The Holy Bible - King James Version

Why use the KJV version and not the new ones?

Psalms 12:6-7 6 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.

Today in the sea of Bible versions, how do we know what God's word really is? Most Christians have not really considered this issue but when examining the differences and origins of the various options, the importance of God's word becomes very clear. The Bible version issue is not one to be taken lightly and can become a very indepth study. GodResource makes it a priority to clearly outline the differences in the King James Bible and the modern versions, however it is encouraged that your do your own research. There are many good sources of information on this topic and there are even more bad resources, that confuse this issue. To believe any Bible is exactly God's word takes a complete step in faith, we simply want to provide some reasons why we believe the King James Bible is superior to any other English Bible and the preserved word of God.

Doctrine of Preservation

For anyone to claim that any translation could be preserved perfectly the Bible would have to testify to this point. We must consider what the Bible says about itself and what God's plan is for the words he spake and gave to man.

Psalms 11:3

3 If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Isaiah 59:21

21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

1 Peter 1:23-25

23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. 24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: 25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Proverbs 30:5-6

5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

Mark 12:26

And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

Luke 20:42

And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

John 10:35

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

2 Peter 1:19

18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 24:15

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Matthew 5:18

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

2 Timothy 3:15

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Deuteronomy 8:3

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Matthew 4:4

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Psalms 12:6-7

6 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.

Isaiah 30:8

Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:

Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Bible Comparison

Things that are different are not the same.

Comparison Charts

Serious Corruptions

The Message Compared to the KJV

THEE's & THOU's

Supposed Contradictions & Errors

Copyrights & Money

Perhaps we should consider the millions of dollars these Bible Publishing companies are getting from this lucrative business. Secular companies certainly took notice of Thomas Nelson publishing company, which retains the rights to the NKJV Bible. In 2006, Thomas Nelson, Inc sold for $473 million dollars to InterMedia Partners VII, LP, where the chairman of the board cashed in over $62 million dollars of his stock holdings.

The modern perversions of the Bible all maintain a copyright protecting their works from being redistributed except in minor circumstances. The publishers typically only allow 1,000 - 500 verses of their version to be used as long as it does not comprise an entire book or even 50% of a book in some cases. Additionally, some publishers require that the use of their material does not constitute more than 50%-25% of the new work or usage. Below are the major versions and their copyright information links.

Version Number of Verses % of Book % of Work Copyright Link
KJV Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Public Domain Public Domain
NKJV 1,000 50% 50% Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Harper Collins
NIV 500 Not a complete book 25% Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Harper Collins
NASB 1,000 Not a complete book 50% Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. The Lockman Foundation
AMP 500 Not a complete book 25% Scripture taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. The Lockman Foundation
ESV 1,000 Not a complete book 50% The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011 Crossway
NLT 500 Not a complete book 25% Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Tyndale House Publishers Inc.