Please excuse my lack of ability to review and address all the posts and individual issues in this thread .
Once , when I was pondering what made the King James stand out as the best English Translation , I sought the Lord to hear His thoughts on the matter [ I know to some this may sound crazy - seeking the Lord for an answer ... who do you think you are !!! ]
Well , here's what I heard .... Judge for yourself -
" That which is spoken gracefully , can be put stongly , and still be received "
[ I know ] - That even sounds like the King James !
As an example , compare - " Take no thought " KJV ( from sermon on the mount Mt. Ch 5 )w/ Be not anxious or do not worry , or however the other versions convey that thought [ It's been a while since I looked at the others ]
Take no thought is more absolute and specific in it's aim at the start of what can or will lead to worry etc .
But if one were to say ;" Don't think about something " , it conveys the specific point , but lacks the gracefulness .
Also , Take no thought fits well with , Pauls charge of bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ .( See 2nd Corinthians 10:5 )
Along with the definition of repentance - being ; to think differently ; have a changed mind .
Another place to compare is in 1st Timothy 4:8 - KJV says ," bodily exercise profitteth little ", other version say , physical exercise is of some value .
But the verse is making a comparison between the physical and the spiritual - " godliness " , therefore , because the KJV is graceful it can put the contrast strongly , without sounding as overbearing ; but the other , because it lacks the same degree of gracefulness , moderates the comparison , and waters down the distinctiveness of the thought being conveyed , giving an ambiguousness to how much value should be attributed to physical exercise .
Also compare Luke 16:9 , the KJV is the only version I could find , out of 6 or 7 , that conveyed the context with the insight which only an indigent person could readily relate . [ Jesus and his disciples were indigent , travelling about with little or no money .]
Besides this ; I'm including a post I wrote on another board -- I hope this is helpful in addressing these questions .... Peace ---wm
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In spite of the scholars employed by king James , William Tyndale , is the major contributor , regarding human involvement , concerning the King James Bible .
Tyndale has the testimony of a true martyr - [ one who is unjustly killed , who at the time of their death , shows forth nothing but graciousness towards their murderers .]
As Jesus on the Cross said : Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. <---> Luke 23 :34
And Stephen said , while being stoned : Lord, lay not this sin to their
charge. <-----> Acts 7 : 60
To have that kind of grace , one must be full of The Spirit of Grace ,( i.e. The Holy Spirit ) . Hence , William Tyndale was qualified , by The Spirit , to translate The Scriptures .
For which he was pursued by " falsely religious zealots " , and eventually strangled while flames of being " burnt at the stake " danced about him ; his last words were ," Lord , open the kings eyes " .
Approxiametely , 70 years later , king James comes along , and in what was totally out of character with the " high minded , hypocritical religiosity " of the times , declares that the Sacred Scriptures shall be put in the language of the common people - to the horror and dismay of the " high minded " .
The scholars assembled , the best available , and after comparing all other translations available to them , agreed that the work of William Tyndale , and his understudy , Miles Cloverdale , was the best , " the English language could afford " .
And so with little modification , William Tydale's prayer was answered and his work preserved in great numbers and with much honor and esteem .
This is the story , behind the story , of The King James Bible .
It may not be absolutely perfect ( can any thing which man has handled be ? )
But God has ensured that the Truth of Salvation is still clearly expressed therein and thereby .
Wherefore I give thanks . Amen .
sincerely ,
wm
