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Why isn't the NKJV seen as being another update on KJV?

Jerome

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
the 1611 KJV has some of the same type marginal textual notes as those found in the NKJV?

"Some"?

Is that "some" as in your "at least a few"?

Or "some" as in Robycop's "boatload"?

Or "some" as in MNJacob's "not a ton"

Or "some" as in C4K's "several"?
 

Logos1560

Well-Known Member
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One scholar's count of those textual marginal notes was already given earlier in this thread. The actual number could possibly be disputed because of the fact that the KJV translators do not seem to have been consistent in using any certain term to indicate which marginal notes were textual and which were only alternative renderings. Some of the marginal notes beginning with "Or" may actually be textual marginal notes.

Scrivener noted that 4,111 of the 6,637 marginal notes in the Old Testament of the 1611 "express the more literal meaning of the original Hebrew or Chaldee" and "2156 give alternative renderings (indicated by the word 'Or' prefixed to them) which in the opinion of the Translators are not very less probable than those in the text" (Authorized Edition, p. 41). He also pointed out that 67 marginal notes in the 1611 O. T. "refer to various readings of the original, in 31 of which the marginal variation (technically called Keri) of the Masoretic revisers of the Hebrew is set in competition with the reading in the text" (Ibid.). He observed that in the N. T. of the 1611 that 37 marginal notes relate to various readings (p. 56).
 

Batt4Christ

Member
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if not all of those nefarious little "marginal footnotes" that I seem to find in all the other MV's that I don't like. The reason I find them so offensive is that they almost always tend to support the contentions of the "Critical Text" and,in effect, call into question the AUTHORITY of significant word(s) and portions of the Word of God. The KJV NEVER does that...

...the text loses some of its majesty and readability. For that matter,when you "update" things into some of the perverted "modern language" you give people just one more reason to be lazy in their study of the Word of God. Resigning the DICTIONARY to the dusty shelves of history is NOT a good thing for students of the Bible to ever do. That's just my two cents worth...everybody else is welcome to their own.

Bro.Greg

AS to the first - My copy of the 1611 has lots of marginal notes/footnotes, as well as words that do not appear in any form in the Greek (most now in italics in later printings).

Second - As I have posted on other threads - Biblical Languages - at the time of the writing OF the texts - was the language of the people, especially the koine Greek of the NT - it was the literal "vernacular" of the time.

In my EXTREME hypothetical scenario - if the Bible were being written today (I don't mean the rewrites of a handful of extremely liberal revisionists) - what would it look like? Would the Lord be inspiring it to be recorded in King James English? After all, English is the closest thing this world has to a "universal language". Or would it more mirror "conversational English" as you here every day?

So - for the purpose of trying to squash archaic words - the NKJV does a fair job - but makes some rather odd choices about what to and what not to replace. It also still leaves in some odd phraseology that makes things confusing or even misleading if not taken in context (of course, isn't context one of the biggest failings of many Bible expositors, preachers, and teachers?).
 

Gregory Perry Sr.

Active Member
Todays English?

AS to the first - My copy of the 1611 has lots of marginal notes/footnotes, as well as words that do not appear in any form in the Greek (most now in italics in later printings).

Second - As I have posted on other threads - Biblical Languages - at the time of the writing OF the texts - was the language of the people, especially the koine Greek of the NT - it was the literal "vernacular" of the time.

In my EXTREME hypothetical scenario - if the Bible were being written today (I don't mean the rewrites of a handful of extremely liberal revisionists) - what would it look like? Would the Lord be inspiring it to be recorded in King James English? After all, English is the closest thing this world has to a "universal language". Or would it more mirror "conversational English" as you here every day?

So - for the purpose of trying to squash archaic words - the NKJV does a fair job - but makes some rather odd choices about what to and what not to replace. It also still leaves in some odd phraseology that makes things confusing or even misleading if not taken in context (of course, isn't context one of the biggest failings of many Bible expositors, preachers, and teachers?).

Translate the scriptures into TODAYS ENGLISH??? May God have mercy on us. We're libael to wind up with a new translation copyrighted by one of the cellphone companies!!!

Imagine if you will the "Verizon Today's Text Message Bible" version or something like that.....have mercy.

Even so Lord...come quickly!

Bro.Greg:praying:
 

Logos1560

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Translate the scriptures into TODAYS ENGLISH??? May God have mercy on us. We're libael to wind up with a new translation copyrighted by one of the cellphone companies!!!

Imagine if you will the "Verizon Today's Text Message Bible" version or something like that.....have mercy.

You seem to mock at the ideal that the Scriptures should be in the current language of the common people. Do you oppose have the Scriptures translated into current understandable English?

In their 1611 preface, the KJV translators asserted: "But we desire that the Scripture may speak like itself, as in the language of Canaan, that it may be understood even of the very vulgar."
 

Yeshua1

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
You seem to mock at the ideal that the Scriptures should be in the current language of the common people. Do you oppose have the Scriptures translated into current understandable English?

In their 1611 preface, the KJV translators asserted: "But we desire that the Scripture may speak like itself, as in the language of Canaan, that it may be understood even of the very vulgar."

Those translators would have welcomed the NKJV version, as it would update their version to the "Kings english" as spoken and understood today!
 

Rippon

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Translate the scriptures into TODAYS ENGLISH??? May God have mercy on us.

LOL! You are too much GPS. You are headed in the wrong direction (pun intended.)

We're libael [sic]to wind up with a new translation copyrighted by one of the cellphone companies!!!

If the Word of God is being widely distributed you need to praise the Lord for it;not the other way around.
 
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