My local church uses the KJV, and I preach from the KJV, and I believe the KJV is the Word of God, so this blog is not an attack on the KJV, but a blog on weak arguments I have heard used by man to defend the KJV against other English translations.
I have heard arguments from people defended the KJV, but when you use the same argument with the KJV, their arguments are not seen to hold water. If people want to defend the KJV, believing it is the Bible to use, they need to be careful not to use double standards.
For example, in 1Tim 3:16, the KJV says, God was manifested in the flesh, but in the NIV says, He appeared in the flesh, and the ESV says, He was manifested.
The argument is that the modern translations are attacking the divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ in this verse. But is that true?
First of all, the reason they translate He and not God is because they are translating from a Greek manuscript which says He, and not God. The KJV using a different Greek manuscript, which says God, and not He.
Secondly, let us use the same argument against the KJV. In John 1:18, the ESV says, No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. The NIV says, No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. The KJV says, No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
The same argument used for 1Tim 3:16 against the NIV and ESV attacking the divine nature of Jesus can be used against KJV in John 1:18, because the NIV and ESV uses God referring to Jesus, but in the KJV they do not.
Again, the reason the NIV and ESV translate one way, and the KJV another way in John 1:18 is because they use different Greek manuscripts.
This is one argument that doesnt stand, but falls. The NIV and the ESV are not attempting to hide that God manifested in the flesh because in John 1:14, the NIV says, The Word became flesh, and the ESV says, And the Word became flesh. John 1:1 in the NIV and ESV says, and the Word was God.
The same for the KJV, the KJV is not trying to attack the divine nature of Jesus in John 1:18, because in John 1:1 the KJV says, and the Word was God, and in John 1:14 says, And the Word was made flesh, and in 1Tim 3:16 says, God was manifested in the flesh.
If you want to show the KJV is correctly translated in these verses and other verses, and other issues, be careful you do not use double standards, and do not forgot the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, because they are important to build up a good case for the KJV, if the KJV is translated correctly in whatever verse(s) you are looking at.
Finally, always remember, if you are a KJV only user, there are many true Christians who use a different Bible translation, like the NIV, ESV and LITV, and Jesus loves them too.
