Getting new Bibles

I am currently reading through the Bible using the ESV. Several months ago I purchased a copy of the NASB. I may also purchase the Holman Study Bible. I recently acquired The Tree of Life Version and the Passion Version (a translation of the New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Songs).

Yes, I was KJBO for a long time. At one time I firmly believed that the AV 1611 was the superior translation of the English Bible. And now, 30 years later, you can buy a copy of the KJV’s predecessor, the Geneva Bible (endorsed by Kirk Cameron). And to think that 35 years ago, the KJO crowd pointed out the Geneva seemed lost to history, something you’d find only in some old, dusty library. I can remember the late Al Lacy pushing the KJV to the forefront, saying that the Geneva Bible had faded away.

Spending time studying foreign languages (Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Russian) has made me rethink things I “knew” about translation work when I was a naïve 18-year-old Christian. There have been advancements in the availability of manuscripts, and you also have to examine the motivations behind translating the King James Version.

This is 2023. I’d say in 250 years, as the English language inevitably evolves, the King James Version will be as intelligible to 2273 readers as Old English is today.

Post comments here or email them to richardstwoshekels@gmail.com

My Bible bid bites the dust

A few hours ago, someone again outbid me for the NKJV New Open Bible I wanted.

After some thought, I chose not to bid further.

There comes a time when you reach your limit. And, of course, it always seems odd how you place a bid and somebody immediately outbids you. I wonder sometimes if the seller will set up a fake I.D. to try to drive up the price.

Yes, I really wanted this Bible, but I just felt it was getting too expensive to continue bidding on. And, if this makes any sense, it no longer felt right. Lately I’ve grown to trust my intuition more and more. Besides, one friend told me the Bible’s also on sale at Amazon. Used but reasonable.

I imagine some reading this from the confines of an Independent Fundamental Baptist church would simply say “Tsk! Tsk!” and admonish me for bidding on a New King James Bible. God didn’t want you to have such a sinful Bible, they might say. That’s why He allowed someone else to outbid you! Repent NOW, sinner!!!

Post comments here or e-mail richardstwoshekels@gmail.com.

Bidding on a Bible

So, I am currently bidding on a Bible on Ebay. I figure it beats bidding on a leftover piece of French toast Justin Bieber ate or, as “Weird Al” Yankovic described in his song “Ebay”, William Shatner’s old toupee.

This Bible is a New King James New Open Study Bible. I like the NKJV, and I am very fond of the New Open Study Bible. They apparently aren’t printed anymore and, when you can find them, aren’t cheap.

Case in point: I once saw a brand-new KJV NOSB, and the buy-it-now option was for about $300.

So now, I wait to see if I get this Bible. Lots of cool notes (did you know that the ancient Assyrians NEVER mentioned their military defeats in their official records–only their victories?). And lots of sentimental value.

I used to have a KJV NOSB. It was given to me as a high school graduation gift from my pastor. I used it at college and had lots of ministerial autographs in it. Also lots of Bible notes and, most importantly, the names of those whom I’ve led to the Lord.

And then, it was stored in the basement of a dump we lived in. The sump pump failed, and the basement flooded. The Bible was ruined. I was upset for weeks.

Will my bid be the winner? I’ll find out tomorrow night.

Post comments here or e-mail them to richardstwoshekels@gmail.com.

A very quick note about this blog

I have learned recently that there are people who find Richard’s Two Shekels to be an encouraging blog. This encourages me more than readers could ever possibly know, and it inspires me to follow the example of the ant and get busy.

That being said, when I blog about my Bible reading I have decided to shift gears and not attempt to give a detailed exegesis of each chapter. This will get boring quickly. So, when I read the Bible that day I will blog about what passages I read, the highlights, things that really got my attention and how it applied to me.

And, of course, as the mood strikes and the need arises, I will also blog about issues in Christianity. Perhaps this weekend I will blog about that football player who blamed God for dropping a game-winning touchdown pass.

My latest blog posting should be up on Saturday.

Richard Zowie has been a Christian for 29 years and feels he still has a lot to learn. He enjoys listening to Dr. Charles Swindoll and is a former member of the King James Only movement (he still prefers the KJB but also likes reading the New King James and has been known to check out the ESV and NASB. Post comments here or e-mail Richard at richardstwoshekels@gmail.com.

Revisiting the debate about Bible versions

In my youth, I was a staunch King-James-Only believer. I read from the King James and called it King James Bible instead of King James Version. A college classmate who listed the late Dr. Jack Hyles as one of his heroes used to say that “version” implies that there are other acceptable translations.

And bless God, there were not.

Even today, I still use the King James Bible primarily. I have a Gideon New Testament of the New King James. Somewhere in storage, I have a copy of the New American Standard Bible (which I originally bought a few years ago as a reference point). My wife has a New King James Bible. Lately we’ve been talking about getting all three of our sons Bibles that are more readable since all complain the KJB is far too complicated.

Heck, I went to Pensacola Christian College, took Bible classes, have read the Bible through a few times and there are still passages of the KJB that I need a good Bible commentary and a concordance to get through.

At PCC, there were even teachers who endorsed the New King James, and I knew of students who read the NKJB. Some students even read heretical versions like the New International Version (or, as evangelist Dr. Al Lacy deliciously likes to call it, the New International Perversion or, “N-I-V-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E”).

Likewise, there was a condescending twit a few years ago who, quite smugly, told me that the New American Standard Bible was superior to the King James Bible. (Note to the arrogant who might read this: a little humility can greatly enhance your argument).

A few years ago, a solid brother in Christ said something about Bible versions that really surprised me: it’s far better for a newer version to get read than for a King James to collect dust on the shelf, unread. Another guy named Peter, a roommate at PCC, pointed out that one of my favorite Bible teachers, Dr. Chuck Swindoll, did not use a King James in his sermons. “Besides, I believe it’s possible a person can go out and serve the Lord and do so with a version that’s not the King James,” Peter told me.

The King-James-Only debate was something I continued to ponder in the Army as I studied Mandarin Chinese for eight months and then Russian for a year and started to learn more and more about languages and translating and how it’s not a very cut-and-dry process.

Let’s face it: English is a littered, mercurial language, a witch’s brew of strange grammar rules (not to mention endless exceptions to the rule) and borrowed words from countless languages. Those who believe we are speaking the same language now that was spoken in England in 1611 are living in a dream world. Some linguistic scholars say English reached its zenith during Elizabethan times, and we have to wonder if the English we speak today is a indeed a step down from that used by William Shakespeare.

In English, there are also many dialects and sub-dialects: British English, Scottish English, Irish English, Canadian English, American English (with further variations depending on the region where you live), Australian English, New Zealand English and the English spoken in Africa, along with the English spoken by the hearing impaired.

When I look back on my time in Baptist churches and think of the many sermons I’ve heard preached, there have been a few ministers whom I’ve wondered if they really understood what a passage said. Is it impossible that a preacher today using a nearly-400-year-old Bible will misinterpret and misapply? One friend, Darrell, told a story once of trying to find a church and encountering one where the pastor talked about God turning His back on Jesus when He was on the cross. “Just as God turned His back on His Son, so must we also turn our backs on wayward children,” the pastor said.

Really? I thought. Does this man grasp the passage and that God turned His back on Jesus because Jesus became the sin for mankind?

When Darrell posted this on a website I once frequented, I read it and felt like asking him to tell me the church so that if I were ever in his area, I’d know which church to avoid. And wherever the pastor went to Bible college, I’d rather avoid that also. It also made me wonder if this man really understood what the Bible taught and if he was a victim of reading what he really didn’t understand and making wild misinterpretations.

For those who are King James Only, my question is this: with the evolution of the English language, is it possible that sometime within the next 50 to 500 years (assuming the Lord tarries and the rapture hasn’t occurred yet) that the language will evolve to where the 1611 King James Bible will become unreadable and incomprehensible?

If your answer is no, please consider this: Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales was written in Middle English in the 14th century, around 250 years or so earlier than the King James Bible. If you read TCT in Middle English, it won’t make much sense. How about reading the Lord’s Prayer in Old English? Forget it. It’s practically another language.

One thing about the King James I find tickling is how it contains words that would practically get kids spanked for using them today. In 2 Kings 9:8 God commands the execution of King Ahab’s sons, specifically he who “…pisseth against the wall.” [Emphasis mine]

Pisseth?

Back in those days, “to piss” apparently was an acceptable verb to use for “to urinate”. These days, it is considered vulgar, especially used in slang to mean becoming angry. What the King James (possible translating a Hebrew euphemism) was saying is that God wanted all males executed. And since men “piss” while standing up and women have a difficult time doing so…

Over the years, I’ve encountered godly Christians who use the King James, New King James, NIV, NASB, New Living Translation, and so on. There is also a 21st Century King James Bible out there and an updated version of the NKJB. Believe it not, there apparently is even an American King James Version.

This is not to say we should be careless with translations. I prefer Bibles that come from the Masoretic Hebrew and from the Greek Textus Receptus. If a Bible is translated from something else, it’s not for me. We should take great care in selecting the Bible we want to use: while I still prefer the KJB but am no longer a King James-Only person, I do believe that excessive carelessness in translations is exactly what Satan desires now that he knows he cannot destroy God’s Word.

Maybe I’m right. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe in five years I’ll be a King-James-Only advocate again, or maybe in five years I’ll go nuts in my Christian liberties (I already wear a cross necklace).

Tell me what you think, Christian Reader.

Richard Zowie, a 1995 graduate of Pensacola Christian College and a Christian since 1981, remains a humble student of God. Post comments here or e-mail Richard at richardstwoshekels@gmail.com.