How Can You Find the Perfect Text of the Bible? 

I just went through the KJV parallel Bible for 1 Peter and was floored by stability within those editions. For someone who doesn’t read Greek , that is helpful for myself and also makes it easily accessible for demonstration.

I appreciate your work brother.. If you ever write another book on this I'll buy it .

3:34 - Now I am expecting a Lego Authorized Version to be proposed by you and published in two years. It could help Kent cross that river.😉😂

Thank you for making the point clearer by using the illustration of the Dutch housewife (and I LOVE the LEGOs). 😄

Your expertise in this rather esoteric (yet vitally important) discipline continues to impress me, my friend - I am very grateful that there are faithful individuals (such as you) who are choosing to devote themselves to this topic with such passion, compassion, and integrity - may the Lord continue to richly bless you and yours for your devotion and service to the furtherance of His kingdom

Thank you for the time and work you put into your study and for your irenic spirit!

Great work Dr. Ward! It is impossible to reconcile KJV onlyisim with reality. The only way to honestly hold the view is to ignore or suppress reality, and the truth. Anyone with even a basic understanding of how human languages work, knows that it is impossible to create a 1:1 perfect translation from one language to another. The KJVO position is incogent, indefensible, divisive and just plain incorrect. Thank you for loving our KJVO brothers and sisters and trying to help to lead them out of textual absolutism into textual confidence by God's grace.

LEGO and responsible Bibliology in one video? If I weren't already subscribed, I think that would do it for me 😀

Isn't the existence and obvious use of thr LXX some evidence that even a less than perfect translation can still be useful and good? And does anyone else have the problem writing XXL when you mean to write LXX? I'm confusing the Septuagint with my shirt size. Or maybe it's the spell checker.

Thank you, Mark.

Answer also is that regardless if the Greek texts we use today we have confidence in the text being trustworthy as variant differences never change any doctrine and majority are as simple as saying Christ jesus or lord jesus !

How well do you know the Greek language?

I think I’ll go with the Lego Standard Bible. I’m sure it uses the word “awesome” a lot. 😊

This is an awesome channel covering a very important subject, and it’s done charitably and accurately. What a gift to the Church!

I want to say something. I just recently started reading more of the Legacy Standard Bible. Even got my own paper copy yesterday. I never read the nasb all the way through. But based on what little I know it doesn't seem like brother MacArthur made too many changes. Only real changes he made was how he translated the Greek word for slave and God's name. But if one was to ask me about it and why I choose this particular translation of the Bible into English over all the others. It's because the Legacy Standard Bible is perfect. Not in the literal sense mine you. Rather it's perfect for me because I'm getting the same addictive feeling to it as I once had for the King James Bible. When I was younger. I had a strong emotional pull towards the King James Bible I was very addicted to it. It was the first translation of the Bible I had ever known and because like most King James only as I had a misunderstanding of what the Apostle John when he said not to add to or take away in the Book of Revelations. But then as I begin to come away from the King James Bible as I begin to appreciate the fact that the King James Bible is not perfect. Well let's just say that begun a long process and trials of mental and emotional hardships. I even started I doubt the Christian faith as a result It was like I was on the top floor of a building and suddenly the floor beneath me suddenly disappeared and I fell right to the bottom and I didn't know how to get back up To make a long story short God help me with that and he helped me to accept that there's more than one good translation of the Bible. That no matter what translation you use you're still going to get the same thing. However despite that fact that same addictive feeling that emotional pull that I once had for the King James Bible I just couldn't get with any other translation no matter how hard I tried But now I have it again with the Legacy Standard Bible. And thanks to the journey God allowed me to go on after coming away from the King James Bible I can have that addictive emotional feeling for the Legacy Standard Bible while at the same time balancing it out with the understanding at the end of the day it's still just a translation.

I have a much more fundamental problem with textual absolutism on a synthesized/reconstructed text: it is self-refuting as it in effect denies preservation before the reconstruction happened. I actually do prefer the TR but just with the confidence view, simply because I think God preserved his word in the 1600s just as much as he has today. But I would not discourage against the CT. To do so would be to attack my own Chinese bretheren who pretty much exclusively use the same Chinese Bible that uses the English Revised Version's base text.

Excellent video. So much info. Thank you

12:51 Im not a KJVO by stretch of the imagination I'm a Catholic but this argument is a perfect place to deploy Gamaliel's Injunction (Acts 5:38-39) so much so I'm surprised it didn't leap to Ken's mind. Edit:Then you did a masterful refutation without even bringing it up.

Good words brother Mark

Hi Mark, Would "curious" be considered a false friend? I'm specifically thinking about the phrase "curious girdle" from Exodus 28:8 (there are more occurrences, though). I apologize if you've already addressed this word before, and I haven't noticed/found it.

Another great video - thank you

The “I must have a perfect translation” dogma… 1. …ignores “faith in a perfect Savior redemption” makes us perfect and acceptable in God’s eyes 2. … is a smokescreen for a. weak faith b. relying upon their “bible” as a talisman for salvation

Maybe God's definition of "perfect" is different than man's?

Love the channel and your book. I read 2 Tim 2:14-17 and want to conclude it is wrong for people to publicly condemn Bible translations for choosing words they don't agree with? Am I making the text say something it isn't?

How about Compromise?The modern Orthodox church uses the Byzantine Text more similar to the Textus Receptus

Mark, can you provide more examples about when the majority text is split. This was a very interesting point.

Thanks so much for making this one. I've had extended arguments with a friend that strongly holds the "canonicity" type argument you addressed here. He struggled to answer the very arguments you presented here. In fact, he very quietly admitted that since most English churches, or churches worldwide for that matter, use the Critical text now, he simply has to assume that churches of the Reformation Era were far more spiritual, else his very own argument lead him directly to the CT rather than the TR. It's sad that such a weak argument, and one that could just as easily flip in favor of the CT in today's world, is the cornerstone of his rather hostile anti-CT rhetoric. Again, thanks for answering it! It seems to be a very rare view, to such a degree that I was struggling to find anyone actually addressing it from the CT side. Thanks!

Good evening, Mark Ward, I have a question for you, please. It is regarding Genesis 3:3-4, where the word “die” is used by the serpent and by Eve in most translations. Well, I happened to be watching a video from Answers in Genesis, where they mentioned that when Eve used the word “die”, that it would mean in Hebrew that she would die suddenly; whereas when the serpent responded back and said that she would not surely “die-die”, the Hebrew translation would be not to die immediately, but over a period of time. Here is one more: I was just listening to a sermon and he is on Psalm 57:4. He was saying that right in that verse it is very choppy and in broken Hebrew in a very staccato fashion, like in a panic, where David is in the cave. It would go something like: my soul, the middle, adult lions, lay down among devouring ones, their teeth spears arrows, their tongues sword sharp. He said it was like a racing heartbeat as David feels the enemies encroaching around his hiding place. Would an Interlinear Hebrew/Greek/English Bible be beneficial? I wish I knew Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, but I don’t. I would love just to be able to read the Bible in all three languages. But since that is not the case, if there is something else you can suggest that would be of great benefit, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much!

Another excellent presentation Mark. I am glad that you refuse to get into face to face debate with people who stand strongly against practical, God given, reason. I have watched many debates since finding ‘RU-vid’ and have come to realise that, outside of the ‘popularity contest,’ there isn’t anything to be gained from such exercises. Maybe one day these (I assume) fine men of God will wake up to where they have given themselves over to pride and back track to the point where they left the path of humility and begin anew from there. We all have to repent from our own imbalances from time to time.

Just a kindly and loving correction, if I may... As far as “heretical groups” - Jehovah’s Witnesses didn’t use exclusively the King James bible before the New World Translation. They used multiple translations from early on. For instance, they used Murdock’s Translation - 1852; Young’s Literal Translation - 1862; The Emphatic Diaglott - 1864; The Variorum Bible - 1876; The Newberry Bible - 1883; Rotherham’s New Testament 1872 and shortly thereafter its OT when released in 1901; And quite early The American Standard Version. I say this in a most friendly, respectful manner because if the King James Onlyists find out about this, they may not say it as nicely. Plus, JWs aren’t “New World Translation” onlyists by any means in modern times too. :) Another thought; The early Greek LXX text was far from perfect. Is there any indication any first century Christians insisted on using or referencing any specific original language Hebrew text? I haven’t heard of such instances. We need to be happy and thankful for the many translations we have.

Looking forward to this. One lacuna that never really seems to be discussed is the Old Testament. 80% of the Bible. Perhaps one or two 'Textual Confidence' sessions to start this issue being addressed. Also, have you done anything on this channel with C-BGM? This seems to have taken over _mainstream_ NT Textual Criticism. Meaning standard NTTC of the last 50 years has been basically abandoned---not that the results have changed all that much, but enough to ask the question. The Nestle-Aland and The UBS Greek New Testament out of Germany seem to have gone all in on the C-BGM. Thank you, Mark, for your sober analysis.

How can the 'jot and tittle' refer to the New Testament? There was no NT when Jesus said this. And Greek does not have jots and tittles.

I’m new to your channel and frankly haven’t spent more than a few minutes considering a “perfect text” but loved watching this video as an example of disagreeing with someone with love. I only ask because I’m certain you considered it before making this video, how do you think about rebuttals like this in terms of when to respond to people and what it means for church unity?

Thise verses referred to the original inspired texts no translation

I've heard different verbiage for the different texts. But is TR vs Critical Texts the best distinction between modern and KJ-Only debaters? I've got your book and your video based on thr book. What would be interesting is a simple "What are the textual debates all about?" video from a mostly straight up short definitional POV that would be acceptable to both sides to help the layperson make sense of it. Maybe this already exists?

As a European (Or more correct Scandinavian) This seems very typical American. "Our English Bible is the most correct and everyone else is wrong because we are the center of the world" 🤦‍♂

I would love to have a list of the Meaningful and Viable Textual Variants . It sounds like if a few of my brothers who are trained and gifted read Dr.Mark Ward, Dr.James White, Dr. Micheal Brown et. al. w ould do half a page per it would still be something like 8000 pages but as a brother who is not in the field and may never learn to read well in any of the old languages I would buy at least two.

I've also encountered that strange proposition that it is wrong to employ sensory experience or reason. I don't understand this. Where are we told that's bad? The New Testament is absolutely packed with instances of Jesus and the apostles appealing to sensory experience and to reason. It seems to me the aversion to it is nothing more than a bulwark for traditionalism.

You are tackling the second unanswerable question of the KJVO position…(that is)… “which Single Greek volume is the jot and tittle perfect text?”. The #1 unanswerable question (IMO) is, “if you claim the KJV is an every word perfect English translation, then which translation would meet that criteria in 1610?”. I’m realizing these are the twin sister lynchpin questions to tackle and it either gets me ghosted when I ask… or provides a wonderful discussion/debate. Definitely will be tweeting this to get some more more healthy dialogue around this topic going. Keep the fodder coming!

Is there a reason you prefer to use the SBLGNT in most uses over the NA28? Thankful to you and your ministry!

Always remember God confused language to keep us from becoming more depraved

I'm glad I'm not the only one to use Lego as a visual aid, love it, compliments to your daughter! I feel pretty sure you may have answered this previously and I'm just forgetting (my mind is a sieve)- but what about inspiration? I'm sure you hold to verbal plenary inspiration, so what is to be said when the manuscript tradition effectively leaves it to a coin toss? Thinking of your shepherd example from the start of the video- the manuscripts are fairly evenly divided, so what does that say about inspiration then? Honest question, not trying to be a git. To Dr. White's comment about adjusting the text as new discoveries are catalogued- I think he's meaning something more along the lines of what the ESV did at Psalm 145:13- where the DSS and LXX agreed with the expanded reading thus warranting adding to to the text (albeit-responsibly in my opinion- in brackets). I don't think he's meaning we should add 0 Corinthians to the NT if we ever should find it. Big difference there, and I think people mischaracterize comments like his to mean the latter when it's not the case.

Hey Dr. Ward. I really enjoyed the video. Thank you for taking time for making this content (on top of your busy schedule) so that we as a church can discuss these topics. So in regards to Psalm 12:6-7, how are we to exegete this scripture? You say there is no perfect copy of the New Testament or Old Testament but we can’t know that for sure correct? Hypothetically one copy out there could feasibly match the original autographs right? I don’t see any way we can rule this definitively out with 100 percent certainly. What did God and the psalmist mean by “preserve” if not meaning perfectly? If Jesus said not one jot or tittle would pass from the law are you saying he was making a hyperbole or he was wrong? You make a great point in showing how KJV onlyists have no great way to “cross that river” and point to a perfect text however I feel your video is incomplete without addressing the apparent discrepancy between these two scriptures and your claim there is no perfect copy. I hope you understand where I’m coming from, I’m just a simple Christian looking for truth in all of my theology. I hope you don’t see any of this as a challenge I really hope you can give a response that reconciles these verses and the state of modern textual criticism. Thank you!

I watched a new KJVO documentary last week. They said over and over that the critical texts were all pulled out of the garbage. What's the veracity of this claim?

Answer is the perfect text would be only the originals but we hold to a perfect savior and a trustworthy bibke but not perfect one as Kjvo are the Kjv and muslims do the Koran

Good! 👍 But you speak a little too fast. You yourself and we listeners needs to take a breath now and then. 😉

The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or "mormons" in English speaking counyties use the King James Bible.

I would want to think that those quotes made by the KJV O folks both in Psalms and Matthew would at any point be in reference to what we know as the Old Testament. When the the Psalms were written and when Jesus spoke those words, the New Testament did not yet exist so it could hardly be talking about it. Further, Jesus said that not one jot nor one tittle of the Law would pass away... Was Jesus here speaking of the Law of Moses only, or the entire Cannon? That last question there, I would really like to know the answer, especially from a KJV O point of view.

Bible translations are changing! Look at this: John 7:8 8 Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; because my time is not yet fulfilled. RV1885 8 Go ye up unto the feast: I go not up [a]unto this feast; because my time is not yet fulfilled. ASV1901 Footnote a.John 7:8 Many ancient authorities add yet. 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.” NASB1995 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet fully arrived.”NASB2020 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I am not [a]yet going up to this feast because My time has not yet been fulfilled.”LASB2021 Footnote a.John 7:8 Some early mss omit yet

My position is, if the KJV is the Word of God, then the GENEVA BIBLE, and the Bishop's Bible must be as well! It's difficult to get around chronology legitimately. Some KJV Onlyist coming along and saying to a young unseasoned Christian that their bible is not the Word of God is akin to what Hymenaeus and his cohorts did in Paul's day. And Paul was not too pleased!

I would like for KJV onlyists to explain the following discrepancy in the KJV text. KJV 2 Chronicles 36:9 reads “ Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.” I know that there are some really bad eight year olds, but I don’t think that there are any that you would truly describe as evil. 2 Kings KJV 24:8-9 reads “Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father had done.” To its credit, the NKJV in its footnote on 2 Chronicles 36:9 reads “Heb. mss., LXX, Syr. eighteen and 2 Kin. 24:8”

It is tiring to hear the repeated use of mischaracterizations as a way of belittling the position of one’s adversaries. You refer to the term Textus Receptus as a “marketing copy” (James White usually says “marketing blurb”), seemingly to demean its historical value (e.g., marketing connotes sleazy profiteering). In fact, it comes from the Preface to the 1633 edition of Elzevier’s Greek New Testament. Why not refer to it correctly as the Preface? Is the preface to the 1611 King James Bible a marketing blurb? Is the preface to your own book a marketing blurb? Please, let’s be fair and objective in our use of language when characterizing the position of others.

Some Christian’s today even burn modern versions because they “aren’t bibles” 😅

I'm sorry. But if Christians can't agree in the book we use to present the Gospel to the unsaved, who do you expect them to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you spent the time presenting the Gospel, there will be less in hell.

Multiple slightly different version of the text (specifically for the OT.) Okay, so which book in the OT has the most agreed to underlying text? Now, should all the translations have the same meaning through out this book? The difference in the Greek Text are not endless.... BUT.... as James White says, new discoveries will potentially increase types. Heck, 2024 is when the next edition come out. Differences in the TR texts and Majority text.... ya, just not seeing it. The variation are smaller in these text types than the underlying text of every modern translation between each other. Meaning the TR variance between the Dutch Bible and the KJV is less than the Critical Text used in the CSB vs. the ESV. Come on.. " son of the gods" vs. "son of god" is the same thing when coming for a pagan king. KJV people I know have no issue with that. But okay, I will fall on my sword... the Critical Text is perfect.... Understanding of Greek and Hebrew translation is better today than any time in history. Now, each of these translations applied for a derivative copyright in the last decade; NASB2020, LSB, ESV, CSB. How did they meet the requirements of the copyright law for "new authorship"? KJV-Only has some issues, but those issue pale when compared to the ones the Modern Versions have: 1. Which translation is the most correct in any book of the Bible? 2. What changes did they make to legally apply for a derivative copyright under the laws of the United States? 3. Have modern translation made changes to be in agreement with the Catholic Church? (well, the ESV, NLT have already stated they did, so not really a question.) You can't answer the two questions because given they are all really equally readable, you should tell people to only use the one you feel is the most correct. You can't answer the copyright law issue because if you read the copyright law it really blows up modern translations. “There must be major or substantial new material for a work to be considered copyrightable as a derivative work. The new material must be sufficiently original and creative to be copyrightable by itself.” www.legalzoom.com/articles/what-are-derivative-works-under-copyright-law

Mark Ward The KJV and NKJV are the most accurate translations. Modern translations come from the erroneous Alexandrian of Egypt texts that leaves 6000 words out and have 1.800 differences. How can you know which texts are right? You couldn't even get the Bible right. It's typical of you to get it wrong AGAIN.