Can We Trust The Modern Bible Versions?

by Paul Benson

Is It OK To Change The Bible?

The validity (or lack thereof) of the modern Bible versions is at the same time one of the most hotly debated topics, as well as one of the most purposefully ignored issues, among Christians of this generation. For many this subject is a non-issue; they don’t read their Bible that much any way and any alteration of contents would breeze by them unnoticed (they are spoon fed their portion from the pulpit and that suffices them). Others see this questioning of the new Bibles as grounds for going to war over the issue, and great heated debates ensue pitting one camp against another.

But my suggestion concerning this subject is that we all get in the same camp (the Lord’s camp!), so to speak, and examine this matter in the context of truth versus error. Not pitting opinion against opinion, but honestly asking the following: “Are there corrupting changes being made to the modern Bible versions? If so where are these alterations, where did they come from, and how are they affecting the belief system of the Body of Christ?

In the book of Psalms the Lord has given us such an awesome promise of purity and preservation concerning the Scriptures:

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalms 12:6-7 KJV

God’s Word is pure. But there are those (under the influence of Satan) who are compelled to alter and corrupt the Word of God!

For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:17 KJV

We Need To Have A Trust In God’s Word

As believers we need to have an unwavering confidence that God’s Word is absolutely true and also unchanging to all generations. True faith is founded upon a conviction that not only is what God has spoken true, but also that He will stick by his promises and fulfill them. Since the first “Yea, hath God said…?” in the Garden of Eden the Devil has been at work to lead man astray through his twisting and altering of the words of truth God has spoken to us. The attack on the Word of God has continued down through the centuries and has now come to a fullness in our time as the end of days draws near.

There is an extremely alarming issue confronting the Christian today that is unique to this generation. I am referring to a loss of confidence by many in the Body of Christ as to the inspiration and preservation of the Word of God. We are talking about an ever increasing lack of faith in the validity of the Bible manifesting on a global scale. It is my firm conviction a major factor of this decline is to be found in the confusion and disillusionment brought about by the corrupting of the Scriptures which takes place in the modern Bible versions.

It is the goal of my writings on this issue to bring an awareness to the Church of not only how altered and corrupted these new Bibles really are, but also an idea of the enormous damage they are causing. It would be foolish to expect a change in the text would not change what we receive from the Bible!

Here are a couple of examples from my book ‘Should They Be Changing The Holy Bible?’:

Opposites Are Not The Same!

The story we are continually fed by those promoting the ‘modern’ Bible versions is that they are all saying the same thing as the traditional text of the KJV. That they are just saying it with a different style or a more modern sounding vocabulary. We are told there is nothing wrong with the new Bibles. But is this really the truth of the matter? No, actually it is a lie of enormous proportions. As we will see nothing could be farther from the truth. Let’s start by looking again at our first example on the rear cover:

Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: Jeremiah 51:3 KJV

Let not the archer bend his bow, and let him not array himself in his coat of mail. Jeremiah 51:3 New Revised Standard

We see here that this ‘modern’ version is saying just the opposite of the KJV in this verse from Jeremiah! That should shock us enough to say “Hey, what’s going on here?” Are we to foolishly believe that opposites say the same thing? That’s what the promoters of the ‘new’ Bibles would have us accept. But, I’m sorry, that bird just doesn’t fly. There is no way you can change a verse of Scripture to say the opposite of its original form and still rightfully call it the Word of God. I just cannot accept that, can you?

It would be bad enough if this were a solitary incident (no corruption of God’s Word is a minor thing) but we see this type of thing on a frequent basis if we critically examine the ‘modern’ versions. The alterations to them are in the thousands! Let’s look at another example:

And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; Genesis 27:39-40 KJV

…Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven… Genesis 27:39-40 NIV

Notice any discrepancy in the reading of this text in the NIV? Isaac’s blessing upon his son sadly now becomes a curse in the NIV! The Jehovah Witness NWT reads in a similar fashion (as do most other ‘new’ versions). Nine out of ten alterations to the New World Translation are also found to be lurking in the NIV! Should you place your trust in Bible versions having changes like this? I sure don’t.

To the first part of our opening question, “Are there corrupting changes being made to the modern Bible versions?” Only the willfully ignorant could answer anything but, “Yes, there are many problems with the new Bible versions.” Even those who would vouch for the N.I.V., N.A.S.B., Amplified, etc. would have to admit that many sloppy translations and liberal paraphrases are being produced which make a mockery of the Word of God.

Most folks are pretty much in agreement there is a problem, and that it is getting larger as time progresses. So if there really is a problem it behooves us to address the second part of our question: “Where are these alterations, where did they come from, and how are they affecting the belief system of the Body of Christ?” Let me answer this three part question in brief terms and point you to materials to aid in further study.

1. Where are these alterations found? In a nut-shell, the myriad of corrupting changes (as well as many verses of Scripture either partially of totally omitted!) are found throughout ALL modern Bible versions! If there is a modern version free from this corruption it is a well kept secret, as I have been looking for it diligently for many years. In my book ‘The True Sayings of God’ I show nearly 500 examples of these changes in a comparative look at ten of the most popular versions which clearly shows what alterations have been made. This reference manual is available for FREE download on my website, as is the condensed EZ-Read (88 page) version ‘Should They Be Changing The Holy Bible?’ I hope you would avail yourself of these free resources.
2. Where did these alterations and deletions of Scripture come from? Here is some commentary from my web-page on Bible Corruption:

A Corrupted Text
In the mid-1800’s a work was undertaken to produce a ‘Revised Version’ of the Bible; supposedly to bring a version to the Church which was more user friendly. The foundation for this upgrade would (supposedly) be a reexamination of the underlying Greek text. Three men originally spearheaded this effort, but when one realized what was actually occurring was a revision, not of the English translation but of the actual Greek text itself, he voiced great protest and withdrew from the committee. The two remaining leaders of this effort were named Westcott and Hort.

The foundation for the Wescott / Hort ‘Revised Greek Text’ was not the faithful Texus Receptus, or any accurate representation of the Majority Text (accepted down through the ages as the true Word of God, and is the Greek text used to produce the K.J.V.). They chose instead to focus on two obscure manuscripts which were remarkably different from the main body of evidence (and unbelievably different from one another!). These manuscripts are known as the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. A deeper look at these two manuscripts will follow this article. (See ‘Two Rotten Apples’ on this page.)

Although minor consideration was given to a handful of other texts it is safe to say the ‘Revised Greek Text’ was produced using these two corrupted and altered manuscripts; and herein lies the enormous difference between the KJV and the modern translations. They do not have the same underlying Greek Text! They have a corrupt foundation. And then the changes continue on from there in the translation process itself; where more alterations are introduced varying from version to version.

3. How are these changes to the Word of God affecting the belief system of the Body of Christ? Let’s go back to the fall of man. It was the seductive doubt fostering corruption of God’s Words that influenced the parents of us all to move in opposition to the will of the Creator, and brought sin into this world. Satan has not abandoned this tactic that worked so well in the Garden, I will leave it to your imagination what horrific damage has been done over the centuries to those who have been subjected to the twisting and altering of the Scriptures since that day. In the commentary of my books I point out many of the ways these changes can affect not only the doctrine, but also the behavior of those affected by them.

Summary:

It is quite obvious that there is a problem with the new Bible versions, and the matter deserves to be addressed. How you choose to deal with this information is up to you, but please be aware there are changes to these corrupt new bibles that could cost you your eternal soul if you are swayed by them. Many facets of truth we are to live by, and properly approach God by, are marred in these new versions including salvation by faith, the Deity of Christ, forgiveness, prayer and fasting, divorce and remarriage, and so on.

The alteration of Scripture presents a great danger to the Believer and this is why I teach that the new Bibles are not trustworthy, and should be rejected by the Body of Christ. It is my hope and prayer that my efforts to research and compile this information in an easy to comprehend fashion would be a benefit to those desiring to investigate the matter further. May the blessing of the Lord and peace be upon all those with a love for the truth of his Holy Word.