What’s the Difference?

In the modern world today, several different versions of the Bible are now in print. Every department store has several copies promoting a better and easier to understand literature of the outdated Bible. While all that seems exciting and helpful, it is also very concerning. Before I get into the nitty gritty of the details, let me state that I am well aware of the stigma behind the King James Version Bible. I know that many believe that mankind has touched it in irreptible ways and Christianity is just a way to manipulate and control the masses. I obviously disagree with such nonsense and believe the KJV Bible is the most accurate English interpretation of the Bible.
In fact the KJV is so mathematically perfect, it would be impossible for any man to complete the complex structure in such a way. I will provide a link to a more detailed account of the above mentioned mathematics. Hopefully one day I can do an article representing this as well.


Let’s begin with the earliest form of the Bible. In the initial years the Bible was written by all walks of life but all inspired directly by God himself (II Timothy 3:16). Many men, across hundreds of years, some of which unbeknownst to the other wrote the Bible. Some Bibles were written by kings, fishermen and preachers. In fact, it was once mandatory for the new king to produce his own handwritten copy of the Bible. Ensuring each new reign had read the word of God and was fully capable of making sound and moral judgments based on scripture. All this was completed before the idea of the printing press had come to light and most was copied onto scrolls and later paper, primarily papaya.

The Vulgate was the first translation into French by a man named Jerome in the late 4th century. This version was later used by the Roman church. An abundance of religious texts were preserved through the following dark ages by priests and scribes who copied them in various places. As the centuries passed by the clerks and clergy were the only ones to have access to the written context. John Wycliffe had the belief that the sacred text should be available to everyone regardless of their social status. He was the first to translate the Bible into English in 1384.

The great invention of the printing press in 1440 meant that Hebrew, Greek and Latin text were more accessible and readily available. In 1526 William Tyndale completed his translation of the New Testament from the Greek text unlike Wycliffe who used Latin scriptures. Sadly both men died as a direct result of their fervent pursuit. Wycliffe was accused of heretics posthumously and Tyndale viciously burned at the stake.

During the tyrannical reign of Roman Catholic Mary I, English scholars sought refuge in Geneva, Switzerland. Not long after, the Geneva Bible came to light. Heavily influenced by John Calvin and John Knock, the Old Testament was published in 1558 and the New Testament in 1560. The Geneva Bible was the first to be translated from Greek and Hebrew into English. It was also the first Bible to use numbered verses and chapters along with italic words. It provided detailed depictions and commentary notes. It quickly gained public popularity as the common man could now access it as well.

Fast forward a few years and England was under the reign of Henry VIII. England removed itself from the Catholic church and created its very own state church. 
In 1604 King James I, a then known religious scholar who has previous bits of translations, decided to translate one unified version of the Bible. He published his version in 1611 after appointing the nation’s finest  language scholars and creating a system to verify accuracy. His work was heavily influenced by the Geneva Bible but frowned upon the commentary aspects deeming it “seditious”. Then in 1684 the Roman Catholic Church decided to remove certain texts claiming it celebrated Judaism. Naturally there were other Bibles produced during the dates mentioned but I stuck with the most popular versions.

Now that we are finished with the history lesson let’s get back to the topic at hand.
Modern day translations not only completely remove words but entire versus, drastically changing the intended message. Below is an example of 16 times entire verses were removed, they are as follows.



Matthew 17:21: “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 18:11: “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 23:14: “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.”
Mark 7:16: “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark 9:44: “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Mark 9:46: “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Mark 11:26: “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 15:28: “And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.”
Luke 17:36: “Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
John 5:4: “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.”
Acts 8:37: “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 15:34: “Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.”
Acts 24:7: “But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,”
Acts 28:29: “And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.”
Romans 16:24: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
I John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”


Furthermore, When we compare key scripture such as Ezekiel 13:20-23 we see noticeable differences.

Ezekiel 13:20-23, King James Version.
20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.

21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:

23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the Lord

Ezekiel 13:20-23, New International Version.
20 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against your magic charms with which you ensnare people like birds and I will tear them from your arms; I will set free the people that you ensnare like birds. 21 I will tear off your veils and save my people from your hands, and they will no longer fall prey to your power. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 22 Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives, 23 therefore you will no longer see false visions or practice divination. I will save my people from your hands. And then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Joshua 1:8, King James Version.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Joshua 1:8, New Living Translation.
8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

Proverbs 18:21, King James Version.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Proverbs 18:21, New Living Translation.
21 The tongue can bring death or life;
    those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

The comparisons above show the stark difference between the pictures that the scripture conveys. The newer versions are not just inaccurate but also misleading. I understand the aspects of better readability and easier comprehension but at what cost? I find it very troubling that younger generations are gravitating toward newer translations. All the while oblivious to the discrepancies and confusion it can bring.

I believe a true Christian should avoid these translations all together. If comprehension of the old language style in King James Version is too difficult, pray about it and ask for clarification. Personally I use a Companion Bible KJV along with a Strong Concordance and a Smith’s Bible Dictionary. With these three resources I not only have the Apocrypha containing the books removed in 1648 but it also provides me with the ability to take any and every word back to the original languages and translate it myself. In doing so I can verify any and every text I read whether KJV or not. The companion Bible divides the scriptures so you can easily follow the subject and article. It provides a vast amount of appendices to further dive into the entirety of God’s Word. Doing so provides me with a deep and complex understanding of the Bible.

Our heavenly Father doesn’t want people to just show up for church on Sunday and fill the pews. He doesn’t want lukewarm Christians. He wants you every day, to be in His word. Christians are not supposed to listen to a preacher talk about one versus for an hour. We should be studying versus by versus, chapter by chapter to show ourselves approved. When was the last time you picked up your Bible and read it? When was the last time you did a deep dive into the true meaning of God’s word or have you ever desired to? Do you truly study the word of God or do you allow yourself to be spoon-fed a few versus on Sunday?

I consider myself extremely blessed to be born and raised in America.
I do not have to tuck my Bible away and hide it from prying eyes. I do not have to pray in private or hold church in secret. I am free to worship and follow whoever I choose. Yet, so many people take for granted the living word of God at our fingertips. Scriptures that people would have once been beheaded for reading much less possessing and sadly still are today in many parts of the world. I hope everyday I remember what a blessing it is to openly study His word with ample amounts of resources at my disposal. I urge each read also to take the time and faithfully study the word of God.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.




Now to give credit where credit is due.
The sites I used for facts and the charts provided.
https://thestandard.org.uk/the-blog/item/missing-verses-changed-words-in-modern-bibles-compared-to-the-kjv


https://archive.org/details/ModernBibleChangedVersesList


The link to the mathematical perfection of the Bible as mentioned above.
https://thestandard.org.uk/the-blog/item/proof-of-god-mathematically-perfect-bible-from-beginning-to-end