Scholarship is a never-ending process in which the learner continues to add to his knowledge, now refining, now replacing his convictions. To "check out" in the midst of rapidly expanding discoveries in an area of knowledge is to lie down and take a nap in the middle of a race. There may not be a prize for the best English translation of the Bible, but why would anyone refuse to add the knowledge we have today, especially concerning the Greek New Testament, to make their reading that much more accurate? Apparently someone who assumes that his translation is superior to the more updated versions.
The ground upon which KJV Only adherents found their claims to superiority of the King James Bible is shaky at best. Though they point at modern translations as erroneous, often the KJV itself is inconsistent with scholarship and sometimes falls under the same accusations. Two intriguing textual examples of its inconsistency are found in Colossians 2:11 and 1 Peter 2:2. Codex Sinaiticus contains in a marginal note the words translated "of the sins" in the KJV at Colossians 2:11. This phrase must have been discovered in another copy and was therefore noted by a later scribe in the margin. A phrase missing from the Byzantine family appears in most Alexandrian and Western texts at 1 Peter 2:2. The phrase is omitted in the KJV, leaving a question mark in the mind of the reader as to how he will grow from hearing the word of God.
KJV Only advocates are very fond of construing the modern translations as de-emphasizing the dignity and deity of Jesus Christ. However, the King James translation of several key passages fuzzies the clear presentation of the deity of Christ as it is found in the NIV and NASB. Of these passages, I would like to point out Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1, Colossians 2:9, and 1 Peter 3:14.
The title "Savior" is unquestionably synonymous with Jesus Christ. Some would, on the other hand, question the link between God and Jesus Christ if their theology were based solely on the KJV's rendering of Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1. In both places the names "God" and "Savior" ought rightly to be given to Jesus Christ, but the KJV separates them with "our," implying that they refer to two people. Such an interpretation contradicts the Granville Sharp rule. Therefore the King James translation is misleading.
Words occurring only once in the New Testament are often the most difficult to translate. Such a word appears in Colossians 2:9 and is translated "the Godhead" in the KJV. No distinction is made in the KJV between the word here and two similar words found in Acts 17:29 and Romans 1:20. This ambiguity is cleared up by the use of "deity" in the modern translations.
Citing the Old Testament, Peter clearly equates Jesus Christ with the LORD in 1 Peter 3:14. He substitutes "Christ as Lord" for "the LORD of hosts" from Isaiah 8:12-13. The Textus Receptus contains "Lord God" here, eliminating the reference to Christ and that potent testimony to His deity.
KJV Only troops also claim that modern translations outright deny the deity of Christ, especially in verses like Luke 2:33. The King James Bible replaces "father" with "Joseph," but modern versions like the NIV keep "father." It is obvious that the passage is not discussing Jesus' birth but his family. Even the KJV calls Joseph the father of Jesus in Luke 2:48!
White, James R. The King James Only Controversy. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1995.
