While the prophet was working on the translation, he apparently had his king james bible before him on the table or in his lap. In several cases, the book of mormon follows king james version translation errors. As weve covered in the king james bible and the book. Kjv does not take the word for rock and accidentally translate. The other three, having been revealed in modern times in english, are accepted without qualification. The devil has given man a bible that is not a bible because it takes man, sin, and god out of the bible nivesv. What are 1769 king james version edition errors doing in the book of. Oct 08, 2009 the holy bible king james version the book of mormon. It is the most pure form of the word of god that we have. It was made by the spirit of revelation, and the changes and additions are the equivalent of the revealed word in the book of mormon and the doctrine and covenants. Latterday books and gifts, independent deseret book store. These changes are thought to be the cause of many of the errors into which traditional christianity. The verses in question are given first and then what is the correct or better translation.
The book of mormon represents a stage of the english language when the distinction between thee, thou, ye, and you was falling apart, and all were collapsing into you. The quote is almost verbatim from the king james version, with some minor variations. This article looks briefly at 7 issues surrounding the translation of the kjv. The book of mormon contains a version of the sermon on the mount, which some authors have claimed to be the achilles heel of the book of mormon.
Again, as an aside, the book of mormon adds the qualifier red to the king james version. Deuteroisaiah in the book of mormon lds discussions. As we outlined in the section on the book of mormon s reliance on the king james bible, any reference to new testament material in the book of mormon is anachronistic. There is simply no way that the book of mormon people could have had access to the new testament writings, and certainly not the king james translation that would not be completed until the year 1611. In short, he read from the stone as he translated the texts. The lds edition of the bible was soon followed by a new edition of the book of mormon which corrects errors that propagated in previous texts due to copyist or typesetting errors. It seems reasonable to assume that if smith was a prophet of god and was translating the book of mormon under divine inspiration, he would have known about the errors found in the king james version, and would have corrected them for when passages from the king james version appeared in the book of mormon. Why does the church still use the king james version.
Nov 04, 2020 yes, and we can only speculate as to why. In the time difference between these various texts many scribal errors occurred. We have journaling editions of the old testament, new testament, book of mormon, and doctrine and covenantspearl of great price. I gasp dont believe the king james version is exactly what. Translation of the bible is shown in footnotes in the lds kjv bible. Generally, we find that when the king james version commits a translation error, the book of mormon usually follows. A glance at a map of palestine will show why this rendering is impossible. The 1611 king james version of the bible is actually a composite of several earlier translations, not.
It contains all that the king james version does, plus pages of additions and corrections and an occasional deletion. Two chapters of the prophet malachi are quoted by jesus in iii nephi 24 and following. Strikethrough denotes words that are included in the kjv but not the bom. Translation errors in the king james bible appearing in the book of mormon. Are there errors from the 1769 king james version of the.
The golden plates, from which the book of mormon was supposedly translated, were, according to mormons, written prior to the 1st century, and yet oneeighteenth of the book of mormon is identical, word for word, to the 1611 king james version of the bible1 corinthians and isaiah 53 are quoted in full. A question of book of mormon scholarship is whether the several chapters or passages of isaiah cited or paraphrased in the book derive from an ancient text or whether they have been copied with some revision from the king james version. Large portions of the book of mormon are very similar to the king james version of the bible, which of course was about the only english bible available to joseph smith in the 1820s. Since joseph smith used no paper notes, scripts or other texts, whatever he produced in the book of mormon came from god.
All of the mormons i have spoken with accept the king james version of the bible as true scripture. The book of mormon derives its names from a book that has semitic sources, i. Have there been any changes in the book of mormon since it was first published in 1830. Other significant connections between the two books include book of mormon words and phrases that only appear in their kjv. This book has a parallel presentation of the isaiah the king james version, the matching book of mormon version, and other revealed scriptures. It seems reasonable to assume that since smith was a prophet of god and was translating the book of mormon under divine inspiration, he would have known about the errors found in the king james version and would have corrected them when passages from the king james version appeared in the book of mormon.
The king james bible and the joseph smith translation. Read your king james bible and let the perfect word of god do its work in. One author makes the point that certain portions of the greek manuscripts of matthew 57 do not agree with the kjv of the text, and concludes that the book of mormon version of the sermon should not contain text similar to the kjv. No translation errors i don t think you can say that the book of mormon contains unique errors from the king james version bible. The living bible, and the book, which is a new edition of the living bible, but it is not perfect.
What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon. Sometimes the quotation is explicit, as in the second book of nephi, which contains 18 quoted chapters of the book of isaiah. Isbn 0830900322 all js changes or additions to king james version shown in parallel columns not the complete bible robert j. This story about how the more conservative lutherans rejected the niv 2011 is fascinating. The book of mormon incorporates text which seems to be taken from the king james version, including passages which are now considered to be mistranslations in the king james version. Difficult or not, the book of mormon reproduces the kjv translation, at 3 nephi 22. One plausible explanation that author stephen gibson put forward was, instances where the book of mormon parallels the bible, joseph smith must have noted. Critics wonder why many of the quotes from isaiah in the book of mormon are identical to the king james version. Fairmormons response to presence of 1769 kjv errors in book of mormon in terms of attempting to pinpoint the origin of the book of mormon, even more significant than book of mormon revisions are places where it follows the kjv into error, echoing mistranslations or including translations. Joseph smiths inspired revisions to the king james bible. It is also true that the king james version contains some textual errors. The use of pronouns in the book of mormon is closer to the language of the king james translators than to the language of the king james translation.
The red sea is located on the southern border of palestine, over 250 miles from the sea of galilee. In some cases, entire passages are duplicated in the book of mormon. We understand that it was the original autographs or writings of the apostles and prophets which were inspired 2 tim. In some cases, he simply read the words as they were written on the page. This is a clear case of plagiarism, with no other purpose than adding volume to the book of mormon without too much effort. It is in fact replete with such errors, as i intend to show in these two part 6 posts to ed. Latterday saints use the king james bible along with other scripture to learn the. When the church was organized in 1830, the king james version kjv, also. Thus, every bible translation has its strengths and weaknesses. A total of 48 complete verses in the kjv nt have been determined to be scribal additions. Many of the names in the book of mormon are just plucked directly from the bible, e. Below are a few errors false teachings from the niv and esv that brethren have fought against for years see ephesians 5. In the first place, much of the king james version of the bible has been reproduced verbatim in the book of mormon estimated to be from 17,000 to 27,000 words tanner, 1972, p. Below is a partial listing of king james version kjv bible translation errors.
His quotes were taken directly from king james english. Jan 29, 2014 the isaiah texts in the book of mormon originate from the brass plates, which date to at least 600 bc. Joseph smiths new translation of the bible, herald publishing house, 1970. That the book of mormon repeats the kjv error 2 nephi 24. There are few translation problems with the old testament however, most modern translations, from the revised standard version bible rsv to the new international version bible niv, use as their source for the new testament a greek text based.
The prophet isaiah wrote in parallelistic structure. Below are a few errors false teachings from the niv and esv that. Errors represented across both 1611 and 1769 kjv a careful. Apr 20, 2003 in other words, modern scholars do not agree with the translators of the king james version. Latterday saints relied on it in their meetings, and the book of mormon. The king james version itself was considered a vile innovation by many when it first came out. This addendum hopes to present information which will enable the reader to understand what the gnostic doctrine teaches and which mistranslations in the kjv. I have open the old testament with the joseph smith translation by julie hite, steven hite, and tom melville. Yet, the book of mormon is guilty of violating these very criteria. In general, the book of mormon appears to rely exclusively on the 1769 king james translation compared with the 1611 king james version or other derivatives in other instances where. More recent translations like the new american standard bible nasb, and new international version niv, make use of older greek manuscripts that date back to 300500 ad.
As we outlined in the section on the book of mormon s reliance on the king james bible, any reference to new testament material in the book of mormon is anachronistic there is simply no way that the book of mormon people could have had access to the new testament writings, and certainly not the king james translation that would not be completed until the year 16. We have some childrens books with select bible and book of mormon stories. The new translation grows out of the king james version. The book of mormon was only translated once from the original authors language reformed egyptian to elizabethan english by joseph smith by the power of god. A history and commentary, brigham young university press, 1985. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. He read from it to his scribes, who carefully recorded the words they heard from his lips. Analysis of the accuracy of the joseph smith translation.
Yet because the book of mormon was originally written in king james language, we are confronted with the fact that the kjv, regardless of what bible translation one reads, influences every member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints by virtue of its cadence, language, and terminology appearing in the original english book of mormon. Answers to letter questions and concerns book of mormon. This book has a parallel presentation of the isaiah the king james version, the matching book of mormon version, and other revealed scriptures, all lined up with the differences clearly visible. May 10, 2006 if joseph smith translated these plates that were made around the year 450 ad, how is it that the book of mormon has the same translation errors in it as the king james version of the new testament had at the same time. The church uses the king james version of the bible, but acceptance of the bible is coupled with a reservation that it is true only insofar as translated correctly, eighth article of faith. The king james bible and the book of mormon religious. Like joseph smith and the book of mormon, brian simmons has created a new. Poetic parallelism of the isaiah scroll and the book of. Bible redianswers on mormon doctrine study resources. We use this argument to point out the falsity of the book. What are 1769 king james version edition errors doing in the book of mormon.
With so many english translations of the bible that are easy to read, why does the. And we have a few king james and niv bibles that do not have the lds references in them, for those who would rather not have them. The king james bible and the future of missionary work jstor. The inspired version was a revision of the king james bible completed by smith to bring it in line with mormon doctrines. And his error here was copied and copied and copied from that point forward. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fair. Those so called plates were made 1200 years before the king james version of the bible, yet they have common mistranslations. See also quoting from the king james bible and view of the hebrews. Feb 07, 2008 the best translation of the book of mormon is the only translation. The controversy over the new niv the millennial star.
Beginning in 1979, the church published the king james version of the bible with hundreds of footnotes and a seventeenpage appendix from the joseph smith translation. The old testament has been faithfully preserved by the jews in what is known as the masoretic text. Errors represented across both 1611 and 1769 kjv a. The king james bible is a great english translation, but is it the best. What are some of the obvious errors in the book of mormon. Of course, there is only one word in greek pneuma which is variously rendered either spirit or ghost in the king james version. What are the errors in the king james version bible. On those missing verses in your esv and niv bible borrowed light. Joseph smith said the book of mormon was written their gospels and epistles. A good translation, but nothing more this text article by jeff smelser. Deuteroisaiah verses in the book of mormon in the book of mormon, there are many chapters of isaiah directly incorporated from the king james version kjv of the bible, complete with translation errors that were obviously not possible to have been recorded on the gold plates since the kjv was not available until thousands of years later.
If this is true, then the book of mormon should be full of errors. Translation errors in the king james bible appearing in the book of mormon summary. The book of mormon expose of mormonism study resources. The king james version contains certain translation and textual errors which will facilitate a global transition from the true gospel of jesus christ to the false gospel of the antichrist. The golden plates, from which the book of mormon was supposedly translated, were, according to mormons, written prior to the 1st century, and yet oneeighteenth of the book of mormon is identical, word for word, to the 1611 king james version of the bible1 corinthians. Joseph smiths inspired revisions to the king james. Aug 17, 2011 the text of the king james version new testament was translated in large part from greek manuscripts compiled by erasmus in the early 1500s ad. Of the 8 verses from the book of mormon that contain possible or likely kjv translation errors all of these errors seem to be preserved in the 1611 king james version. The book of mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the king james bible. The king james version, or authorized version, of the bible, first published in 1611 under the authority of englands king james hence the designation, authorized, was in that day a very good translation, and is yet today a useful translation. An additional 350 verses in the kjv nt have been determined to include scribal alterations and mistranslations. Joseph smith believed the existing king james bible was corrupted through translation errors and, in the words of the book of mormon had lost many plain and precious things. However, the official lds church doctrine is that when the bible and the book of mormon contradict each other which they do, it is the book of mormon that is correct.
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