One of the biggest complaints that people make about the King James Bible is that it is "too hard to understand." Many people also claim that the KJV is written in "Old English." In reality, the KJV is written in Modern English, and every word in the KJV is found in a current Webster's English Dictionary. Most of the words in the KJV that people do not know are not "archaic." They are actually just words that we don't use very often today because our language is constantly being dumbed down! The texting generation is too lazy to learn some new vocabulary and read an intelligent book. That would be too much work!
To solve the problem, I have thought of a new concept for a Bible version. It is called the KJV1 which stands for "King James Version - 1 Syllable Edition." It gets rid of all those big words in the KJV and allows only single syllable words. No more big words!
1 In the start God made the sky and the earth.
2 And
the earth had no form, and was void; and dark was on the face of
the deep. And the Ghost of God move on the face of the wet.3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God split the light from the dark.
5 And God call the light Day, and the dark he called Night. And the eve and the morn were the first day.
6 And God said, Let there be a thing in the midst of the wet, and let it split the wet from the wet.
Another thing people complain about with the KJV is that "it is not the way people talk anymore." Sometimes they will bring up evangelism, saying that if we are going to reach people with the Gospel, we need to talk the way they talk. Therefore we also need an Ebonics Bible for soul-winning in the inner cities. I am not sure that I am qualified to translate the entire Bible into Ebonics, but I will take a stab at one verse.
Matthew 22:12 (KJV)
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Matthew 22:12 (Ebonics)
And he was like, Fool, How you up in here not wearin' no wedding clothes? He was like, I don't even know!
In reality, I do a lot of soul-winning in the inner city, and everyone I preach the Gospel to understands the KJV just fine. Are there difficult passages in the KJV? Of course! But instead of trying to dumb down the Bible, you should get smarter! Study to show thyself approved unto God! Our language is getting simpler and simpler as video games and TV rot the minds of our youth. Churches need to educate people in the language of God's word instead of embracing dumbed-down versions like the New Living Translation, which will only encourage people to remain ignorant and uneducated.
11 comments:
well put
well put
HAHA loved the ebonics!
I found the 1 syllable version too hard to read with that archaic 2 syllable word 'divide'.
Funny! Very funny!
Sorry, Kevin. I changed it to "split" for you to make it a little easier to understand! haha
I can't wait for your documentary about the Bible versions. I study translation, and it is really a passion of mine to compare translations. Usually I do it with other languages (Luther Bible, Schlachter 2000, all them compared to the KJV), but it is really interesting to see that what they did really has nothing to do with the original Bible.
Great post Pastor Anderson. I wholeheartedly agree with you that people just need to get smarter....which amounts to turning off the tube, turning off their phones, and holding intelligent conversations face to face. AND getting into their KJV.
Rudy R.
I just love your sense of humour!!!
And he was like, Fool, How you up in here not wearin' no wedding clothes? He was like, I don't even know!KILLED ME
My friends there are many people all over the world that don't have either the ability to study more or the resources. They cannot even afford to buy a bible much more to get a dictionary to help them know the meaning of a word. So why not get a Bible they can understand more easily. I was a strong KJV person but my ministry took me to places I have experienced this lack of ability and resources. Some have BIBLES that were translated from the KJV but don't have the exact words of the KJV. Does that mean they don't have the scriptures? I have heard KJV only advocates say one can only be saved through the words of KJV. Well tell you BRETHREN there are People I have known that don't have a KJV Have been saved and are some of the most godly devoted SACRIFICIAL Spirit Filled people I know. Far more Spiriutal than many who are KJV only .
If KJV WORDS are perfect translated words why do I hear KJV preachers explaining the meaning of words when they preach.. I was like that and realized I was contradicting myself. The mere thought of getting a dictionary etc to help me understand the words in the KJV is a contradiction in itself. Please rethink carefully what you are teaching. God bless.
Post a Comment