It often happens that those who see themselves as appologists for a cause often do more harm than good and sadly, I believe our poor AV has suffered far more at the hands of it's friends than it's enemies.
Personally, (according to the moderator's scale) I would be a 2 & a half. IE: With a couple of exceptions, I'm pretty much with Jay Green when it comes to the manuscript authority of the TR. Whilst I realize that coining the term "Received Text" was not entirely without commercial and political considerations, nevertheless, it echoes a Biblical principle (Ps.12:6-7, etc). When folk refer to "better manuscripts", I cant help wondering if, in light of future discoveries and scholarly opinions, the penknives will once again be used to improve our Bible.
When I was young, it was very fashionable to treat the AV with distain, and as something no longer suitable for serious Bible study. Yet as the years have passed, my respect for the precision of the work done by those men has grown immensely. Modern wiseacres may love to mock their rendition of Jas.1:21, but anyone who knows anything about translation work knows that there are some difficult choices that must be made, and there is no question that they did an excellent job. Perhaps most importantly, the ambiguities that exist in the Greek & Hebrew are generally well preserved as they should be, rather than being removed according to a decision made by a faceless editor, as is usually the case with the NIV in particular. Though the AV is not entirely faultless in this regard (EG: Phil.2:7), the translators generally avoided playing Holy Spirit in this way.
My advice, for what it's worth, is to buy an Authorized Version Bible, then take the trouble to get to know the richness of the English language.
- Paul
