Only the Originals Are Inspired

My position is that the original language documents were inspired to the exact extent that they . They were "given by inspiration."

Now you have come to the meat of the question. I say that any original language mss, and any translation is God's inerrant Word to the exact extent that it mirrors the original.

Now, if you believe that the KJV is the only inspired English version, let me ask: how did you figure that out from Scripture (the KJV itself, maybe)? And how do I figure out which Japanese version (or Chinese or any other language) is the one and only version for that language?? (English is not special in the mind of God, you know. The Bible never even mentions English.)

 

When they state that you should use the Kjv as the translation base, and not Hebrew/Greek texts, is that not stating that the Kjv is the final authority?

 

The Septuagint seems to be a standard text used by the early Christians, especially for those who were saved Gentiles, as they knew the Greek, but the Hebrew text was the inspired one...
And Jesus and Apostles saw that even the copied scrolls and texts were infallible witness to and for God!

 

I read and study and teach and preach from the KJV. In translating the Greek NT into Japanese, I compared the Greek NT to the KJV NT, and found it to be an incredibly accurate translation. The fact that it is in beautiful English seals the deal for me: it's the best English translation ever. However, as a linguist, I know for a fact that a perfect translation is impossible without a miracle--and even KJVO folk do not claim a miracle to get a perfect KJV--or if they do, they mix up the definitions of a miracle and Providence.

Depends on what you mean by "legitimate." To me, the only "illegitimate" translations are paraphrases (which should not be called "translations") and translations with an agenda, like the "Cotton Patch Bible" or the JW's New World Translation. However, there are many translations that are mistaken in their translation philosophy.

The Septuagint (LXX) is mixed up in its renderings. Sometimes it has lousy renderings, and other times it is excellent. Sometimes in the NT the human authors of Scripture, writing words inspired by the Holy Spirit, saw fit to re-translate where the LXX got it wrong. So the Holy Spirit superintended the choice of every single word in the original languages of the Bible.

The Japanese Bible used by almost all conservative and fundamental missionaries & pastors in Japan is along the line of the NASB. When I first went to Japan, I met an older missionary who was KJV Only, but told me, "Never tell your people you don't have the Word of God as you preach. You will destroy their confidence in their Bible."

Now, my question to the KJVO advocate who asks triumphantly about the location of the original manuscripts is, "Where are the original manuscripts of the KJV 1611?" No one knows. But they were handwritten, just like the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek ones. So any argument about the original manuscripts of the Bible as given by God are moot.

 

• Bible verses saying that only the original autographs were given by inspiration: NONE.

• Bible verses referring to translated copies as given by inspiration: Proverbs 25:1, Luke 4:21, John 5:39, Acts 8:32, Acts 8:35, Acts 17:2, Acts 17:11, Acts 18:24, Acts 18:28, Romans 15:4, Romans 16:26, 2Timothy 3:15, 1Peter 2:6, 2Peter 1:19-20.

Read the references in context before disagreeing.

 

The Nkjv is growing on me, as it seems to be more accurate then the Kjv, and easier to read with understanding!

 

I deplore the multiplicity of modern translations, but for a far different reason than most who take that view. My view is that there are far too many English versions when there are still over 3,000 languages in this world with not even a single verse translated into them. There are many people groups waiting and hoping and praying for someone to translate the Bible for them. I know of a people group in Papua New Guinea which is mostly Christian now, but still have no Bible. Yet some scholar in America pops up and says, "We need a new Bible in English," or, "We need to do a revision of the translation we did five years ago." I believe God is not pleased by this!

No, not "whatever version." Not until I can compare it with the original language Biblre God gave us. No translation--including the effort I led to get a TR translation into Japanese--is the Word of God except as it accurately translates the original.

I say the original language OT and NT are inspired to the exact extent that they reflect the original manuscripts. God preserves His Word in the original languages. That is very clear from Scripture. For example, in Gal. 3:16 Paul wrote, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Paul was clearly putting the authority in the Hebrew OT there.

Again, in various passages you have the Hebrew or Aramaic quoted, then a translation given. This shows me that in the Bible itself, the wording of the original languages is vital. Here are two examples from Revelation:

Rev. 9:11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Rev. 16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Not sure what you mean here.

They have not been discovered in 400 years. Pretty sure they don't exist.

Absolutely.

So many of these discussions make big claims without using the Word of God itself to get there. Many years ago I decided to go to the Bible itself for answers, and did a systematic study of my own, and that's where my bibliology comes from--the Bible.

 

How do you get that from Galatians 3:16? I don't mean how do you read that into it, but how do you get what you said from the words in the verse?

• Bible verses referring to translated copies as given by inspiration: Proverbs 25:1, Luke 4:21, John 5:39, Acts 8:32, Acts 8:35, Acts 17:2, Acts 17:11, Acts 18:24, Acts 18:28, Romans 15:4, Romans 16:26, 2Timothy 3:15, 1Peter 2:6, 2Peter 1:19-20.

 

There were quotes captured and used sometimes by the Apostles that appeared to reflect more of the Septuagint !

 

Jesus stated that ONLY the Apostles of His would be inspired by the Holy Spirit, as it ended with their deaths no ongoing inspiration!

 

The Originals alone are Inerrant, but translations are infallible!