There is always controversy in Bibles when one finds one they believe to suit them. I feel it shouldn't be about suiting me but about being the true Word of God. Though long and this means many won't read this but those that do it is long but worth the read. You make your own conclusions because it is not my desire to change your mind, only God does this but to show you why it was done and by men that were inspired by God to translate and that's all the King James Bible is, a translation so this means it's the original Word from the original Hebrew and Greek language into English.

The Inception Of The King James Bible
Many times God uses the incidental, the unexpected, and even the seemingly evil things of life to perform mighty wonders for His Church. Who would have ever expected that the words of a little Jewish maiden would lead to the conversion of Naaman the Leper? Who would have ever thought that the evil deeds committed by Joseph's brothers would have resulted in the preservation of Israel in the time of famine? But so it was in the wondrous providence of God.

In like manner, it was only the good providence of God that brought the King James Version of the Bible into existence. This version, which has played such a large part in the life of the English-speaking Church, had its beginnings in a very unexpected and incidental way-yea, in the midst of great disappointment on the part of some of God's people.

A Puritan's Petition
Four Puritans along with fourteen representatives of the Church of England were gathered together at Hampton Court for an ecclesiastical conference in January 1604. The Puritans had many objections concerning the English Church as it was then established. They were hoping that their new king, James I, would so guide the Church of God in England that there would be further reformation of the Church. They wanted to make the Church of England more like the Reformed Church of Geneva and the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland. They had already met James on his way to London where he was to receive the English crown and had presented him with a petition stating their grievances. The petition was signed by about a thousand clergyman and therefore called the Millenary Petition. It was on account of that petition that James had called the conference to hear and determine things pretended to be amiss in the Church.

It did not go so well for the Puritans, however. Not only were they in the minority at the conference, but King James, rather than sympathizing with them, supported the cause of the High Churchmen or Conformists who did not want the Presbyterian form of Church government. In the midst of their struggle Dr. John Reynolds, the Puritan president of Corpus Christi College, suddenly petitioned the king, that there might be a new translation of the Bible, because those which were allowed in the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI were corrupt and not answerable to the truth of the original. This motion of the Puritan leader evidently was not something which he had planned but something that was introduced incidentally in order to keep from losing all ground at the conference.

This is confirmed by the preface to the readers entitled The Translators To The Readers which was found in the first edition of the King James Version. There we read, ...the very historical truth is that upon the importunate petitions of the Puritans, at his Majesties coming to the crown, the conference at Hampton Court having been appointed for hearing their complaints; when by force of reason they were put from all other grounds, they had recourse at the last, to this shift, that they could not with good conscience subscribe to the Communion Book, since it maintained the Bible as it was there translated, which was as they said, a most corrupted translation.

The Puritans did object to the translations of the Great Bible and the Bishops' Bible which were quoted in the Prayer Book, but they did not zealously demand a new translation. They were content with their Geneva Bible and its Calvinistic notes. The motion for a new translation was incidental to them. In fact, if it were up to them, there probably would not be a King James Version of the Bible.

Bishops And King
On the other hand, the bishops were not immediately in favor of a new translation either. Bishop Bancroft of London (who was appointed by the king to oversee the translation work) expressed his opposition this way, If every man's humor should be followed, there would be no end of translating. Indeed, the bishop made a very good point. That is exactly what we have today with all of the new versions. There are so many new translations that it seems as if every man is making a translation to his own liking. Thus neither party in the Church of England was zealous for a new translation.

It was the king's zeal and enthusiasm for the project that caused the work to be undertaken and that saw the work through to the end. In the Dedication to the King, found in most of our King James Version Bibles, we read this concerning the king, ...your Majesty did never desist, to urge and to excite those to whom it was commended, that the work might be hastened, and that the business might be expedited in so decent a manner, as a matter of such importance might justly require. Indeed, the king seems to have been the driving force behind this grand undertaking.

Yet we make a mistake if we attribute his zeal to good motives. It may have been that he had an interest in the Scriptures. He is said to have done some translating of the Bible of his own. Most, however, attribute his zeal to an ambition to advance his own cause and glory. He greatly disliked the marginal notes of the Geneva Bible because he thought they encouraged disobedience to kings and therefore wanted a new translation to replace it. He was shrewd enough to see that a new translation, which was acceptable to all, would do much to unite the church and thus enhance his own glory.

God's Bible
We must conclude from all of this, that the King James Version of the Bible is not a Puritan Bible, nor an Anglican Bible, and not even a King James Bible. A Bible which has been used of the Lord for hundreds of years can not be merely the product of an incidental suggestion or the zeal of bad motives. No! The King James Version is the product of God's great love for His English-speaking Church. God so ruled in the hearts and lives of finite men that He caused this new translation of the Bible to be made. He provided this Bible for His English-speaking Church so that His Word might be preserved in her midst. Even the translators acknowledge that it was God who had put the zeal for a new translation into the heart of the king. They exhort us, Let us rather bless God from the ground of our heart, for working this religious care in him, to have the translations of the Bible maturely considered of and examined. God in His providence took the incidental remarks of a Puritan, the zeal of a king for his throne, and in the midst of the opposition of bishops, gave to His Church a Bible that has been her blessing and strength for almost four hundred years.

Some men praise it for its pure English and forceful style, others for its beauty and majesty, and still others for its accurate translation. It is all of that and more. But even more important, we must recognize that the King James Version is the Word of God which God has graciously and lovingly given to His English-speaking Church. It is a faithful translation of the inspired originals which have been providentially preserved by God in the thousands of manuscripts which have come down to us. Thus we can be assured that with the King James Version of the Bible we have the authoritative Word of God.

The Translators of The KJV
Their Organization
In the providence of God, although all others seemed little concerned about a new translation, the suggestion of Dr. Reynolds was fixed in the mind of the king. In due season that suggestion ripened into personal enthusiasm on the part of the king and also on the part of those whom he appointed to take charge of this great undertaking. Conformists and Puritans alike with great zeal and dedication were ready to begin their tasks. By June 30, 1604 (six months after the Hampton Court Conference), fifty four men had been approved as translators of the new version (Evidently only forty seven men actually took up the labors.) and a plan of procedure had been set down. Bishop Bancroft, entrusted with the general management of the work, was busy making all the necessary preparations.

The translators were formed into six companies: two meeting at Westminster, two at Cambridge, and two at Oxford. Genesis through II Kings was translated by the first Westminster company, I Chron. through Ecclesiastes by the first Cambridge company, and Isaiah through Malachi by the first Oxford company. The second Oxford company translated the four Gospel accounts, Acts, and Revelation. The Second Westminster company did Romans through Jude. The Apocrypha was done by the second Cambridge company.

The Apocrypha, however, was not considered a part of the inspired Scriptures. It was translated and bound with the Bible, but the King James Version translators did not count it as God's Word. In that they differed from the Roman Church. The fact that the Apocryphal books were separated out of the Old Testament and put after it indicates that they did not consider it equal with Holy Scripture. In later editions it was dropped altogether.

Their Learning
In these six companies of translators were gathered together the most learned men of the age. Today it is charged that the King James Version is obsolete, for we have learned so much more and have men who are much greater scholars than those of the 17th century and who, therefore, can do a much better job of translating the Bible. Indeed, we have gathered much general knowledge in the past three hundred and eighty years. It is NOT true, however, that the King James Version translators were inferior scholars. They were men of great learning.
Who today is skilled in fifteen languages as was Launcelot Andrews, the head of the Westminster company which translated Genesis through II Kings? It is said of him that he might almost have served as an interpreter general at the confusion of tongues, he was so proficient in the languages. Others spoke of him as that great gulf of learning. He was so knowledgeable that the world wanted learning to know how learned this man was.

William Bedwell of the same company was well known as the greatest Arabic scholar of the day. To him belongs the honor of being the first who promoted and revived the study of the Arabic language and literature in Europe. He authored the Lexicon Heptaglotten, which included Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, and Arabic. He also worked on a Persian dictionary, an Arabic Lexicon, and an Arabic translation of the Epistles of John.

Dr. Smith, the author of The Translators To The Readers and one of the final editors, is said to have had Hebrew at his fingers' ends. He was so conversant in Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic that they were as familiar to him as English. His knowledge of the Greek and Latin fathers was exceptional. He was so versed in literature that he was characterized as a very walking library.

John Harmar of the Oxford company, was a noted scholar in Greek and Latin. He translated Calvin's sermons on the Ten commandments, several of Beza's sermons, and some of the Homilies of Chrysostom.

John Boys of the Cambridge group was one of the most distinguished scholars of all the translators. His father taught him Hebrew when he was five years old and he was admitted to St. John's College, Cambridge when he was fourteen. He was a most exact Greek grammarian who had read no less than sixty grammars.

Dr. John Reynolds, the Puritan who first suggested a new translation, had a reputation as a Hebrew and Greek scholar. He had read and studied all the Greek and Latin fathers, as well as the ancient records of the Church. Those who knew him held him to be the most learned man in England. It is said of him, that He alone was a well-furnished library, full of all faculties, all studies, and all learning. His memory and reading were near to a miracle. He worked on the translation of the Prophets until his death in 1607.

Henry Savile of the New Testament Oxford company was one of the most profound, exact, and critical scholars of his age. He became famous for his Greek at an early age. He is chiefly known as the first one to edit the complete works of John Chrysostom. Some have styled him, that magazine of learning, whose memory shall be honorable among the learned and the righteous forever.

No, these men were not ignorant. They were not even average. They were exceptional in their various areas of knowledge. The first half of the seventeenth century, when the translation was made, was the Golden Age of Biblical and oriental learning in England. Never before, nor since, have these studies been pursued by English scholars with such zeal and success. It is very doubtful that all the colleges of Great Britain and America could even bring together the same number of men who are equally qualified by learning and piety as the King James Version translators.

The Spiritual Character Of The Translators
But scholarship is not everything. A translation of the Bible is always affected by the spiritual character and faith of the translators. An unbeliever does not translate the Bible as does a believer. Martin Luther wrote, Translating is not an art that everyone can practice, as the mad saints think; it requires a right pious, faithful, diligent, God-fearing, experienced heart. Therefore, I hold that no false Christian, or sectarian can be a faithful translator. No false Christian, no sectarian-that is, no unbeliever can be a good translator of the Bible. This is the problem with many modern versions. Some of the translators were not qualified spiritually for the work, even though they might have been intellectually.

Protestant Men
What about these translators? Did they have this heart which Luther describes? The answer is a most emphatic, yes. These men where, indeed, pious men of God, who were committed to the Truth! Gustavus Paine, in his book The men Behind the King James Version, tells us that there were among the translators no Roman Catholics, no Jews and no women. That little statement says much. They were all Protestants who belonged to the Anglican Church. Some were High Churchmen. Some were Puritans. Others were somewhere in between the two. But they were all members of a church that was Protestant, a church of the Reformation. The church was not as Reformed as Geneva, not even as reformed as it had been in the days of Edward VI, but it was nevertheless a church that had adopted many of the Truths of the Reformation. In a few years (1647), under the leadership of the Puritans, this church would produce the Westminster Confession and Catechisms. These Creeds are standards of the Reformed Faith.

Although some of the translators were more or less Arminian, many of them were Calvinists. One authority tells us that Calvinistic doctrine was the prevailing doctrine of the day. Lawrence Chaderton was one of the strong Calvinists among the translators. At his conversion from the Roman Church to Calvinism his father had written him, Son Lawrence, if you will renounce the new sect which you have joined, you may expect all the happiness which the care of an indulgent father can assure you; otherwise, I enclose a shilling to buy a wallet. Go and beg. This was no idle threat. His father was a very wealthy man. Without his aid life would be very difficult for the young Chaderton. But he refused to give up his Calvinism and became an outspoken anti-Arminian preacher. Thomas Holland, a thorough Calvinist, is said to have opposed Rome with more force than any other. Whenever he went on a journey his farewell to his fellows at the College was this: I commend you to the love of God, and to the hatred of popery and superstition.

Godly Men
Miles Smith in the translators' preface to the readers describes the spiritual character of these men. He asked, and in what sort did these assemble? In the trust of their own knowledge, or of their sharpness of wit, or deepness of judgment, as it were in an arm of flesh? At no hand. They trusted in him that hath the key of David, opening and no man shutting; they prayed to the Lord the Father of our Lord, to the effect that St. Augustine did; "O let thy Scriptures be my pure delight, let me not be deceived in them, neither let me deceive by them." They were godly men who did not trust in their own strength, but sought guidance and help from God. They knew that if their work was to be a success, it had to be the work of God. They believed that, even after the translation was completed, it would be meaningless to the people of England without the enlightening power of God's grace. Thus they remind the reader, It remaineth that we commend thee to God, and to the Spirit of his grace, which is able to build further than we can ask or think. He removeth the scales from our eyes, the veil from our hearts, opening our wits that we may understand his word, enlarging our hearts, yea correcting our affections, that we may love it above gold and silver, yea that we may love it to the end.

Believing Men
Unlike many who translate the Bible today, they believed that they were dealing with the inspired Word of God. Concerning the Scriptures they could exclaim through Miles Smith in the Preface, And what marvel? The original thereof being from heaven, not earth; the author being God, not man: the enditer (prompter), the Holy Spirit, not the wit of the Apostles or Prophets; the Pen-men, such as were sanctified from the womb, and endowed with a principal portion of God's Spirit; the matter, verity, piety, purity, uprightness; the form, God's word, God's testimony, God's oracles, the word of Truth, the word of salvation; the effect, light of understanding, stableness of persuasion, repentance from dead works, newness of life, holiness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost; lastly, the end and reward of the study thereof, fellowship with the Saints, participation of the heavenly nature, fruition of an inheritance immortal undefiled, that never shall fade away; Happy is the man that delighteth in the Scripture, and thrice happy that meditateth in it day and night.

Indeed, these men considered the Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God. To them, the Bible was a very special book and they handled it accordingly. Yet, they knew too that this special book could be properly translated and profitably read and studied only when God in His sovereign grace worked in the hearts of its translators and readers.

Part II follows because of the amount of letters.

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If God is not the author of the bible then who is Moreh because you have the answers so I can just ask you. Your findings are the only true findings and your explanations are the only true explanations. You keep saying errors were made and those are based on your belief of names, titles, pages and that's what you presented to me is it not? Now when I say that to you it's ignorant. That's funny. You said that and I responded to it. YOu sent me info about a bible you say you use the Hebrew Bible, I didn't make that up. when I find something it's historical information but what is your information if not historical? Listen you asked me why I believe in the KJV and I supplied what I have found to you just as you do to me. Though it's not what you want to hear I still said what I felt on your questions. I keep forgetting yours is real and mine is not. I apologize that I'm not at learned as you are and can't find what's real/truth as you can. Just keep praying for God to wake me up please. You are Hebrew in that you are stiffnecked as they were. It's what you have and nothing eles. You crack me up and then when I say Hebrew mindset you get offended. What else is it. Tell me so I can phrase it correctly.
This your post to me though you didn't mention this you say. It was on the other post we first talked bout this subject:

Did “GOD” control the order of the books but not the names…Did he control the page numbers and words in the book but not the TITLE….sounds confusing to me…

I've got my malox. LOL Bring it on. LOL
So you're saying you didn't post that to me on my comment? If not then my mistake. It seemed like it was addressed to me.
Got it and as I said I apologize for my error.
So this is just men that got together without being inspired by God to do this. I sent that because it does state what they did and the reasons and that's what I base what I say on. They felt they were inspired by God and to me if you are inspired by God then God is in control. If I'm wrong with that then I'm wrong and can admit that. I take that as meaning those other things were in error and needed corrections and not of just any man but men that were spiritually inclinded from God. I'm not ignorant to know that God didn't write it with His own fingers Moreh, I'm stating to me if he inspired as He did Moses and the others He is in control and told them what to write and others what to translate. This is my perception and what I will stick with.
This is my understanding again ok. The originals were not an inspiration of God but done totally of men and what you said (as you see in the literature) the English royalty didn't care for the Roman/Pope. I've said books had been written prior to the KJV but not inspired of God but translated no doubt. Those that ended up doing this I believe had to have God put them to doing this to make correct the errors. This is what the literature states more or less. If you're telling me that men inspired by God to write/translate His Word can cause errors then are you saying that about all others (men inspired) are in error also. Why would we have a bible with errors for us. Are you saying you have the only one without errors. Which was that of those you sent me?
Ok then insinuations! Then if we dont' have an error free bible anywhere what sense does this make for God to give us a Bible with errors. Where is there a bible then (if any without errors)? I'm serious!

By the way I did find out that the original 1611 did have the Apocrypha and am going to read it. It did state that the others took it out. So my thought is why would God inspire men to do that if not to correct something that man did before without His inspiration? If all bibles are inspired by God that would seem like a joke that is not funny since they are all different Brother Moreh. Now once again I'm being tugged. I dont' think anyone has the answers, seriously. This has become confusing but I just know it will get straightened out. It's as thought I can't believe anything or anyone even from history research. There has to be a bible that has no errors I just can't believe God would put out one bible or many bibles that are different. It absolutely makes no sense what so ever.
Now see you say He is sending you so how can I trust this if I can't trust a bible or think He had them write or translate. What is the difference? When I say Hebrew to you I'm just meaning it seems to me that you feel only Hebrew interpretation is real in scripture but how can you trust that? I've got to go pray Brother. Talk soon.
Much apprecitated Brother and I know this.

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