A couple of other points about the KJV:
1. The English language, like every other, has changed over the past four hundred years. Words alter their meanings over time. In 2Thes 2:7, the K.J.V. translates, ‘Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.’ The word ‘let’ in the 17th Century, meant to restrain or hinder; today, of course, it means ‘allow.’ Therefore the verse means the exact opposite of what the A.V. says it means. The N.I.V. (and other modern versions) translate correctly, ‘But the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.’
2. Some of the language in the K.J.V. is scarcely comprehensible even allowing for the archaic language. Consider Ezekiel 41:7. ‘And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers; for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.’ This may be a word-for-word translation, but what on earth does it mean? A translation that is so literal that no one can understand it is of limited use.
I studied for three years with people who were KJV-only (though in a much saner way that those posting on this thread). They were very helpful to me in many ways, but as a result, I switched from the N.I.V. to the K.J.V. for my private reading and study for around a year, but although I am well-read in Shakespeare and other older literature, I found that my eagerness to read and study the Bible was fading and therefore switched to the N.K.J.V. I have never regretted that move.
1. The English language, like every other, has changed over the past four hundred years. Words alter their meanings over time. In 2Thes 2:7, the K.J.V. translates, ‘Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.’ The word ‘let’ in the 17th Century, meant to restrain or hinder; today, of course, it means ‘allow.’ Therefore the verse means the exact opposite of what the A.V. says it means. The N.I.V. (and other modern versions) translate correctly, ‘But the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.’
2. Some of the language in the K.J.V. is scarcely comprehensible even allowing for the archaic language. Consider Ezekiel 41:7. ‘And there was an enlarging, and a winding about still upward to the side chambers; for the winding about of the house went still upward round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house was still upward, and so increased from the lowest chamber to the highest by the midst.’ This may be a word-for-word translation, but what on earth does it mean? A translation that is so literal that no one can understand it is of limited use.
I studied for three years with people who were KJV-only (though in a much saner way that those posting on this thread). They were very helpful to me in many ways, but as a result, I switched from the N.I.V. to the K.J.V. for my private reading and study for around a year, but although I am well-read in Shakespeare and other older literature, I found that my eagerness to read and study the Bible was fading and therefore switched to the N.K.J.V. I have never regretted that move.