Have always used the KJV and always will. The English is beautiful — and there is something to be said for what the Bible means in English.
I find it amusing to listen to preachers and pastors who use the KJV ALWAYS quote the verse in Olde English then translate it into modern english so their listeners can keep up.
Why is that?
/rhetorical question
I agree.
I have Hertz’ “The Pentatuch and Haftorahs” which is Hebrew Torah and scripture with side-by-side English translation. Yet it also references the KJV as well as several other sources. Where it may differ, I always prefer the language of Shakespeare, who is rumored to have embedded his own name in one of the Psalms.
Same here. KJV for me. I have read some others I like but I just love the language used in the KJV. So inspirational.
The KJV is beautiful, and though I left my lifelong Protestantism four years ago and a received into the Catholic Church, I still read the KJV sometimes. The language is easy for me. But for many people the language is not clear and can lead to confusion, boredom, misinterpretations, and even a loss of interest in reading Scripture.
The NIV has a lot of references for people who want to study and can be an open door for those who are not good readers. I saw this with my late father, who was not a native English speaker and never ever read the Bible, even though there were many different editions in my parents’ house. When I gave my Protestant mother a beautiful edition of the KJV for Christmas one year, my father was entranced and began reading it, covertly but urgently. I only hope it made him accept Christ.
“Have always used the KJV and always will.”
Good choice. I switched long ago to the New king James. It is much more “readable.”
Ephesians 2:8-9.
We used to have a rule in our house that whenever things got really heated and quarrelsome, all verbal statements had to be made in KJV or Shakespearian English.
The effect was like throwing a wet blanket on a small but roaring and growing fire.
Ich Oach.
Changing words can not help but to change meaning even if it is ever so subtle. It is why progressives and socialists/communists do it all the time. The fact that it sows confusion among their target populations at the same time is just a bonus to them.
The KJV and Shakespeare are the foundations of English, keeping it on a steady course. Before public schools they were the main tools for mothers to teach their children how to read, write and speak in public. Is it any wonder that our founders shine so bright in history for they, for the most part, learned that way.
Some of the other translations are less faithful to the original text, and in meaningful ways.