The jst joseph smith translation and iv inspired version really dont belong with the king james version. Joseph smith, the book of mormon, and the bible itself. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Another error in the king james version is the introduction of. Errors represented across both 1611 and 1769 kjv a. I do testify that the uncut sheets of the complete first edition of the book of mormon have been reproduced in its original unchanged condition. The book of mormon includes the sermon on the mount as given by christ to the nephites. It is also written by prophets that share a heritage with biblical prophets so they would have similar traditions in terms of writing. The jst contradicts current mormon teaching and practice that is so. The point concerns the use of the english pronoun thou in the king james version kjv, a matter of some possible relevance to its usage in the book of mormon.
In general, the book of mormon appears to rely exclusively on the 1769 king james translation compared with the 1611 king james version or other derivatives in other instances where the two texts diverge. It is either of divine or human origin, and if it is of human origin that means that joseph smith concocted the book. Translation errors here is a partial listing of king james version translation errors. Kjv verses in the book of mormon book of mormon depot. Josephs 1842 translation of portions of the book of abraham. Whereas it is true that they are all religious texts, some amount of effort should be made to form at least rudimentary.
Did joseph smith plagiarize from the king james bible. Sometimes the quotation is explicit, as in the second book of nephi, which contains 18 quoted chapters of the book of isaiah other significant connections between the two books include book of mormon words and phrases that only appear in. The earliest textual sources for joseph smiths new translation of. Carmack correctly states that the kjv generally uses thou as a singular pronoun, but claims that the kjv at times clearly goes against this general stricture, citing isaiah 51. Why do italic translator words from the kjv bible appear. Nowhere am i told that the king james bible is the best or only holy bible. Thou in the book of mormon and the king james version. Why i do not think the king james bible is the best. For example, no, the book of mormon does not contain unique errors from the king james version bible. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of mormon.
Why does the book of mormon have some of the same passages. However, nowhere in the bible am i told that only one translation of it is the correct one. Holy bible should the lds edition of the king james. The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. The book of mormon adds text that turns out to make a better translation than.
Sometimes the source is acknowledged, as in the book of second nephi, where 18 chapters of isaiah are quoted. The book of mormon and the king james version january 26, 2014 by jason k. This is indisputable proof that the book of mormon was. The book of mormon and the king james bible textus receptus. This addendum hopes to present information which will enable the reader to understand what the gnostic doctrine teaches and which mistranslations in the kjv. The word translated was is hayah, and denotes a condition different than a former condition, as in genesis 19. A lot of people make a big deal about their being nearly 5,000 textual changes to the book of mormon since its first publication.
Book of mormon translation challenge home facebook. The book of mormon incorporates text which seems to be taken from the king james version, including passages which are now considered to be mistranslations in the king james version. The most useful definition of absence of evidence is lack of data. Id say this was highly improbable, and creates additional problems see the note below. The book of mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the king james bible. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. Tight vs loose translation in the book of mormon lds discussions. Kjv translation errors as found in the book of mormon. The original 1830 first printed edition of the book of mormon exists. This article explains that joseph claimed to be restoring the true, original meaning of the bible, and looks at examples of josephs changes to the gospel of john proving this claim to have been false.
Why are there translation errors from the 1769 edition of the kjv of the bible found in the book of mormon. Kjv does not take the word for rock and accidentally translate. Joseph smiths other writings, such as his history and diary, reflect the modern english era of his day. And the book of mormon just happens to omit this word.
Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. Many people find problematic the extent to which the book of mormon quotes the king james version of the bible, because this practice can make the book of mormon look more like a cobbledtogether 19thcentury text than a translation of an ancient artifact bearing in. The joseph smith translation is josephs supposedly inspired revision of the king james bible. Many of these errors, however, are found in the kjv bible. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, some claim that it shouldnt contain. First, i want to affirm with all evangelical christians that the bible is the word of god, inerrant, inspired, and our final authority for faith and life. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the king james bible. Due to the king james bible errors and deuteroisaiah passage in the book of mormon, it further proves that the the book of mormon is a work of joseph smiths 19th century mindset, and even apologetic lds historian.
Its not plagiarism at all its nephi quoting isaiah, with attribution even. I dont agree with this because of the other texts stated here and other reasons stated elsewhere. The lds edition of the bible is a version of the bible published by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church in english, spanish and portuguese. Mormons are pretty much wedded to the kjv even though they claim to believe the bible is the word of god as far as it is translated correctly, and the kjv is wellknown to have incorrect or suboptimal translation. At red door church weve been taking a look at the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds. Here is a partial listing of king james version translation errors. Its obvious even to the casual reader that the book of mormon, in its original 1830 translation, is written in the language of the king james version bible hereafter kjv. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon. What are 1769 king james version edition errors doing in the book of. The naming of this version is another interesting story that i will not go into here. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new york state where. If this is true, then the book of mormon should be full of errors. The king james version was completed in 1611 ad and the book of mormon published in 1830.
The excellence of the king james version of the bible does not need fresh documentation. While the main lds church continues to teach that the book of mormon is an authentic translation, a breakaway group known as the community of christ stated at a 2007 world conference, while the church affirms the book of mormon as scripture, and makes it available for study and use in various languages, we do not attempt to mandate the degree. There exist 478 verses in the book of mormon which are quoted in some form or other from the book of isaiah. The book of mormon does borrow from the structure of the bible, in that both are not a single text, but a collection of several texts of different style and literature types. There are a couple of circumstances that bear on the similarity to the king james version. King james english in the book of mormon an oddity in the book of mormon, published in 1830, is that it uses antiquated english resembling the style of the king james version kjv bible. Specific bible studies king james translation errors. Gordon campbell, expert in renaissance literatures, tells the fascinating and complex story of how this translation came to be commissioned, of who the translators were, and of how the translation was accomplished. Joseph, or someone else involved in the translation, heard or remembered or read the phrase. In some cases, entire passages are duplicated in the book of mormon. It is word for word the same as what was in king james version of the bible. The text of the lds churchs englishlanguage bible is the authorized king james version.
Doctrinally, the book of mormon contradicts most of the teachings of the bible and presents many ideas, historical facts and concepts that are just plan wrong. Why is the book of mormon written in king james english. Textual errors in the book of mormon also found in the. There are two possible explanations for the origin of the book of mormon. Peter s download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Bible with its correction of errors in grammar, omission of obsolete. However, the book of mormon is not written in elizabethan english, except for the copies of the twenty chapters of isaiah that are found in the book. The errors in the king james bible kindle edition by. The king james bible and the book of mormon its obvious even to the casual reader that the book of mormon, in its original 1830 translation, is written in the language of the king james version bible hereafter kjv. The errors in the king james bible kindle edition by ruckman, dr. Book of mormon and the king james bible wikiversity. Many adherents to the theory of an inerrant translation of scripture, namely those referred to as kjvonlyists, are thoroughly convinced that yahuwah has preserved his sacred written word in the english language through the translation of the king james version, which is also called the authorized version. What are 1769 king james version edition errors doing in the book of mormon.
For that matter, the case could be made that separation of other bible versions may also make sense as they are not the same book. Ces letter no translation errors i dont think you can say that the book of mormon contains unique errors from the king james version bible. The king james version of the bible is, in all likelihood, the most successful of all the english translations. Joseph smiths inspired revisions to the king james. The critics have been quick to condemn the book of mormon because of this fact. Dictionary gives the following comment for definition 2 under the verb. In addition, at the front of the book of mormon, in the section titled. Errors which are unique to the 1769 edition that joseph smith owned. In response, apologists sometimes claim that the book of mormon does not transmit translation errors, mainly focusing on the highly subjective nature of translating. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, some claim that it shouldnt contain these translational errors. In the words of latterday saints president wilford c. The book of mormon was translated by joseph smith using some unusual tools, but for the most part translated in terms of language, word for word, grammar is a diff story, lol. In several cases, the book of mormon follows king james version translation errors. The book of mormon title page, which was translated by joseph smith, 1 ends with a rather intruiging disclaimer for a book of scripture.
King james version were not in the original text but were added by the translators to give clarity of thought. The book of mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the king james bible kjv. Of the 8 verses from the book of mormon that contain possible or likely kjv translation errors all of these errors seem to be preserved in the 1611 king james version. The book of mormon and the king james version by common. The idea of a simpleminded copying of bible passages has to be rejected, though it is clear that the king james bible was used in many cases to facilitate translation. Second, this makes clear that the only way a translation of the book of mormon could have happened is with a tight translation. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the errors in the king james bible.
Generally, we find that when the king james version commits a translation error, the book of mormon usually follows. Two chapters of the prophet malachi are quoted by jesus in iii nephi 24 and following. This is a history of the king james version of the bible known in britain as the authorised version over the four hundred years from its remote beginnings to the present day. However, when confronted with the presence of 1769 kjv errors and 17th century italics in the book of mormon, many of the same apologists will revert to the loose translation by claiming that maybe joseph smith indeed used a 1769 kjv bible to borrow verses over into the book of mormon. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon. In verses that directly quote the bible, whether attributed by book of mormon narrators or not, the table shows which words were deleted from the source kjv verse and which words were added by the book of mormon verse. This page shows the book of mormon verses that incorporate text from the king james version of the bible. Along the way, weve noticed that joseph smith quotes directly from the king james bible kjv or paraphrases it in a handful of places in the book of mormon which was allegedly revealed to him by the angel moroni. If youve read 1 nephi chapters 1 through 20, you may remember that many of those chapters were about how nephi was told by his father that the lord wanted them to retu. Why werent some of the more serious bible errors corrected.
Along comes joseph smith who gives us the book of mormon. The book of mormon and the king james bible red door church. The most correct book on earth, unadulterated by those pesky christians after the great apostacy. Effectively a loose translation gives joseph smith a lot of wiggle room for errors, because it is the idea that. Do mormons read the book of mormon or the holy bible, or.
Besides the extensive list of parallels between the bible and the book of mormon, this book examines many other possible sources used to create the text, i. All of the italic words that the book of mormon does include are universally reasonable additions for any english translation. The book of mormon does not include the italicized word her, which is further proof that the book of mormon does not copy italicized portions word for word. Thus the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god and not by the power of man address to all believers in christ, richmond, missouri, 1887, p. Volumes have been written on its distinctive and rhythmic style, and it is still regarded as a triumph of modern english literature. In some cases, entire passages of scripture are duplicated in the book of mormon. The book of mormon uses the king james bible in many areas, most notably the isaiah. Why are the italicized words from the kjv of the bible words the translators added themselves, and so noted by italics also found in the book of mormon. Messages and evidences the deseret news press salt lake city, utah, 1961, discusses several other isaiah variants pp.
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