Westcott and Hort
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The Bible’s First Question “YEA, HATH GOD SAID?” (Satan’s question) Genesis 3:1 1 The Bible’s 2nd Question “WHERE ART THOU?” (God’s question) Genesis 3:9 2 Psalm 11:3—Key Verse “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) The FOUNDATION of ALL DOCTRINE is the BIBLE. Having the RIGHT BIBLE is critically IMPORTANT!! 3 600 Years of English Bible Versions Years Bibles & N.T’s Years Between Undated 1+6 = 7 --------- 1300's 3+1 = 4 25 years 1400's 0+0 = 0 100 years 1500's 11+20 = 31 3.2 years 1600's 5+3 = 8 12.5 years 1700's 17+29 = 46 2.1 years 1800's 45+90 = 135 .74 years 1900's 53+144 = 197 .51 years __________________________________________________ 1300's--1900's 135+293 = 428 1.4 years 4 CHAPTER I God’s Words Kept Intact Is BIBLE PRESERVATION (The Bible’s Timelessness) 5 Verses on Bible Preservation 1. Psalm 12:6-7: “The WORDS of the LORD are pure WORDS: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt KEEP THEM, O LORD, Thou shalt PRESERVE them from this generation FOR EVER.” 2. Psalm 105:8: “He hath remembered His covenant FOR EVER, the WORD which He commanded TO A THOUSAND GENERA- TIONS.” 6 Verses on Bible Preservation 3. Proverbs 22:20-21. “(20) Have not I WRITTEN to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, (21) That I might make thee know the CERTAINTY of the WORDS OF TRUTH; that thou mightest answer the WORDS OF TRUTH to them that send unto thee?” 4. Matthew 5:17-18: (17) “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. (18) For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, ONE JOT or ONE TITTLE shall IN NO WISE PASS from the law, till all be fulfilled.” 7 Jot and Tittle The Jot , 8 Jot and Tittle The Tittle . 9 Verses on Bible Preservation 5. Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but MY WORDS shall not pass away.” 6. 1 Peter 1:23-25: (23) “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the WORD of God, which liveth and abideth FOR EVER." (24) "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the Word of the Lord ENDURETH FOR EVER. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” 10 God Keeps His Promises 1. Numbers 23:19 “God is NOT A MAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE; neither the son of man, that he should repent: HATH HE SAID, AND SHALL HE NOT DO IT? or HATH HE SPOKEN, AND SHALL HE NOT MAKE IT GOOD?” 2. Romans 4:20-21. [Speaking of Abraham]: “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (21) And being fully persuaded that, WHAT HE HAD PROMISED, HE WAS ABLE ALSO TO PERFORM.” 11 God Keeps His Promises 3. Titus 1:2: “In hope of eternal life, which GOD, THAT CANNOT LIE, PROMISED before the world began.” 4. Hebrews 10:23: “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering: (For HE IS FAITHFUL THAT PROMISED).” 12 The London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) On Bible Preservation “The Old Testament in Hebrew, (which was the native language of the people of God of old,) and the New Testament in Greek, (which at the time of its writing was most generally known to the nations,) were immediately inspired by God, and were kept pure through subsequent ages by His singular care and providence. They are therefore authentic, so as in all controversies of religion, the Church must appeal to them as final.” 13 On The Need for Accurate Translations “But because these original languages are not known to all the people of God who have a right to, and an interest in the Scriptures, and who are commanded to read and search them in the fear of God, the Scriptures are therefore to be translated into the ordinary language of every nation into which they come, so that, with the Word of God living richly in all, people may worship God in an acceptable manner, and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope.” 14 For Over 1500 Years of BIBLE PRESERVATION, the Lord Jesus NEVER Questioned the Hebrew Text of His Day! 1. Luke 24:27. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them the things concerning Himself.” 2. Luke 24:44. “And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in THE LAW of Moses, and in THE PROPHETS, and in THE PSALMS, concerning Me.” 15 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE 1. SUPERIOR TEXTS: a. SUPERIOR HEBREW TEXT b. SUPERIOR GREEK TEXT 2. SUPERIOR TRANSLATORS 3. SUPERIOR TECHNIQUE a. VERBAL EQUIVALENCE b. FORMAL EQUIVALENCE c. NOT DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE 4. SUPERIOR THEOLOGY 16 THE INFERIORITY OF THE OTHER ENGLISH VERSIONS 1. INFERIOR TEXTS: a. INFERIOR HEBREW TEXT b. INFERIOR GREEK TEXT 2. INFERIOR TRANSLATORS 3. INFERIOR TECHNIQUE a. DYNAMIC EQUIVALENCE b. NOT VERBAL EQUIVALENCE c. NOT FORMAL EQUIVALENCE 4. INFERIOR THEOLOGY 17 CHAPTER II The King James Bible Is God's Words Kept Intact In English Because of Its Superior Original Language Texts (Hebrew and Greek) 18 CHAPTER II The King James Bible Is God's Words Kept Intact In English A. Because of Its SUPERIOR OLD TESTAMENT HEBREW TEXT 19 The Jews Were the GUARDIANS of the WORDS of God Rom. 3:1-2: “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? (2) Much every way: chiefly, because that UNTO THEM WERE COMMITTED THE ORACLES OF GOD.” 20 8 of the Rules Used by the Jews to Guard God's WORDS: “1. The parchment must be made from the skin of clean animals; must be prepared by a Jew only, and the skins must be fastened together by strings taken from clean animals. 2. Each column must have no less than 48 nor more than 60 lines. The entire copy must be first lined. 21 8 of the Rules Used by the Jews to Guard God's WORDS: 3. The ink must be of no other color than black, and it must be prepared according to a special recipe. 4. No word nor letter could be written from memory; the scribe must have an authentic copy before him, and he must read and pronounce aloud each word before writing it. 22 8 of the Rules Used by the Jews to Guard God's WORDS: 5. He must reverently wipe his pen each time before writing the word for “God” [which is Elohim] and he must wash his whole body before writing the name “Jehovah” [which is translated “LORD” in our KING JAMES BIBLE] lest the Holy Name be contaminated. 23 8 of the Rules Used by the Jews to Guard God's WORDS: 6. Strict rules were given concerning forms of the letters, spaces between letters, words, and sections, the use of the pen, the color of the parchment, etc. 7. The revision of a roll must be made within 30 days after the work was finished; otherwise it was worthless. One mistake on a sheet condemned the sheet; if three mistakes were found on any page, the entire manuscript was condemned. 24 8 of the Rules Used by the Jews to Guard God's WORDS: 8. Every word and every letter was counted, and if a letter were omitted, an extra letter inserted, or if one letter touched another, the manuscript was condemned and des- troyed at once.” [Miller, op. cit., pp. 184-185] [My comments in brackets.] 25 The Result of the Care of the Jewish Guardians-- PRESERVED HEBREW WORDS “Some of these rules may appear extreme and absurd, yet they show how sacred the Holy Word of the Old Testament was to its custodians, the Jews (Rom. 3:2), and they give us strong encouragement to believe that WE HAVE THE REAL OLD TESTAMENT, THE SAME ONE WHICH OUR LORD HAD AND WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD.” [Miller, op. cit., p. 185] 26 THE TWO HEBREW TEXTS 1. TRUE TEXT Traditional Masoretic Text Daniel Bomberg Edition 2nd Great Rabbinic Bible Edited by Ben Chayyim (1524-25 A.D.) The Unquestioned Hebrew Text For the Next 400 Years Used in Kittel’s 1906 & 1912 BIBLIA HEBRAICA Used in our KING JAMES BIBLE 27 THE TWO HEBREW TEXTS 2. FALSE TEXT An Abridged Masoretic Text From only ONE Hebrew Manuscript Leningrad Manuscript (B19a or “L”) (1008 A.D.) Edited by Ben Asher Used in Kittel’s 1937 Edition BIBLIA HEBRAICA And the STUTTGARTENSIA Edition c. 20,000--30, 000 Footnote Changes in Text Used in ALL Modern Versions 28 19 THINGS USED BY THE NEW VERSIONS TO “CORRECT” THE ORIGINAL HEBREW TEXT 1. The Septuagint (LXX) Greek O.T. 2. Conjecture (No reason given) 3. The Syriac Version 4. A Few Hebrew Manuscripts 5. The Latin Vulgate 6. The Dead Sea Scrolls 7. Aquila (Greek O.T.) 8. The Samaritan Pentateuch 9. Quotations from Jerome 29 19 THINGS USED BY THE NEW VERSIONS TO “CORRECT” THE ORIGINAL HEBREW TEXT 10.