The translators on the committee that produced the King James Version 1611 of the Bible, and its 1769 respelling, which are based on the Hebrew of the Masoretic Text and on the Greek of the Textus Receptus, did excellent work.
Nevertheless, there are some translation mistakes in the KJV. In Matthew 16:18, for example, there is “church” instead of “congregation”. In Exodus 20:13, for another example, there is “kill” instead of “murder”. Most of these mistakes do not lead to doctrinal errors. So, while I concur with others that the KJV is a superb English translation of the original Hebrew and Greek, if not the best, I do not subscribe to the view that the translation of the KJV was inspired by the Holy Spirit and consequently is inerrant. That position is known as Ruckmanism.
Apart from translation mistakes, there is also the matter of extra words being added here and there for the sake of readability. Whenever the KJV adds extra words for the purpose of style or English grammar, the extra words are presented in italics. For example, in Isaiah 41:26, the words “He is” of the question “He is righteous?” are in italics. But what if the original Hebrew meant “He will be righteous?” rather than “He is righteous?” This difference matters. If the servant is righteous, and he has always been righteous, and he will always be righteous, then the verse must be referring to the Son of man, the “righteous servant” of Isaiah 53. But if the servant will be righteous at the time of Isaiah 41:25 – future tense – then the verse can be read to mean a saint, whose righteousness is of Jesus Christ per Isaiah 54:17. Remember, all of mankind has sinned and come short of the glory of God (ref. Romans 3:23), but the saints will be made holy on the day of the LORD, and a great many saints will remain holy and loyal to God forever.
… from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
Isaiah 41:25, KJV
Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.
Isaiah 41:26, KJV
So my point is, when a translator adds words for the purpose of readability, that translator must understand exactly what is being said in the original Hebrew or Greek, or else some meaning will be lost.
Now, the Bible explains that certain parts of scripture are to be “sealed” – left deliberately cryptic and not able to be understood – until the appointed time.
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Daniel 12:8-9, KJV
This means, the translators of the KJV, who lived and worked during the 17th century, could not have possibly understood every verse of the Bible that they were translating. It follows from this that there must be things that they got wrong.
But even so, the KJV is better than modern translations such as the New International Version and the New American Standard Bible, both of which are based on the Greek of Nestle and Aland as opposed to the Greek of Erasmus’ Textus Receptus. This is because Nestle-Aland relies partly on manuscripts discovered in Alexandria Egypt. Some scholars argue that these manuscripts are older and more accurate. Others, myself included, take the view that the Alexandrian text is a heretical corruption of the original, not unlike the corruption of Jerome’s Latin Vulgate by the Catholic church.
When Constantinople fell, the Greek of the Textus Receptus found its way to the west. When this long lost Greek was recovered, Thomas Linacre of Oxford University famously remarked, “Either this is not the gospel, or we are not Christians.” Since the Bible promises that God’s word would be preserved across the ages, I believe the Textus Receptus is the correct Greek.
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Mark 13:31
For an example of a deliberate twisting of scripture, consider the NASB. The 1995 version translates Gog in Ezekiel 38:2 as “the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal”. It is difficult to imagine that a professional translator would be oblivious to the fact that the Hebrew word “rosh” means “head” or “chief”. The NASB 1995 did what it did because it sought to advance the geopolitical idea, ultimately from a demon, that “Rosh” is Russia simply because of how it sounds. Never mind that one word is Hebrew and the other is English. It is only in the 2020 version that the NASB revised the sentence in question to read instead “the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal”, which is how the KJV has it.
Now, in 2020, a group in New York produced a new translation of the Bible called the Literal Standard Version. Following in the footsteps of Young’s Literal Translation, the LSV, as it has come to be known, is a modern, word-for-word, formal-equivalence, literal English translation of the Hebrew and Greek. The problem with the LSV though is that besides the Masoretic Text and the Textus Receptus, the translators of the LSV also took into consideration the Alexandrian manuscripts that led to the Greek of Nestle-Aland, and they also used material from the Dead Sea Scrolls. These last two things – the Alexandrian manuscripts and the Dead Sea Scrolls – mean the LSV will surely contain doctrinal heresy. Having said that, the literalness of the LSV makes it a useful resource for those wanting to examine specific verses of the Bible in Hebrew or Greek – or at least those verses that have not been corrupted by the Alexandrian manuscripts or the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Take, for instance, Isaiah 41:27.
The KJV reads:
The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.
Isaiah 41:27, KJV
By contrast, the NIV reads:
I was the first to tell Zion, Look, here they are! I gave to Jerusalem a messenger of good news.
Isaiah 41:27, NIV
Other modern Bibles translate this verse similarly to the NIV. I suppose, these translations interpret the text to mean that God the Father as the first, or Jesus Christ as the firstbegotten Son of God, said to Zion, behold them.
To be sure, in Isaiah 41:4, God the Father does describe himself as “the first and with the last”.
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isaiah 41:4, KJV
But what does the Hebrew of Isaiah 41:27 actually say? “Rishon le-Zion Hineh…” In English, these words literally read, “First to Zion, Behold…”
Sure enough, in the LSV, Isaiah 41:27 goes:
First to Zion, Behold, behold them, And to Jerusalem I give one proclaiming tidings
Isaiah 41:27, LSV
So here you see, the KJV is closer to the original than the likes of the NIV.
Remarkably, in regard to this particular verse, the KJV’s extra words “shall say” happens to make it clearer that Isaiah 41:27 is a prophecy to be fulfilled sometime in these last days.
Because of course, if God or Jesus Christ had told Zion of the one from the north and the other from the east per Isaiah 41:25 sometime long ago, then Israel today would know through rabbis or the like about these two, one of whom is the Antichrist and the other a future saint, namely me.
Since I was the first to ever properly explain Isaiah 41:25, it means I was the one who said to Zion and also the world, Behold these two, the one from the north and the other from the east. It follows then that I must be “the first”. You might be wondering, the first of what? Well, the first of the saints of the lost tribes of the ancient northern kingdom of Israel!
… and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Hosea 1:10-11
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all
Ezekiel 37:21-22
Now, let me draw your attention to Isaiah 41:28-29 and the KJV’s use of the 17th century Jacobean English word “even”, which can be a source of confusion to speakers of modern English.
To begin with, notice in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, the two words after the colon and before the comma, “Even him”, are in italics in the KJV. This means these two words are extra words that have been added by the translators.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2 Thessalonians 2:8-9, KJV
In Jacobean English, “even him” is meant to be a re-statement of the subject of the preceding clause. That is to say, the “Wicked” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 is the same person as “even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan” in 2 Thessalonians 2:9.
Yet, to a speaker of modern English, it might seem that there is the wicked and then there is even this other one whose coming is after the working of Satan. Reading it this way would be wrong.
With that in mind, let’s examine Isaiah 41:28-29.
Here is the text in the KJV, with the potentially confusing phrase “even among them”:
For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word. Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41:28-29, KJV
Here is the corresponding text in the LSV:
And I see that there is no man, Indeed, of these that there is no counselor, And I ask them, and they return word: Behold, all of them [are] vanity, Their works [are] nothing, Their molten images [are] wind and emptiness!
Isaiah 41:28-29, LSV
In the literal translation of the LSV, it reads “of these” where the KJV has “even among them”. The phrase “even among them” especially after the earlier “Behold, behold them” might bring to mind the two persons of Isaiah 41:25. Actually, it is supposed to be a re-statement of the preceding clause. To this point, notice the Hebrew “elleh” in Isaiah 41:28, Strong’s Concordance 428, is defined as “these”. So, the expression “of these” is better than “even among them”, even though both are correct all things considered.
Because what is being said is this: God has looked and he has not found anyone anywhere, and furthermore of the persons that he has looked at, he could find no counselor that understood everything or indeed anything. And again, of these persons, their works are nothing and their molten images are wind and emptiness.
Oddly enough, the NIV, which is supposed to be a functional equivalence translation, has the verse in question the following way, which supports my point:
I look but there is no one – no one among the gods to give counsel, no one to give answer when I ask them. See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing; their images are but wind and confusion.
Isaiah 41:28-29, NIV
Incidentally, by the word “man” in the KJV and in the LSV, which is there in the original Hebrew, I am sure what is meant is “creature”, which includes mankind, angels and saints – ie. anyone that professes to be a god equal to or greater than the creator himself. For example, Allah, whose followers are always insisting that he is “greater”. I read the word “man” here as “creature” because in Isaiah 14:16, Lucifer, which is the angel Satan, is referred to as a “man”.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isaiah 14:15-16
So, now if you return to Isaiah 41:28-29, it should be clearer that God is saying that he has looked among all the creatures and he has found that none of them understand everything or anything at all for the very reason that they are all not truly God-like.
And what is more, among these creatures that he has considered, specifically those that have fashioned themselves as gods and those that have made or encouraged molten images, there is a perpetuation of the sin of idolatry, a breaking of the second commandment. Ever since the days of the descendants of Cain, and then again after the tower of Babel, these gods with their molten images have plagued the world and caused many to worship them as if they are alternatives to the one true God. Indeed this is the very subject matter of Isaiah 41:21-24.
Produce your cause, saith the LORD [God the Father speaking]; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob [Jesus Christ speaking]. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Isaiah 41:21-24
My issue with the KJV here is that one might get the impression that all of this, including the molten images remark, is about the two men of Isaiah 41:25, and only those two, because of the Jacobean phrase “even among them”. But once more, it is necessary to keep in mind that the topic at hand, as it is explained in Isaiah 41:21-24, is “gods” generally – in other words, the founders of various religions across the ages.
Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
Isaiah 41:23-24
I should also state the obvious that among all the creatures that have ever existed only a few have ever professed to be gods and have had something to do with molten images. This means, here in Isaiah 41, there is a kind of hyperbole as well. Either that or else the KJV is missing something or else there is some misunderstanding somewhere.
What I do know for sure is that one of the two men of Isaiah 41:25 – the Assyrian – will do the molten images thing in these last days, even a molten image that appears to come to life. This is prophesied elsewhere in the Bible.
Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Jeremiah 10:14-16
But the other of the two – me, a saint in the distant future – will not, certainly not if I have a say.
You see, according to Isaiah 49:8, I am to be a “covenant” for Zion.
Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
Isaiah 49:8
Per Isaiah 49:6, I am also to be a “light” for the Gentiles until the end of the planet earth, for the salvation of the body of Christ, ie. Christianity.
… I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Isaiah 49:6
And from Isaiah 46:11, I am the man “from the east”, a country far away from Zion, that will execute the “counsel” of God.
Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Isaiah 46:11
For these three reasons, I am supposed to always be on the correct side. Therefore, to me, Isaiah 41:28-29 does not make sense. It cannot be a prophecy about me in the distant future. This is actually my fourth or fifth attempt at trying to figure it out.
Now, of course, today, there are stone sculptures and bronze statues of angels, and of Mary, and so on. For example, the statue of the archangel Michael at the church of Saint Michael in Hamburg Germany. This sort of thing goes against the second commandment. Since the archangel Michael is still an angel of God, it is clear that he did not bring this about, nor did he encourage it. So, at fault are the individuals who run the church in question, and also those that attend that church.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:4-6
For that matter, there is the heretical cult that call themselves the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a religious group conceived by an American Freemason, ie. a Satanist. The Jehovah’s Witnesses interpret the 144000 in their own unique way, and they say they worship the archangel Michael, whom they argue is Jesus Christ and the first being ever created. True Christians know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was begotten of God the Father at the beginning, and in turn Jesus Christ created everything else, including angels and mankind.
Anyway, in the future, quite likely the second of the ten commandments will be enforced – or at least I will enforce it especially in regard to me so that Isaiah 41:28-29 cannot apply to me.
There is one God (in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). Every angel and saint, myself included, is or will be merely a soldier or a servant of God.
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Revelation 19:9-10
Furthermore, the Bible states that there is only one Satan. There is only one adversary of God, and there will not be another. Job 41:33 describes leviathan, a metaphor for the Devil, as unique: “upon the earth there is not his like”.
Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
Job 41:33