Is the King James Version of the Bible the most accurate translation? 

Your grace is awesome. Your love is evident. I Praise God for your wisdom in your answer. I have no doubt you would be a joy to learn from. Thank you.

The Holy Spirit is the best revealer of truth.

So many died to bring us the English translation! I love the KJV personally

As an Hispanic, I choose to read KJV. My primary language is Spanish. I decided to read in English and I started off with NLT in which I thought it was a very good translation. But when I read the KJV, they’re is something special in that translation that made/makes an impact in my life, versus reading newer translations that amplify a little too much and takes away the purity of what God spoke. (I am not a KJV onlyist)

I come from India, I’ve delighted in the King James Bible since childhood, it is authenticity, majestic in English literature. Many rise to diminish it, but it shall remain as the crown of all English translation. “It fainteth not, nor fadeth even in the passing age and time.

Spanish (Latin root) is my first language , English second. When I became a Christian I started to read the KJB and loved the majestic vocabulary of that era .I find that as culture becomes corrupt so does the language, truth becomes blurred and we lose the way to communicate with each other.

God will protect his Word believe it or not

I agree with almost everything that was said, but I think one thing was left out: that it is possible to have a "bad" modern translation. For example, a translation made by a single translator, or one made for a specific denomination to conform to their biases, these could be bad translations, or at least worthy of suspicion.

Came across this channel looking fir resonance and an answer to my prayer for clarity. Have been going through a crisis of faith. Thank you.

My main language is Spanish and I understand the "archaic" King James just fine.

I started reading KJV when I was 10 and I have chosen to stick to it - although I reference some other translations from time to time. I rely on the Holy Spirit to teach me. I agree that English language has changed in 400 years and no translation is perfect. However, my observation and concern is that some so called modern day translations have in a sense, appear to water down the gospel, perhaps in order to accommodate "modern day culture". Example is Isaiah 7;14 where one version says "a young woman shall conceive" rather than a young virgin.

The KJV speaks to me, no other translation does.

I'm going to read the entire NIV. After wards, I will start with the KJV. God willing. Please pray God gives me enough time in earth to read the entire Bible. Thank you.

If YHVH wants you to know the truth no man can keep it from you.

I love how careful and considerate his answer is to this question. Thank you Dr. Plummer for taking the time to address this question, though I'm sure it is a thankless endeavor.

I currently have the NKJV and all I can say is that I received a call from my family that my uncle was dying. He had cancer and a collapsed lung. Also coughed up blood. At first the hospital was only admitting 2 visitors at a time and eventually approved 3. Soon after we were all called in because he was about to pass. 6 breathes per minute and eyes rolled back. My cousin said, “this is what god wants.” My cousins are not believers. I’m the only Christian in the family. While holding my NKJV I said, “Father, please forgive us of our sins.” After that I read 2 Samuel 7:28 and Romans 16:20 and said Amen. Not long after my uncle started recovering and no longer required intensive care. The lords word does not return to him void. This power is in Exodus 19:5. Believe and you shall receive!!!!!!

I'm personally very fond of the Geneva Bible as a Reformed Baptist because it was the translation my English and Northern Irish ancestors used during the Protestant Reformation and related events thereafter, such as the English Civil Wars and their settlement of New England and Appalachia, respectively. Their breakaway from Roman Catholicism via their reading the scriptures and establishing their own churches accordingly inspired solely by scripture have given it a very special place in my heart knowing that the same blood present in those acts of faith runs through my body.

I needed this, thank you!

My issues come from little things sometimes. Let's take a look at two very simple, rather subtle alterations between the King James Version and the New King James Version. (KJV) “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.” - Proverbs 23:31-33 (NKJV) “Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things.” - Proverbs 23:31-33 Now there were minor, and rather insignificant changes made here like KJV's "adder" changed to the NKJV's "viper". KJV's "gives it's colour" changes to NKJV's "sparkles in the cup". Not really terrible changes and not really damaging, I'll agree. However... There is one change that, in my opinion, changes things quite a bit. In the KJV, the verse says that when you drink alcohol, "Your eyes shall behold strange women" while the NKJV says "Your eyes will see strange things". WHOA... These two things are VERY different. The words "women" and "things" are clearly very different. This one change almost seems to alter the entire context or meaning of the verse. "Women" is very specific and a deliberate word choice while "things" is incredibly broad and could mean a wide variety of things. I believe the KJV is warning about ADULTERY or at least, fornication. A "strange woman" is NOT your wife. But the NKJV says "things" which is non-descriptive and could be used to represent a whole slew of things. This is one problem I ran into with the NKJV. There seem to be small changes that are not only unnecessary, but might actually take away from the intended context of the verse. Another I found was in Romans. (KJV) “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” - Romans 6:17-18 (NKJV) “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” - Romans 6:17-18 Here, the word "servant" found in the KJV has been changed to "slave" in the NKJV. Now this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, and maybe it's not to most people. But, call me a perfectionist because it bothers me. A slave and a servant are not the same thing. It seems yet another change that really is unnecessary. Allow me to provide you the definitions for these two words. SERV'ANT - A person, male or female, that attends another for the pupose of performing menial offices for him, or who is employed by another for such offices or for other labor, and is subject to his command. The word is correlative to master. Servant differs from slave, as the servant's subjection to a master is voluntary, the slave's is not. Every slave is a servant but every servant is not a slave. - A person who voluntarily serves another or acts as his minister; - One who yields obedience to another. SLAVE, (noun) - A person who is wholly subject to the will of another; one who has no will of his own, but whose person and services are wholly under the control of another. In the early state of the world, and to this day among some barbarous nations, prisoners of war are considered and treated as slaves. The slaves of modern times are more generally purchased, like horses and oxen. A servant does his duty and his or her service of their own free will. We serve God and Christ because we WANT to, not because we HAVE to. A slave has no such choice. They do what they do and perform their service and duty because someone is forcing it onto them. These two things are very different. Now I know that most of you just "get it", right? But some people don't. There are people who use these kind of things in arguments AGAINST the faith. How many atheists will say that Christians are "slaves"? And when our own Bibles are actually calling us slaves to God, that only supports their argument. This is why I have issues with modern translations really. Things like modern sentence structure and what not are... Eh. But not really criminal. It's the changing of words like THESE examples that bother me. "Women" to "things" and "Servants" to "Slaves". I have a problem with that because it changes things and it can change the intended purpose of the verses being read. That's the way I see it. (I do own a NKJV Bible and I do use it. In my opinion, it is the best "alternative" translation to the KJV. I suppose that is because for the most part, it IS the KJV. Only there are little changes to wording. There are many verses left perfectly in tact. I will say this: I will always prefer the KJV. HOWEVER... I won't forbid someone to read the NKJV as it IS useful. For the most part, it is compatible with the KJV in most every way. And, I will admit that numbers of the word changes are not "criminal". I will ALWAYS have my issues with other modern translations. Of that I am sure. There seem to be too many problems with some of them. So, I suppose to put it clearly, I am not exactly a KJV Only Man. BUT, I am a KJV/NKJV guy. I don't like to go anywhere but those two places. I purchased an NKJV Bible for my younger brother because the KJV's wording is archaic and old-world (one of several reasons I love it). I chose the NKJV because it is the closest to the KJV you'll get. It is not an awful translation brothers and sisters. It really isn't. I will say that I am glad that I knew the KJV first though. When I read the verses I listed above in the NKJV, I recognized the changes immediately because I had already read them in the KJV. Had I not done that, I would not have noticed. I would not give my brother a translation of the Bible I thought would be bad for him. I can assure you of that. One reason I even purchased my NKJV Bible is because I wanted to check it out for myself and "proof read it". And, while I found things I was kind of bothered by, I was delighted to find that much of the KJV was preserved. Again, I would not have gotten a copy for my brother if I thought it wasn't worth it.)

Are there differences that matter among the translations? Do they deliver the same message?

What version do you use now?

Dr Plummer - I was born and brought up in a family that practices Sorcery and Witchcraft. Gratefully, my parents were encountered by GOD that both of them decided to follow Christ Jesus through the waters of baptism. My first copy of the Bible is KJV. I love the cadence of the King's English, but I have difficulty comprehending it. Because of my voracious apetite to learn the Word, I acquired different versions, i.e., NIV, NASB, RSV, and the Paraphrased translation, gift from Logos. I completed reading the entire Scriptures, the four versions, in three months. My conversion experience was not induced because someone shared John 3:16. The Book of Romans "spoke" to me. I saw the tongues of fire in Hell. But, what brought me to drop prostrate is the passage that where sin abounds, God's grace abound the more. I was overwhelmed. You are endowed with the ministry gift of teaching. GOD be praised!

I hear this guy in my sleep because I am learning Greek from his teaching series lol. Love Dr. Plummer.

10:58 oh really? I wonder what translation is easier to understand here 🤔 Job 6:6 (KJV) Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg? Job 6:6: (ESV) Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?

What do you think of the NIV Bible?

You don't have to look up every 5th old English word! You should be looking up every Greek or Hebrew word and seeing how it is used in multiple other verses. C'mon guys!!

If you found the oldest dollar bill in the house of a famous counterfeiter from the time its dated, it brings into question if the bill was authentic when it was made. Older manuscripts don't constitute better if the place they are found is controversial.

I have a NIV bible from 2011 and I've noticed that when using audio bible or the app they have changed certain words

This is one of the most helpful videos I’ve ever watched. Thanks for creating this content. For all my Bible classes in college, we were required to use a minimum of 3 translations for every assignment. Found it helpful.

Praise God for the truth and the light shining through!! Love that you did a video on this. I press on everyday trying to seek the Lord in everything trying to be lead by the Holy Spirit and not by false teachings. Keep up the great work. Just started watching a lot of your videos🙏😇

I have multiples of the KJV, NKJV, ESV, NASB, NIV, MEB, and Geneva 1599. I even have a New Oxford Annotated Bible, which was a textbook from college. I spend time in pretty much all of them. While the ESV and NASB are my favorites, I still find myself going back to the KJV during virtually all of my Bible studies. Not only as an important reference, but for the beauty of the text.

If you remove a verse that should instantly disqualify your translation, right? Also God is a numbers guy how do the different versions break down according to the numbers? As in does it have the ability to get the most accurate instances of blank is there 777 times, 490 times, etc etc. Just wondering, 2nd Timothy 2 15 says were supposed to study and i am new at this.

This brother have the gift of teaching. I look for more narration from him. God bless you brother

I love the KJV for the poetical structure. Modern English: Woman. Why are you crying? KJV: Woman, why weepest thou? So pretty. But the best English translation is the one you'll read. 😊

You are not shouty and forceful thank you. I had lots of those people in my life when I was younger, so I left Christianity searching for the True God. Looking at some of the comments, I wouldn't dare to say more. I will try to look you up at the Seminary and you can answer my questions there, or not. Thank you. Gwen

I just wanted to ask people in the comments, is the Revised standard version(RSV) have you dealt with error with it??

Would you still recommend the esv version today with the 2016 change in Genesis 3:16

I love this what a great consideration, and presentation of information. Thank you for starting this conversation.

I can’t WAIT to read the comments below. I have not peeked yet. But I can just imagine that it’s going to get VERY interesting.

“Language changes over time” Me (looks around 2021) “oh brother, there’s a huge understatement “ 😂

Thank you for your exposition of your point of view. Excellent. We pray that God reveals what Greek sources are really the ones that followed lathe original inspiration.

Great video! No other issue could possibly compete with this one when it comes to getting people to completely abandon their reason and common sense. The proof is in the comment section. Translation worship is very unbecoming...

Over 30 years ago i had a KJV and NIV. To this day i still read and study from the two Holy Scripture books. I can't get into those other translation books. Oh yeah, back then they had the concordance to help you break down those difficult words. Those three books for me, made for a better study time; Sitting at the feet of Jesus!!!

Instead of the argument that modern translations deleted words and verses, another argument is that KJV added words and verses

I’ve never been a “my way is more right than yours” type of person when it comes to Christianity. What you honestly feel in your heart in relationship to Christ is all that matters to me.

2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

I am not a KJV only guy. But where I do stick to it specifically, is in regards to prophecy..... Great video!

Do you have any sources? Any at all?

Revelation 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto this things, God shall add unto him the plaques that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. KJV

Very well said. Heard both sides of the argument, this is beauty in simplicity.

thank you so much for the introduction acknowledging why the KJV is so beloved. people too often bash on the KJV without regarding 400 years worth of tradition.

I love my 1560 GENEVA Bible facsimile! The Old English is challenging but fun to read!

Great information and video. I appreciate your humility and approach. It is amazing to me how the KJV only arguments get such a hold on people. It is very difficult to change their minds even with the good points (facts) you presented.

Great presentation. Thank you.

Hello Brother, James Wright is the same as you are, How about New age versions by G.A. Riplinger.

KJV, 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, God's Wisdom and His Holy Ghost upon you is the key to understand His word.

Guys, could you recommend me a dictionary that help me understand kjv bible?

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Its weird how people keep on saying verses were removed in the newer versions, but nobody bothered to ask whether they were even present in the oldest versions

What does the Westminster Large Confession say about the AV?

I don’t truly understand word thought of the KJV, so I read NIV and NLT…but I always refer NKJV to ensure accuracy for complete understanding. To each their own as long as God gets the glory. 🙏🏽

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. That's KJV. Some versions say forgive us our debts... This is a subtle yet very distinct difference. One asserts wrong doing or "trespasses." The other frames sin in terms of debt or "Mammon." Like paying a priest for forgiveness. Purchasing forgiveness. Clemency for money.

Yay! I have been waiting for this video to come out! Such a complicated issue.

I enjoyed this episode (my first), but was looking more for how the KJV stacks up to older Bibles (Catholic, for example). I grew up Catholic and have a friend who is KJV only. While I do have the KJV Bible, I'm interested in knowing whether there are older Catholic Bibles that I can look into. I thought I might look into the Douay Bible, but now I have to research what the Latin Vulgate is. Do you have any videos comparing KJV to older Catholic Bibles?

Like when people mock & make fun of Christian's for unicorns being in the Bible. If they investigated, a unicorn is a one horned rhinoceros. The unicorn horse they mock us with wasn't invented until the 1800's.

lol, "look up every fifth word" bro the KJV is not that hard to read at all....come on man.

Translation and version are 2 different things! You can have 1 version for a various translation. So which VERSION of bible is the truth? Not the translation!

I like the NLT and I used to be a NIV guy because that’s what my church used. I found that the NIV translation has inaccuracies that confused me more and NLT gave me the ability to understand more in depth along with using an app like the Bible hub that provided original Hebrew and Greek text along with commentaries about hard to understand scripture. What I have realized is that some Christian doctrine became man made rules vs Gods design. This led me to be more open minded about reading vs taking everything literally and understanding historical and cultural context I may perceive were not that same cultural context that the people writing the text in their present day perceived. The one thing that is correct in any Bible is the name of Jesus which means God Saves and the story from beginning to end of him revealing that mystery to us which we now know that we are saved by his grace alone (which produces faith) because he chose to be faithful to us.

When ever I read the Bible, I often ask God what He meant when He wrote this or that. Helps a lots. It makes the Bible come alive. My dad reads the KJV. I used to read the NIV. It was interesting to see how the translations differed on certain passages. I ended moving to the NKJV which is a more literal translation than NIV, but still very readable.

Would I hand someone a dictionary and expect them to look up every 5th word? A professor telling someone not to do research! May it never be! Too many translations (notice I said too many; they can be helpful) is a cause for confusion. Don't understand something? Research it and let the Holy Spirit bring clarity, John 16:12-15.

A young woman named Mary vs a virgin named Mary, Is very misleading.

Wow, beautifully and wonderfully said brother, great information and presented so nicely.

NKJV and KJV are the most beautiful and poetic. They are my go to. I also love the historical value as millions around the world are reading them and learning the verses. I realized that all the Bible Quotes i remember from my childhood are KJV. I also use NLT and Amplified for reference, paraphrase and to get a more modern perspective on the meaning but the missing verses in the more “modern” translations is concerning. I love your idea of preserving and referencing them all. We need to keep preserving the older texts so we don’t miss anything and as more and more modern translations seek to update the text.

This was very helpful! Well explained, thank you 🙏🏽

The thou/you distinction is important to appreciate the original intention.

This is a great video. My issue with modern Bibles has to do with American copyright laws. New Bibles must have a certain number of word choice differences to be copywritten. One messianic version ( I think the scriptures) changed glory to esteem. There is a chasm of difference between those two words. I feel safest reading my nkjv

This made a lot of sense to me, thank you.

Thank you for having the courage to make this video. One does not disrespect the King Janes Version, or its incredible influence on the English language or Christendom in the English speaking world, by noting that several modern English translations are trustworthy and can be used with confidence. It seems so absurd that fellow Christians would be so opposed to reading God’s Word in a form of the English language that can actually by understood by someone in the 21st century.

Simply, yes, every person, at least once in a lifetime, do a pilgrimage, read the King James Version in all it archaic language, from cover to cover. God Almighty will reveal himself therein, even in midst of human errors.

The idea that scribes accidentally added verses to their copies is just incredulous. When copying text, one is far more apt to accidentally leave out words rather than add them.

Hello. Could you please refer to material that speaks of the translation made by King James, specifically by including in chapter 8 of the Gospel of John, the section where Jesus exculpates the adulterous woman? I understand that that part does not exist in the original papyri and was a discretionality of the king. Thank you

Really impressed with your position on the integrity of the scriptures accuracy and a proper view of biblical translation. thank you for a clear and understandable presentation on a topic that can get rather scholarly very quickly. I would be interested in your perspective on a video you may already be familiar with by NathanH83 "We're the pyramids built before the flood?" if you would want to check it out. Either way thank you for an interesting video.

I recommend the ESV. In my experience, it's been more accurate with certain words that could mean separate things. But of course, just be open minded to all the possibilities.

I wish to learn more. Do you have a school or something? I am hungry.

I do believe that some translations (not all) does change the meaning of certain passages of scripture. However, I am not bent on just referring to the 1611 English version. The other considerations to take is the fact that certain old English translations did not have words in the English language that exist today. (i.e. homosexality/ homosexual) was not in the English language at the time that the original English translation was pinned, but it is in more modern English translations today. That being said, I agree with what is being pointed out in this post.

I agree! Studying the bible is not just about it's version but the entire thought as a whole. Very important to understand the "Sola-Scriptura" method.

Each book in the language it was initially written would be the most accurate. So for the Old Tetaament, Hebrew and Aramaic. Greek and Latin mostly for the New Testament.

I was looking for information about this. A bunch of people were mad at me for reading the rsv so I decided to do a bit of research

When a translation removes any and all content about the blood, then yes a person can say that translation is WRONG!

If you give the KJV to a person on the street they are going to have a hard time reading it. -Robert plummer My kids read the KJV at school.-also Robert plummer

I read the King James Bible first, and I love it. However, I couldn't agree with you more. in fact I use many translations when i teach my Bible study group.

This brother is smoke screening the fact modern translations changes are mostly denominational errors.

The kjv is written based on the 3rd edition of the textus receptus which was also modified by Stephanus in 1550 (I believe). St Jerome wrote the Latin vulgate and the geneva was written by some reformer scholars. All of which were used to write the kjv.

Personally, I stick to the word for word translations. I’m not really sure that I trust the thought for thought translations. I love the KJV and grew up with it, but have also come to really like and even prefer the NASB and the ESV.

Thank you for this. It's nice to hear level-headed reason.

I love that they left the Unicorns in the KJV.

The 1 John 5:7 thing is eye opening. They clearly were attempting to add the trinity doctrine knowing that it doesn't exist in scripture.

This is a great way to discuss this topic. Thank you, Dr. Plummer.

If diff versions of the bible have diff scriptural meanings or whole verses added or absent, how can we not say they are misleading?

i read the kjv and i also read the living bible paraphrased as a commentary