John 1:17

KJV: “FOR THE LAW WAS GIVEN BY MOSES, BUT GRACE AND TRUTH CAME BY JESUS CHRIST.”

LB: “For Moses gave us only the law with its rigid demands and merciless justice while Jesus Christ brought us loving forgiveness as well.”

COMMENT: The Old Testament contained God’s mercy and grace, too.

Because obviously one verse was supposed to give an entire interpretation of everything in the Old Testament….

Hopefully, next time we come, we can finish off the look at the Living Bible. After that it will be the Amplified.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

We Have Two Swords

What is meant by this passage in Luke? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I was talking with someone yesterday who was curious what I thought of the passage in Luke 22:36-38. I figured I wouldn’t have time for a sit-down conversation so I would write a blog on it. If you don’t know, this is the passage.

36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’[b]; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”

38 The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”

“That’s enough!” he replied.

Often times, this passage is brought up in the context of answering questions about pacifism or self-defense. The problem is this is a really difficult passage to understand for many what is going on. Usually if you want to argue for a position, you start with passages that are more clear.

So at the start, I do not hold to a pacifist interpretation. I think Jesus is more often talking about private situations and these are situations involving personal insults. He’s not talking about how a government should be run.

I also contend that if you see someone in danger and you are capable of doing something, if that means physical confrontation, then you do that. If you can’t, you at least alert those who can, such as by calling the police. (And really since I don’t want to encourage us all becoming vigilantes, generally if you have time always try to call the police first.)

So what is going on in this passage?

Jesus is getting ready to go to the cross and He knows from this point on that it’s going to be much harder for His apostles, and indeed it is. Persecution will be coming. Thus, he tells them to sell their cloak and buy a sword.

The sword here is not exactly first-rate military gear. It’s said to be a small sword as distinguished by a large sword. It could be used for cutting animals and a number of Jews typically carried one around. Hence, it is not surprising to hear that in the Gospels, the apostles do have at least two of them.

Despite that, it is not likely that Jesus meant this to be taken in a literal sense. After all, if they were trying to defend themselves, two swords are not going to be enough to defend twelve people. Jesus’s exasperation then would be because His disciples were again misunderstanding Him. Jesus has a recurring theme when He is taken literalistically when He doesn’t mean to be.

So in the end, what this is saying is simply Jesus knows hard times are coming and some changes are going to take place. Like the advice given to a scout troop, they need to be prepared.

We still need that advice today.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Spiritual Deception in the Highest 2.2-1

How does the Living Bible measure up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

As we go through Jeff Johnson’s *cough* work *cough* we need to get something clear about translation. All translations to some extent are interpretations. If this blog was translated into another language, the person would have to think of the right language to use to translate it and that will likely entail certain meanings.

Some translations go with a word for word where you try to find the word in the corresponding language that matches the word in the manuscript. This can be hard as sometimes words really don’t have an equivalent in another language. (The Greeks have four words for love and we use one for all of them.) Some words are hapax legomena meaning they show up one time in the text and sometimes these words are extremely hard to find anywhere else if they can be found at all.

Some translations go with more of what is called a dynamic equivalence and the idea is to get the meaning out even if it isn’t word-for-word. Paraphrases are extremely like this. Paraphrases are meant more for devotional reading of a text. They are not meant for serious academic study.

But I suspect none of this matters to Johnson. He might not even know about it. At any rate, here’s the source material again.

Lev. 3:13b

KJV: “AND THE SONS OF AARON SHALL SPRINKLE THE BLOOD THEREOF UPON THE ALTAR ROUND ABOUT.”

LB: “The priest shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar.”

One can say the paraphrase doesn’t get to the main emphasis of how this was done, but that is not the point of a paraphrase. I don’t think throw is the best term, but again, the Living Bible is not meant for academic study.

Numbers 25:11

KJV: “PHINEHAS … HATH TURNED MY WRATH AWAY FROM THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.”

LB: “Phinehas has turned away my anger for he was as angry as I.”

COMMENT: How can someone be as angry as God?

Brace yourself, Mr. Johnson. In the time that this was written, the translators, (rightly or wrongly) would have believed in impassibility which means they would not believe God could literally be angry. However, even if I did not hold to that position, I would still be able to recognize hyperbolic language, which is common to Jews.

Judges 7:20b

KJV: “AND THEY CRIED, THE SWORD OF THE LORD AND OF GIDEON.”

LB: “All yelling for the Lord and for Gideon.”

Comment: The two verses are not even close!

But if you look at what’s going on in the context, then they are close.

Judges 19:2

KJV: “AND HIS CONCUBINE PLAYED THE WHORE AGAINST HIM.”

LB: “But she became angry with him and ran away.”

Comment: Are PLAYING THE WHORE and running away the same?

In this case, I do think that the KJV has it better. That’s called being fair in translation and interpretation.

I Sam. 20:30

KJV: “THOU SON OF A PERVERSE REBELLIOUS WOMAN.”

LB: “You son of a bitch.”

Comment: Some ‘modern’ versions, like the LB, actually contain vulgarity. Notice this verse. Also, take a look in an NIV ‘bible’ in Ezekiel 23:20.

So let’s put up what Ezekiel 23:20 says in the NIV.

There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses.

Profanity is honestly more of a social sin than anything else. Nowhere in Scripture is something said like “You shall not say these words.” I don’t say them, but I don’t fault Christians who sometimes do. If you look at these verses and your biggest problem is they use words that you don’t like in some translations, you have a bigger problem.

II Sam. 16:4b

KJV: “AND ZIBA SAID, I HUMBLY BESEECH THEE THAT I MAY FIND GRACE IN THY SIGHT, MY LORD, O KING.”

LB: “Thank you, thank you, sir, Ziba replied.”

Comment: There is NO similarity between these two verses.

Unless you, I don’t know, actually read the story.

I Kings 18:27

KJV: “CRY ALOUD: FOR HE IS A GOD: EITHER HE IS TALKING, OR HE IS PURSUING.”

LB: “Perhaps he is talking to someone or else is out sitting on the toilet.”

Comment: Sitting on a toilet ???

This is the only time the word translated “pursuing” is used in Scripture, but again, what’s the big deal? Oh my gosh! He said a pagan god could be sitting on a toilet and thus not answering! I suppose Elijah should realize he can mock Baal all he wants as long as he doesn’t say words that might be deemed offensive.

II Kings 21:6b

KJV: “HE WROUGHT MUCH WICKEDNESS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, TO PROVOKE HIM TO ANGER.”

LB: “So the Lord was very angry, for Manasseh was an evil man in God’s opinion.”

COMMENT: In God’s opinion?

This is another case where I do think the KJV is better.

II Chr. 26:4

KJV: “AND HE DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD ACCORDING TO ALL THAT HIS FATHER AMAZIAH DID.”

LB: “He followed in the footsteps of his father Amaziah and was in general a good king as far as the Lord’s opinion of him was concerned.”

COMMENT: Again, God does NOT have opinions. Men have opinions.

And again, the same.

Okay. No need to overwhelm the reader. We will continue another time.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Spiritual Deception in the Highest 2-5

Ready to wrap up comparisons with the NKJV? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Yeah. You all know the drill by now. We’re still dealing with KJV-onlyism and the link to the source material can be found here.

KJV: “DUNG”

NKJV: “rubbish”

COMMENT: I have rubbish on the top of my office desk, but I don’t want ‘dung’ there!!!

First off, clean off your office desk, dude.

Second, I do think the KJV is closer in this in the word is skubalon and it could best be translated as an expletive. However, I don’t think it’s fair to say the NKJV gives a bad idea here of what Paul is saying and the argument of “I want one on my office desk and not the other” is hardly a persuader.

1 Tim 6:10

KJV: “For the love of money is THE root of all evil …”

NKJV: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil …”

COMMENT: There is a big difference between the NKJV’s “a” root and the correct KJV reading of “THE” root.

Yes. There is. For one thing, the KJV is wrong. Let’s ask a few simple questions. Did the devil rebel against God for the money? Did Cain kill his brother for money? There are plenty of evils that are done for money. The NKJV has this one right. (Also, there is no article before root in the Greek so that’s another reason to not say “the”.)

1 Tim 6:20

KJV: “… oppositions of science falsely so called”

NKJV: “… contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge”

I have no idea what the issue is with this one and Johnson doesn’t say.

2 Tim 2:15

KJV: “STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God …”

NKJV: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God…”

COMMENT: We are supposed to STUDY the Word of God.

Note that the passage doesn’t even say study the Word of God. It just says study. Johnson is adding that part in. However, the word there is best translated as be diligent and that works better everywhere else it is used in the NT. There is only one place where the KJV translates this as study. Here it does it differently.

Jude 15

KJV: “… and of all their hard SPEECHES which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

NKJV: “… and of all the harsh things which …”

COMMENT: There is a difference between speeches and things.

Go look this one up on BlueLetterBible.com and you will see that it has speeches in brackets. Why? The word isn’t there in the original. The term harsh is which tells me it’s likely an adjective that plays the role of a noun too. (The good, the bad, and the ugly.) Johnson could have, you know, looked this up, but I guess he didn’t want to. After all, he had the inspired KJV.

And yes, speeches and things are different. You can say many unkind and harsh things to someone that are not speeches.

Next the KJV will be compared to the Living Bible.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Spiritual Deception in the Highest 2-3

Did all things come by or through Jesus? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

That’s just one question we’re going to discuss. There isn’t much more to section 2. Anyway, here‘s where you can find the original so you can know I’m quoting properly. Let’s begin.

Matt 18:11

KJV: “For the Son of Man IS come to save that which was lost.”

NKJV: “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”

Comment: The NJKV says Jesus Christ “has come” to save that

which was lost; a PAST TENSE statement. The NKJV implies that ALL who were to be saved, HAVE BEEN saved. Not true. Anyone TODAY can be saved by Jesus. The correct reading is PRESENT TENSE. There are NUMEROUS places where the NKJV changes the verb tense. These types of NKJV corruptions are very subtle.

I have looked over this and all I can say is I am convinced that this is just more nitpicking. I have read this verse several times and even reading it now, I have never at all thought that. One rule of reading is you try to give the principle of charity and put what you are reading in the best light possible. Apparently, that doesn’t apply if you’re a KJV-onlyist.

Matt 20:20

KJV: “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, WORSHIPPING him …”

NKJV: “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down …”

COMMENT: Kneeling down is not even close to ‘worship’.

Kneeling down would be a regular part of worship in the culture as showing honor. However, this is once again “The NKJV is different so therefore wrong.” I have no reason to think that the mother of James and John understood the deity of Christ. Kneeling makes more sense.

John 1:3

KJV: “All things were made BY Him …”

NKJV: “All things were made through Him …”

COMMENT: ‘BY‘ and through are totally different. Think about it.

Yes. They are. Also, by his more accurate. Jesus is compared to wisdom in the NT and in the Proverbs and intertestamental literature, Wisdom was the means by which God made the world. The Father is the source and the Son is the means.

John 4:24

KJV: “God is A Spirit …”

NKJV: “God is Spirit …”

COMMENT: For the NKJV to say: “God is spirit” is to infer that ALL spirits are God. Not true. We know there are evil spirits. And we know in God there is NO evil. Thus the KJV is correct: God is ‘A‘ spirit.

One could just as well say saying God is a spirit is putting God as one among many and in the class of spirits, but that wouldn’t be a charitable reading. However, I have no reason to think that saying God is Spirit even begin to imply (Not infer. Infer is what the person responding does.) that all spirits are God. You might as well say “God is good” implies that all that is good is God.

Acts 12:4

KJV: “… after Easter …”

NKJV: “… after Passover”

Seriously, that’s all that is said here. However, the NKJV is correct. There would have been no word for Easter at this point nor is there any reason to think that the Jews would have gathered together to celebrate “Easter.” Passover is the more accurate translation.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Spiritual Deception in the Highest 2-2

Does God know good and evil? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

The more and more I go through this online book, the more I really don’t understand how someone can hold to this position. Then again, there are internet atheists who hold that Jesus never existed. Anyway, again, the source material is here.

So let’s begin.

Gen. 3:4-5

KJV: “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye at thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil.”

NKJV: “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God knowing good and evil.”

COMMENT: This is major blasphemy! God (with a big G) is not

evil! Think about the difference.

So apparently, saying that you know good and evil is the same as saying you are evil. Not sure how that follows. One could say it depends on the usage of the word “know” which can mean something like that, but let’s also remember that this is the devil and geez, would it be so awful if in the account the devil told something that wasn’t true?

Besides, look at the KJV interpretation. Is this upholding polytheism?

Gen. 22:8

KJV: “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide HIMSELF a lamb for a burnt offering …”

NKJV: “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.

Comment: It is true, as the NKJV says, that God did provide FOR himself a sacrifice. However, that is only part of the story. The NKJV totally misses the deeper, and more amazing truth: GOD WAS the sacrifice! The KJV wording is perfect: “God will provide HIMSELF” (in the form of his son Jesus Christ) as the sacrifice.

Of rather the NKJV is being accurate in its translation. Also, saying God will provide himself a lamb doesn’t mean that God will be the lamb. That’s an added step of interpretation. I can talk to my folks in the evening and say I can provide a meal for myself. It doesn’t mean I’m a cannibal who is going to eat myself.

1 Ki.10:28

KJV: “and LINEN yarn: the king’s merchants received the LINEN yarn at a price.”

NKJV: “and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.”

Comment: I know what linen is, but what is Keveh?

“One of these requires that I look at the text and study it! One of them just tells me something that I already know something about! That last one must be true then!”

It’s really embarrassing that this kind of thing is counted as an argument.

Looking up the verse, it seems quite difficult to translate as I don’t see anything that reads linen. There is a place called Keveh however and so the text is saying that Solomon was buying from this place.

Dan. 3:25

KJV: “… and the form of the fourth is like THE SON OF GOD.”

NKJV: (footnote) “or a son of the gods”

COMMENT: See comments in chapter 1 of this report. There is

a big difference between “THE SON OF GOD” and a son of ‘plural’ gods!

This was covered in an earlier post.

By the way, when the devil spoke, it was okay that he said gods, but not okay to say God. Here, it’s the opposite.

Zech 11:17

KJV: “Woe to the IDOL shepherd that leaveth the flock!

NKJV: “Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock”

The word is best translated as worthless, though sometimes it does mean idol. However, idol in this context makes no sense. Now if you meant “idle”, that could make sense. The NKJV has this right. It’s a worthless shepherd. There is no commentary here so how is this an argument? It’s just saying the NKJV is wrong since it’s different, when it makes more sense. What is an idol shepherd after all?

Matt. 2:4

KJV: “… he (King Herod) DEMANDED of them where Christ should be born.”

NKJV: “… he inquired of them where Christ was to be born.”

COMMENT: King Herod, furious over the arrival of Jesus, (and

wanting to do away with Him) did not inquire where Christ should be born, he DEMANDED to know!

So the argument that Herod demanded to know is that….he demanded to know. KJV-onlyists are quite good at circular reasoning.

The word more often is best translated as inquire. There are times that it could mean demand, but without further historical evidence, there’s no way to tell what King Herod did. It would fit his character if he did demand, but he could also be wanting to know without giving away the game so he could fool the wise men.

So as I said, this section is a disaster just like the first. We’ll continue next week, Lord willing.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Spiritual Deception in the Highest 2-1

Ready for a fast look at Bible verses? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

So we’re reviewing this awful KJV-only book and now we get to a bunch of fast translation differences. We’ll see if any of these have any bearings whatsoever on the text and even if the KJV could be a less than accurate translation. As always, the source material is here. I am also calling this 2-1 to go by chapters lest I get to something labeled part 73 of this series.

Gen 1:21

KJV: “And God created great WHALES …”

NKJV: “So God created great sea creatures …”

COMMENT: There is a difference between sea creatures and whales.

Okay, everyone! Write this down! There is a difference between sea creatures and whales! Believe it or not, those seafood items from the sea that you buy at your grocery store, they’re not whales! I understand. Please take a moment so you can take in the shock.

If anything, the NKJV is better here since you could say with the KJV that God created only the whales. Here, you can say God created all the great sea creatures.

Matt 12:40

KJV: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the WHALES’s belly …”

NKJV: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish …”

Plenty of apostasies have been brought about by the fact of a great fish instead of a whale. I will make sure the next time an atheist confronts me on Jonah and the whale to say that it was a great fish instead and watch them melt knowing their opposition has died. Amazing how much these people make out of these issues.

Gen. 2:7

KJV: “… and man became a living SOUL.”

NKJV: “… and man became a living being.”

Comment: A MAJOR difference between man and beast is that

man is the ONLY creature with a soul. New versions miss this point.

This point is debatable. Some people will say anything that has a nephesh has a soul, which can include higher animals, including my little kitty I hear in the next room. Also, is it really wrong to say that man became a living being? Does anyone base their doctrine of the soul, whether for or against, on this one verse alone?

Gen. 2:13

KJV: “… land of ETHIOPIA.”

NKJV: “… land of Cush.”

Comment: I know where Ethiopia is, but where is Cush?

Oh my. This is just simply an excuse for laziness. First off, if you think you know where Ethiopia is, you probably don’t.

“Bull! I can get out a map of Africa right now and show you where it is!”

Yes, but that isn’t where Ethiopia was in Bible times. Do you know right off where that was? Probably not. Do you not know where Cush was? Okay. Brace yourelf. You might have to actually look it up and study the text!

The horror! The horror!

There are plenty of places we read about in the Bible and we don’t know where they are. The Bible still lists them that way because it is being faithful to what the text says. I really have to say this could be the dumbest argument I have seen in this book so far.

And this is just the start of part 2.

We’ll continue next time.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Spiritual Deception in the Highest Part 8

What do we confess? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

So we’re back to looking at the trainwreck of KJV-onlyism. This time, we’re going to finish up the first part of this travesty. As always, you can find the source material here.

 

Bible Question #18: What did Jesus say we are to do relative to each other?

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For the answer see: James 5:16. Many ‘modern’ versions say something similar to:

“… confess your sins to one another …”

( Notice this could lead to gossip and further sinning ). But the King James says:

“… confess your FAULTS one to another …”

Notice the 2 different words. The Bible says that ONLY God can forgive sins. We are supposed to confess our SINS to Him. We should confess our FAULTS to one another, but SINS are confessed to God. Faults and sins are entirely different.

Can you see how ‘modern’ versions have led Catholics astray? And, if it has led Catholics astray; couldn’t the same thing happen to us if we, our spouse, our children, or our pastor, uses a ‘modern’ version?

The word here is paraptoma. In all honesty, I was expecting hamartia, but either way, it doesn’t matter. As I looked at the way this word is translated in other places in the KJV, I saw it is still read the same way as sins, such as in the Lord’s prayer about forgiving our trespasses.

Now the problem here is that no one is saying that you confess your sins to others to earn forgiveness, although in some sense you do. If I have wronged a fellow man and I need him to forgive me, I confess to him and he forgives me. He can do that. That doesn’t forgive me before God, but it forgives me before my fellow man.

The verse later on says to pray for one another that you may be healed. Now if I read that like Johnson reads this part, I could say “See? You are to pray for one another to be healed? Only God can heal!”

Not only this, but people in accountability programs will tell you that confessing your sins to one another can be a good practice. These are found in 12-step programs where if someone screws up, they have to go and talk to their sponsor about what they did. That requires humility and is a good deterrent if the person is being honest to not messing up.

I also like how the boogeyman of Catholicism was thrown out there in the end. I am not a Catholic, but they don’t get everything wrong and I personally think a confessional is a good idea. It’s not because a priest forgives you, but because confessing to someone can help mean you don’t carry the burden alone. I have had a number of struggles that I have had greatly lightened because I talked to someone. They didn’t even give me great advice many times. They just listened. That was enough.

Bible Question #19: Do modern ‘versions’ of the Bible have anyother problems?

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Unfortunately, the answer is yes. In the Bible, the New Testament sometimes re-quotes the Old Testament. An example of this is in Mark 1:2

Compare the two Bibles again. In a ‘new version’ it says:

“As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, …”

Compare this to the King James, it says:

“As it is written IN THE PROPHETS, … ”

Comment: The scripture quoted in Mark 1:2 DID NOT come from Isaiah as stated in these ‘modern’ versions of the Bible. The scripture quoted is from Malachi 3:1 ! Check it out.

Not only do ‘modern’ versions misquote God; they even misquote themselves!

The KJV reading of: “As it is written IN THE PROPHETS, … ” is correct, because the verse is from Malachi 3:1, and Malachi was a prophet!

So far we have seen all kinds of problems in these ‘new’, ‘modern’, ‘more easily readable’, ‘more up to date’, etc. etc. versions of the Bible. This leads to the last Bible question:

Folks. This one is easy. Composite quotations were something that were done in ancient literature and when that was done, two quotes would be meshed together and often they would be attributed to the most well-known figure. You can listen to my interview with Seth Ehorn on this one.

Bible Question #20: Why is it important to have the true Word of God (vs. a corruption)?

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The answer, to our question, is found in 1 Peter 2:2. Please turn there now.

In a ‘modern version’ it says:

“… long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; ”

The King James Bible tells us to:

“… desire the SINCERE milk OF THE WORD, that ye may GROW thereby:”

My comment is that this verse, in ‘new’, ‘modern,’ versions, contains 2 problems:

First, we are to desire the sincere milk OF THE WORD. The purpose is “to grow thereby”. Modern versions leave out “OF THE WORD“. It’s God’s word that feeds us. If, like the modern verse, we leave out “the word” how can we grow? Or, if we get a corrupted translation, how can we grow on ‘junk food’?

Second, contrary to ‘modern’ versions, we DO NOT grow up to salvation. That says salvation is by works! We are saved by grace, and not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Think about it.

In this chapter, we reviewed the doctrine contained in a “broad” array of ‘new’, ‘modern’, ‘more easily readable’, versions of the Bible. We compared ‘modern’ doctrine to the KJV. And, we have found significant error.

But, all ‘modern’ versions do not follow this ‘broad’ profile. So, in the next chapter, we will analyze 3 versions of the Bible which need an individual, case by case, analysis.

Again, this comes down to different textual variants. However, one thing I consider is that we have an emphasis in our culture on referring to Scripture as the Word of God and think whenever we see the term “Word” that it refers to the Bible. Hebrews 4:12 is an example. I think it is more likely that this refers to the words spoken to the Israelites in the wilderness. Now this certainly did become part of Scripture, but I don’t think Hebrews is telling us something about Scripture as a whole here.

An ancient reader hearing about sincere milk in this case would easily fill in the missing gaps and the author would realize that. In the same way, saying that it means growing to salvation does not mean works salvation. What it means is more akin to growing in the salvation and being developed into a saved person. If we use the milk analogy, a baby drinks his mother’s milk not so he can grow into a human, but so he can grow as a human.

I wish that this was the most nonsense, but I’ve already looked ahead some and, yep, it doesn’t get any better from here.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

 

 

Spiritual Deception in the Highest Part 7

Who killed Goliath and other questions? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Well, we all know how it works by now. My doing this is a demonstration that some suffering is self-inflicted. Let’s see what we have from this work today to deal with.

Bible Question #15: Who slew Goliath?

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This is an easy one! Now turn to 2nd Samuel 21:19. Depending on the ‘modern version’ it will say something like:

“… Elhanan … killed Goliath …”

What do you mean Elhanan killed Goliath!? This is wrong you say. Most Sunday school children know that David slew Goliath! Well, you’re right. This is clearly in error.

Look at the same passage in your King James Bible. The Authorized King James Bible has the correct reading which is:

“… Elhanan … slew THE BROTHER OF Goliath …”

Spiritually, as Christians, we are the equivalent of David. Spiritually, Satan is the equivalent of Goliath. Just as David slew Goliath (with a rock), we Christians are “more than conquerors” as we have overcome (slew) Satan by the blood of the lamb (Jesus Christ, the rock!) and by the word of our testimony. Not only are ‘modern versions’ in error; but major doctrinal issues are involved here. Think about it.

To begin with, why do these modern translations sometimes differ? Because they are trying to be faithful to what the text says. Unfortunately, Johnson produces no material on the textual variations or the translating of Hebrew or anything of that sort.

My ministry partner, J.P. Holding, has this to say at Tektonics.

Many conservative commentators, like Archer, have supposed that in the first verse, “Lahmi the brother of” was somehow transformed into “the Bethlehemite”. Alhtough I priorly considered this a suitable textual explanation, I am now persuaded that it requires more explanation (on this, see our response to Human Faces of God, ch. 7). Even so, Callahan’s objections are not sufficient. He objects as follows (here, and now we add, in Secret Origins of the Bible [248]):

  1. First, he says, “Archer is using a method that he would scoff at if it were used by advocates” of the JEDP hypothesis. Indeed? Unless Callahan finds a place where Archer actually does this to an explanation of the same sort advanced by a JEDP theorist, he is merely making an ad hoc accusation.
  2. Second, he says he finds “no particular reason” to accept Archer’s idea “over a more simple and direct one of a later writer trying to resolve an inconsistency.”Well, I do: It has to do with giving ancient documents the benefit of the doubt; it has to do with textual criticism; it has to do with not assuming that ancient people were too foolish to see the obvious. Archer’s explanation is quite within the canons of textual criticism.
  3. Callahan wonders then why both Samuel and Chronicles use the “like a weaver’s beam” in their conclusions. The use of the phrase elsewhere is exactly the sort of thing that would induce an errant scribe to use it elsewhere in an effort to make the text coherent, or make it more memorable in an oral-based society. Callahan’s comment that a scribe would have to both move a portion of the word while leaving it there at the same time is mistaken — this is a perfect description of a known type of textual error called dittography.
  4. Finally, Callahan objects that the explanation contradicts Archer’s earlier assertion that “God kept the authors of the books, and by logical extension the editors of the canon, from error.” Archer may or may not argue this, but it doesn’t matter anyway. We do not believe that God preserved copyists from error. This is not asserted in any doctrinal statement on inerrancy (such as the Chicago Statement).

For the record, here is a summary of Archer’s explanation: 1) a copyist first mistook the sign of the direct object before “Lahmi,” which was ‘-t, for a b-t and got Bethelehemite; 2) the copyist also misread the word for “brother” (‘-h) as the sign of the direct object before “Goliath” and made “Goliath” the object of “killed” instead of “brother” as Chronicles does; 3) the word “weavers” was also misplaced after “Elhanan” to make the name “son of the woods of weavers,” which is quite an unlikely name.

Now you might not find that persuasive entirely, and that’s fine, but the point is that this should show it’s not a clear and simple question. However, looking at the end of what Johnson says, he is taking an interpretation of the original text, as Goliath being Satan and each of us being David, and then insisting that that interpretation is trying to be covered up by the modern versions. (Which, you know, all include the story of David and Goliath so how they’re covering this up is a mystery.) Yet there is given no reason why I should accept the interpretation or think it’s at all what the original writer had in mind.

Bible Question #16: Jesus said that our heavenly Father will forgive us of our sins. However, we are told that; likewise, there is something we must do. Do you remember what it is?

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Let’s turn, in a ‘modern version’ to Mark 11:26. Are you not able to find it? Are the verses in Mark chapter 11 numbered 23, 24, 25 and then 27!? Is verse 26 missing? Well, there is nothing wrong with your eyesight! Verse 26 is not there (or it is in brackets, casting doubt on it). It’s ANOTHER omission.

Now turn to the same verse in your Authorized (King James) Version. The KJV says:

“BUT IF YE DO NOT FORGIVE, NEITHER WILL YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN FORGIVE YOUR TRESPASSES.”

Oh, man! This is important to know! Leaving out verse 26, leaves out an important piece of Christian doctrine. Verse 26 needs to be there! And, that’s why it is properly included in your King James Bible.

The question though is not what Johnson thinks needs to be there, but what is there. Mark often does give shorter versions of what is said and if verse 26 wasn’t in the original manuscripts (And by the way, verse numbers weren’t in the original manuscripts), then whether one thinks it needs to be there or not, faithfulness to the text says to not put it there. I could say “You need to believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus to be forgiven needs to be in the text also!”, but if it was not in what Mark wrote, then it will not be included.

By the way, modern translations do include that in passages such as following the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6. Again, an odd way of covering up doctrine.

Bible Question #17: What did Jesus say about religious hypocrisy?

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First, let’s take a look in a ‘modern’ version of the Bible. What does it say in Matthew 23:14?

Actually, it says nothing! ( The verse is missing in many modern versions ).

For the word of God, turn to the same verse in your King James Bible. What does it say?

“WOE UNTO YOU SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, HYPOCRITES! FOR YE DEVOUR WIDOWS’ HOUSES, AND FOR A PRETENCE MAKE LONG PRAYER: THEREFORE YE SHALL RECEIVE THE GREATER DAMNATION.”

Jesus does not like hypocrisy. Notice how God knows our heart!

Again, this does not show up in the manuscripts that are being used, but here’s something to consider. I just took a few minutes to do a search of the word “hypocrite” in Matthew. It shows up multiple times never in a flattering light. Six of those times are in this very same chapter!

No one reading the chapter in a modern translation would walk away confused about what Jesus thinks about hypocrisy. KJV-Onlyists can condemn the modern versions all they want, but arguments like this are thoroughly dishonest and saw more about KJV-Onlyists than they do about their opponents.

We’ll continue next time.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)