Most English-speaking members of the body of Christ tend to consider the less literal translations of Scripture (including the King James Version) to be extremely inaccurate, with a fair number of books, articles, and videos having been published by some of these members over the years which argue that the KJV itself is a harmful Bible version, and that it should be avoided because it leads people to believe in Infernalism (and sometimes Annihilationism), due to their belief that it’s been mistranslated (some claiming that there are as many as 20,000 translation errors in the KJV).
And so, instead of using the KJV and other less literal Bible versions, these believers tend to prefer actually literal translations of Scripture, including Bible versions such as the CLV (the Concordant Literal Version), the YLT (Young’s Literal Translation), and The Writ (also known as The Dabhar Translation), to name what are probably the three most popular literal Bible versions among English-speaking members of the body of Christ, because they believe these versions are far more accurate translations. And while I’m technically not a KJV-Onlyist myself, as I do find some value in these literal versions for helping one to understand what various passages might mean, I do still believe that the KJV is not only an extremely accurate translation, but that it’s actually the most accurate translation, of Scripture (which is why I call myself a KJV-Mostlyist, as well as a King James Bible Believer).
Of course, most “Concordant” believers (as many English-speaking members of the body of Christ are often called these days, thanks to their preference of the Concordant Literal Version) reading this might ask how I can say that when the KJV seems to have mistranslated so many words from the original Hebrew and Koine Greek Scriptures, words such as עוֹלָם (olam), αἰών (aión), αἰῶνας (aiónas), αἰώνιος (aiónios), שְׁאוֹל (sheol), ᾅδης (hades), γέεννα (Gehenna), and ταρταρόω (tartaroō), to name the most commonly cited words when arguing against the KJV, words which versions like the CLV translated literally. Well, very simply, I can say that because the KJV isn’t translated literally, and so we shouldn’t expect it to render these words the way we might be used to seeing them in our literal translations.
You see, if a Bible translation is not literal, then it must be figurative instead, and that’s exactly what the KJV is: a very poetic, figurative translation of the Hebrew and Koine Greek Scriptures (at least in many places). And the truth is, being figurative doesn’t make a translation inaccurate. It just means that said translation needs to be read and interpreted very carefully (which we should really be doing no matter what translation we’re using).
The fact of the matter is, if someone studies the KJV carefully and consistently (“consistent” being what the word “concordant” means, after all), taking the context of Scripture as a whole into consideration rather than just cherry-picking certain words out of specific verses (and if God has opened their eyes to be able to see the truth, of course), they’ll come to the exact same conclusions that the “Concordant” believers who favour literal translations of Scripture have come to about our core doctrines.
If you do find yourself skeptical about this claim, though, I did put my money where my mouth is by writing an entire book-length Bible study (in PDF format) demonstrating that these claims I’m making here are indeed true, and I’d urge all skeptics of this claim to read it and see for themselves (the title is what it is because most King James Bible Believers are extremely anti-Catholic, and I figured it might make more of them curious enough to read it): Rejecting Rome — How Most Christians Choose Catholic Dogma Over Biblical Doctrine, And What To Do About It (This study is also available in ePUB format as well, I should add.)
But how can I say that God inspired the KJV to be translated this way when it inarguably does lead so many who read it astray? Considering the fact that, until recent times, there seem to have been almost no KJV-Onlyists (or even KJV-Mostlyists) in the body of Christ, this does seem like a valid question. The answer is, as those who are members of the body of Christ quickly come to learn when we get saved, all is of God, meaning He is behind everything that happens, so that would have to include the translation of the KJV as well. And the fact that one can find the truth about all of our core doctrines if one simply takes the time to read the KJV consistently tells us that the fault isn’t with the KJV so much as with some of the readers of the KJV, and that most people simply haven’t been interpreting it carefully or consistently. And remember also that Proverbs 25:2 says, ”It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter,” then consider the possibility that God purposely inspired this translation to make it difficult for those who aren’t willing to dig deeper and interpret what they read carefully to discover truth to find said truth.
So, with that in mind, I’d urge anyone who wants to know how I can make this claim to please go read that study I wrote in order to see for themselves, whether they’re already a “Concordant” believer or still someone who holds to traditional Christian doctrines.
And if there are any KJV-Only (or, of course, KJV-Mostly, or even just KJV-Preferring) brothers and sisters in Christ reading this, I know that some of the language which those believers who tend to favour more literal Bible translations such as the CLV use can seem foreign if you aren’t used to it. So, with that in mind, I’ve written a little table here to show what some of the terminology you might hear members of the body of Christ who prefer the CLV use means, and what the equivalent words in the KJV are.
CLV-type language | KJV-type language | Meaning |
---|---|---|
El, Elohim, Eloah | God, god, gods | Titles for deities, including Almighty God as well as lesser deities |
Yahweh | JEHOVAH, The LORD | English translations of Almighty God’s name, or title (The LORD) used in its place |
Messenger | Angel | Human or spiritual messenger |
The Adversary | The devil, Satan | |
Vivified | Quickened, Made alive | Made immortal |
Vivification | Quickening | The process of being made immortal |
Eon | Age, World, For ever | A seemingly long period of time with a definite beginning and end, sometimes referring specifically to the Millennium |
Eons | Ages, Worlds, For ever | A series of periods of time, each with a definite beginning and end (normally referring to the final two eons or ages, meaning the Millennium and the final eon/age on the New Earth) |
Eonian | Everlasting, Eternal | Pertaining to an eon/age or eons/ages, Long lasting |
Before times eonian | Before the world began | Before all the eons/ages began (explaining this would take a much longer article, but most of us believe history and prophecy cover 5 periods of time, which we refer to as eons, or ages) |
Eons of the Eons | For ever and ever | The final, and greatest, two eons/ages (meaning the Millennium and the final eon/age on the New Earth), prior to the end of the eons/ages |
Eon of the Eons | For ever and ever | The final, and greatest, eon/age (meaning the final eon/age on the New Earth), prior to the end of the eons/ages |
Eon of the eon | Throughout all ages | This is a tricky one, but most literalists believe this was also a reference to the final eon/age, prior to the end of the eons/ages |
Disruption of the world | Foundation of the world | The time the earth came to be “without form, and void,” at some point after the creation of the heavens and the earth |
The unseen | Hell | A figurative term, translated from “sheol” in Hebrew and ”hades” in Greek, with various different meanings depending on the passage in question, but generally used to refer to the state of being unconscious because one is dead |
Gehenna | Hell | The valley of Hinnom, outside Jerusalem in Israel where corpses will be burned after the Tribulation ends |
Tartarus | Hell | A reference to a prison that certain angels have been imprisoned in underground |
Submerged chaos | Bottomless pit | A prison for the devil during the Millennium |
The Snatching Away | The Rapture (not actually in the KJV, but this is the typical word used for the event) | The event when the body of Christ is caught up to the heavens to be with Christ |
The Former Resurrection | The First Resurrection | The first resurrection of the dead members of the Israel of God, also known as the Resurrection of the Just |
Evangel, Well message | Gospel, Glad tidings | A proclamation of good news |
Hebrew Scriptures | Old Testament books | The books of the Bible written in Hebrew |
Greek Scriptures | New Testament books | The books of the Bible written in Greek |
Ecclesia | Church | A group of believers who have been “called out” from the world for a specific purpose |
To die shall you be dying | Shall surely die | God told Adam that he would become mortal so that he would eventually die if he ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil |
Dying | Die | Mortality leading to physical death was the actual penalty of Adam’s sin, and this mortality was passed on to his descendants (which is why we ourselves now sin) |
Spirit | Ghost | When used in reference to humans, the breath of life that makes a physical body a living soul (human spirits aren’t conscious, though; it’s our souls that are our consciousness) |
Condemnation | Damnation | A negative sentence |
Pardon | Forgiveness | To have one’s guilt overlooked, avoiding the penalty of their sin |
Dais of Christ | Judgement seat of Christ | A platform where members of the body of Christ will learn what rewards they’ve been given for their actions while mortal |
Entombed | Buried | Entombment is technically a form of burial |
Roused | Raised | |
Consummation | End |
I hope you found that helpful. And if you are a King James Bible Believer and would like to get to know some of your brothers and sisters in the body of Christ who do tend to use more literal translations, presuming you’ve come to understand and believe Paul’s Gospel as we do, I’ve linked to many of them on this page.