The KJV is a very poor translation IMO, simply because it lacks the scholarship of modern times in understanding the nuances of the original language texts.....its archaic English is very difficult for a modern English speaking person to understand. Imagine being a student who is just coming to know the Bible and having to struggle with an outdated language in an outdated translation.
Another reason to be suspicious of the KJV is because it is very pro-trinitarian in its renderings.
Let me give you a classic example....
John 1:1 probably the most quoted 'trinitarian' text used by Christendom to prove that Jesus is God.
Here it is in the Greek Interlinear....
" In en the beginning archē was eimi the ho Word logos, and kai the ho Word logos was eimi with pros · ho God theos, and kai the ho Word logos was eimi God theos."
If we just concentrate on the words "theos" and "ho" first...we see those two words are important to our understanding of the verse, because "theos" in Greek means "god"....(any deity) And the word "ho" as we can see in this verse, means "the". (the definite article. Strangely, there is no indefinite article in Greek. "a" or "an" but it is inserted where necessary to accommodate the flow of language in English translation.)
The Greeks had no way to distinguish the one God of Israel from other gods because the Jews had ceased using his name. Greek gods all had names. So to identify Jehovah in scripture, the Greeks used the definite article "ho" which means "the". IOW, Jehovah was identified as "THE God".
We do this even today...when we see that someone has the same name as a celebrity, like Brad Pitt, we often say not "THE Brad Pitt"? Same thing.
When no definite article was used, it usually meant someone with divine authority or "a god" or "god-like" one.
Please note that in English John 1:1 is almost universally translated in most Bibles as....
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God".
But if you look closely in the Greek, you will see that little word "ho" is used for the first mention of God, but not for the second.
That means that this verse should be translated.....
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with THE God and the Word was a god."
Then if we turn to John 1:18 we see the pro-trinitarian alteration of scripture in the KJV.
"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." But that is not what the scripture says in Greek.
It calls the Word (Jesus) "monogenes theos" which means "only begotten god", not the "only begotten son".
So if "theos" means "son" in John 1:18...it should also mean "son" in John 1:1. NO?
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was the son".
Can you explain that for me please?
The KJV may have some questionable translation, but it contains the Received Text in Hebrew and Greek. It has been studied carefully for over 400 years and every nuance has been analysed by scholars!
On my book shelf I have a copy of the Geneva Bible (1557-1560) and a reprint of Tyndale's New Testament (1534).
John 1:1 (Tyndale, 1534): 'In the beginnynge was the worde, and the worde was with God: and the worde was God'.
John 1:1 (Geneva Bible, 1557-1560): 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'.
John 1:1 (KJV, 1611): 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God'.
There's provenance to the words of John 1:1 which can be traced back through the English versions. KJV (1611); The Bishop's Bible (1568); The Geneva Bible (1557-1560); The Coverdale and Great Bible (1535-1541); The Wycliffe and Tyndale Bibles (1382-1526).
Those who undertook the translating of the KJV, a task that began in 1604, were scholars representing the spectrum of belief in England, from Puritans to Anglo-Catholics. There were 48 full-time scholars involved in the translation, forming three distinct groups; the Westminster Group, the Oxford Group and the Cambridge Group. This was no small undertaking!
As regards John 1:1 and the translation from the Greek, here's what E.W Bullinger
'The Companion Bible' has to say about John's Gospel.
'The purpose of the Holy Spirit by John, in His presentation of the Messiah, is to say to us and to all, "Behold your God" [Isaiah 40:9]; and His deity is observed throughout this Gospel. See 1:3,14,33,34,49; 3:13,14; 5:23,26; 6:51,62; 8:58; 13:33, etc. This is emphasised by the first and last references (1:1 and 20:28,31).
The same purpose and design are seen in the presentation of the Lord as having the Divine attribute of omniscience. This is not entirely absent in the other Gospels; but it pervades the fourth Gospel, and is manifested by much more frequent reference.'
Bullinger goes on to say, 'in John the Lord is never represented as praying to the Father as in the other Gospels, but always as saying or or speaking to Him. This is a special characteristic of the fourth Gospel, wonderfully in harmony with its great design. On the other hand, prayer is specifically required on the part of a
king (as in Matthew) in respect of his delegated authority (Matthew 14:23; 26:36,39,42,44); also on the part of the
servant, in respect of His assumed subjugation (Mark 1:35; 6:46; 14:32,35,39); and of an ideal
Man in respect of his dependence upon God at all times (Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18;28,29; 11:1; 22:41,44,46).
Thus, while in the first three Gospels the Lord is presented on the side of His humanity, as in prayer on eight occasions, not once is He so presented in John's Gospel. [nt.True, the English word 'pray' is used of the Lord in John 16:26; 17:9,15,20; but the Greek word is different. It is eratao= to ask, and implies familiarity if not equality. It is not proseuchomai, as in the other Gospels.] Moreover, he lays down His life: no one takes it from Him.'
Maybe, within this framework of John' Gospel, it is now possible to look again at the wording of John 1:1!
Bullinger's notes on 1:1 include these words, 'Creation is not mentioned until v.3. "The Word had no beginning". See v.3; Jn 17:5; 1 John 1:1; Ephesians 1:4; Proverbs 8:23; Psalm 90:2. Cp. 8:58. Not the same 'was' as in v.14.
the Word Gr.
Logos. As the spoken word reveals the invisible thought, so the Living Word reveals the invisible God. Cp.v.18
[Note v.18]
the only begotten Son. Lm. Tr. WH. Rm, with the Syr., read "God (i.e. Christ) only begotten".
Jesus said, 'scripture cannot be broken' [John 10:35] and it's true. The threads of scripture produce a beautiful tapestry, and any attempt to pull it apart is doomed to failure.
Take notice of Isaiah 40:9-11!
'O Zion, that brightest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift
it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong
hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward
is with him, and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry
them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young.'