Faith vs. the Modern Bible Versions: A Course on Bible Texts and Versions and a 10-Fold Defense of the King James Bible By David Cloud Way of Life Literature Advanced Bible Studies Series Copyright @ 2005 by David W. Cloud Revision January 2006 1-58318-087-7 This material cannot be placed on BBS or Internet Web sites Published by Way of Life Literature P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061 866-295-4143 (toll free) • [email protected] (e-mail) http://www.wayoflife.org (web site) Canada: Bethel Baptist Church, 4212 Campbell St. N., London, Ont. N6P 1A6 • 519-652-2619 (voice) • 519-652-0056 (fax) • [email protected] (e-mail) Printed in Canada by Bethel Baptist Print Ministry 2 Ways This Book Can Be Used ● As a private study tool for the individual Christian ● As a course of study in Sunday Schools ● As a textbook in Bible colleges ● As part of a home schooling curriculum ● As study material in jails and prisons ● For disciplining new Christians ● A refresher study for Bible College graduates Review questions are included with every section Other Titles in This Series Give Attendance to Doctrine (enlarged February 2005) The New Testament Church (enlarged February 2005) How to Study the Bible (enlarged May 2005) Understanding Bible Prophecy (enlarged May 2005) A History of the Churches from a Baptist Perspective (enlarged June 2005) The History and Geography of the Bible (enlarged Nov. 2004) Defense of the Faith (enlarged June 2005) The Four Gospels The Book of Romans The Book of Acts The Pastoral Epistles The Book of Genesis Faith vs. the Modern Bible Versions (September 2005) TESTS AND TEACHER SCORE SHEETS ARE AVAILABLE SEPARATELY 3 Dedication I dedicate this book to the Lord’s “babes,” to the foolish things of this world, the weak, the base, the despised, to the lowly but studious saints who, though ridiculed by those who are “wise after the flesh,” humbly and simply believe God’s promises and are not puffed up or led astray by scholarolatry. “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matthew 11:25). “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). 4 “In regard to Bible versions many contemporary Christians are behaving like spoiled and rebellious children. ... ‘We want a Bible version in our own idiom,’ they clamor. ‘We want a Bible that talks to us in the same way in which we talk to our friends over the telephone. We want an informal God, no better educated then ourselves, with a limited vocabulary and a taste for modern slang.’ ... God is bigger than you are, dear friend, and the Bible version which you must use is not a matter for you to decide according to your whims and prejudices. It has already been decided for you by the workings of God’s special providence. If you ignore this providence and choose to adopt one of the modern versions, you will be taking the first step in the logic of unbelief.” --Edward F. Hills, The King James Version Defended, pp. 242, 243 “My apology for bestowing so large a portion of my time on Textual Criticism, is David’s when he was reproached by his brethren for appearing on the field of battle,--‘Is there not a cause?’” -- John William Burgon, 1883 “Driving through Birmingham, England, I passed an ‘establishment’ called ‘The Artful Dodger’. And, frankly, there is not a better way to describe Textual Criticism. It shifts, it turns, it establishes, it overturns, it rewrites, it restates, it examines, it ignores, etc.” --Jack Moorman, A Closer Look: Early Manuscripts and the Authorized Version, p. 9 “We have a clear choice between one of two diverging pathways, the road of faith or the road of human reason and unbelief. Do we begin with the Word of God or do we begin with the word of men? This is the question and it has in the first instance little to do with texts, but with the faithfulness of our God. ... For it to be of any use, textual study must be grounded upon what the Bible already says about itself. If we do not begin with the Word of God, we shall never end with it!” --David W. Norris, The Big Picture “We must not permit our judgment to be overawed by great names in the realm of biblical ‘scholarship’ when it is so clearly evident that the distinguished scholars of the present century are merely reproducing the case presented by rationalists during the last two hundred years.” -- Terence Brown, Trinitarian Bible Society 5 Contents Assignments ................................................................................................. 7 Introduction .................................................................................................. 9 Why We Hold to the King James Bible ..................................................... 29 I. Because of the doctrine of divine preservation ........................ 29 A. This authenticates the Traditional Greek Text ............... 64 B. This authenticates the Masoretic Hebrew Text ............ 163 II. Because the theories supporting the Modern Greek Text are heretical .................................................... 184 III. Because the modern texts and versions are a product of end-time apostasy ............................................ 250 IV. Because of the King James Bible’s superior doctrine ........ 360 V Because of its unmatched heritage ......................................... 433 VI. Because the modern versions are based upon a foundation of deception ........................................ 608 VII. Because evangelical scholarship is unreliable ................... 633 VIII. Because we reject dynamic equivalency .......................... 653 IX. Because we reject the “Majority Text” position .................. 684 X. Because of the evil fruit of the modern versions .................. 720 Textual Checklists ................................................................................... 762 Suggested Resources ............................................................................... 770 6 Assignments 1. Read the two companion books to this course: The Modern Bible Version Question-Answer Database and The Modern Bible Version Hall of Shame, available from Way of Life Literature. 2. Memorize the following verses: Psalm 12:6-7 Psalm 119:89 Psalm 119:160 Psalm 138:2 Matt. 5:18 Matt. 24:35 1 Pet. 1:23 3. Each student must write the first three chapters of the Gospel of John by hand, then count the mistakes and see what sort they are. By comparing all of the copies made the students in one class, it will become evident that normal copying errors can be corrected with relative ease simply by comparing manuscripts. For example, if a word is omitted or misspelled by one student, it will probably be correct in the other copies. Likewise, if a student tried to add or delete something maliciously, this could be detected by comparing all of the copies together. 4. Compare the following verses in the KJV and three modern versions of your choice (not counting the NKJV): John 1:27 John 3:13 Acts 8:37 Acts 20:28 Romans 14:10 1 Corinthians 15:47 Ephesians 3:9 Colossians 1:14 1 Timothy 3:16 1 Timothy 6:5 Hebrews 1:3 7 Note to Teachers and Readers 1. This material is designed to be taught either as one course or to be divided into a basic and an advanced segment. a. The basic segment is Parts I - V. b. The advanced segment is Parts VI - X, with additional material added at the teacher’s discretion from the two companion books, The Modern Bible Version Hall of Shame and The Modern Bible Version Question-Answer Database, or from any additional source of his choosing. In fact, an entire third course could be made up from material in The Modern Bible Version Question-Answer Database. 2. Material from the two companion books can be used at any point during the course. 3. The Review Questions and the tests are an important part of the learning process. The Review Questions at the end of each Part help the students to analyze the material properly and to focus on the most important points that have been covered in the classes. The sectional tests are composed of questions culled from the sectional reviews. This is a further step in focusing the student on the most important points of the course. The final test is composed of the most important questions culled from the sectional tests. Thus the final test covers, in our estimation, the most important points of the entire course, the mimimum number of things that the student should know by heart so that he can defend the preserved Word of God today. 4. Faith vs. the Modern Bible Versions is also designed for private study and can be used effectively outside of a class situation. Though designed as a course, it reads like a book and does not necessarily require a teacher. Again, the Review Questions are an important part of the learning process and if the book is studied privately we urge the student to take the time to answer all of the Review Questions so that the material will be more practically digested. 5. An important resource to compliment this course is the graphical edition of “In the Footsteps of Bible Translators,” available at the Way of Life web site -- See http://www.wayoflife.org/ fbns/in-thefootsteps-bibletrans/. This is the fruit of two research trips to Great Britain and Europe and it contains a wealth of information together with photographs and video clips of sites pertaining to the history of the Bible, including those pertaining to John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Erasmus, and the King James Bible.