The Dire Need

There is a dire necessity for all lovers of the Bible to share an awareness of a condition that currently exists and is affecting most King James Bibles in our possession. That condition is the existence of textual variations that are being inserted into the text of our King James Bibles by a wide variety of publishers. Listed below are just a sampling of changes that have been made which are largely unknown by God’s people.

The Textual Variations

In Joshua 19:2, many publishers have changed the correct wording from or Sheba to read and Sheba. While textual critics may want to spar over the view that the Hebrew word allows either of these combinations to be used, from a pure English position, the word or is not the same as the word and. While we pride ourselves on having an every-word Bible and believe that God has preserved those words through the translators of the KJV, how can we allow such a variation to exist? Who gave publishers the right to insert and Sheba in place of the correct or Sheba? If this was the only variation that existed in our King James Bible, it would be worth whatever the effort or the cost to remove the variation, for it is a blemish which need not exist. Unfortunately, however, it is not the only variation.

In 2 Chronicles 33:19, many publishers use the plural sins instead of the correct word of sin. While there might be some individuals who do not have a problem with such a small variation, for those of us who accept the King James Bible as being divinely preserved, any change made by a publisher is one too many.

In Jeremiah 34:16, many publishers have chosen to change the correct words of whom ye to whom he. Therefore in our churches, some of the people will have a Bible that correctly says whom ye in this verse, while others unknowingly have a King James Bible that is incorrect because a publisher chose to insert a different word. Christians are unknowingly purchasing and using a Bible assuming it to be correct, because it says King James Version on the front, yet it is a Bible that has been tampered with and altered by publishers and then sold to an unsuspecting public.

In Nahum 3:16, we find yet another alteration to the text. Some King James Bibles correctly use the word flieth while others have been changed to the word fleeth.

The Necessary Solution

Where does this leave us? We have come to the place where the King James text is being changed by publishers to suit their own purposes and agenda. Since we believe that God used the translators to divinely preserve God’s Word, we should be appalled by any and all changes that have been inserted at the hands of any and every publisher that has done so. Rather than accept this sad state of affairs, Baptist College of America wants to create an awareness of this issue to not only inform fellow Christians but also to bring pressure on publishers to refrain from making changes and to uphold a standard typesetting that is consistent with the King James text. Additionally, you will find a link below to an article written by Dr. Gail Riplinger that defines the correct text. Please take the time to read and study this article, and then please feel free to forward this information on to anyone you feel might benefit from it.