Preface to the King James Version 1611
THE TRANSLATORS TO THE READER
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This letter is not copyrighted so feel free to copy it to your hard drive and read it at your leisure. The letter is written in 17th Century English and will require patience to complete. This letter shows that the KJV was written in the everyday language of the times.
One of the concepts that
stand out in this letter is that
the translators say of themselves that they are but men and can make mistakes. They admit that they are not always correct on the translation of every word and they admonish the reader to seek other sources to help translate them. (Go To This Place in the Letter). They want YOU, the reader, to make sure you understand God's Word, and they suggest you let God lead you and show you the meaning of His Word (Go To This Place in the Letter).
Notes: (1.) A Thesis on the letter by Edgar Goodspeed is available on line. It succinctly summarizes this rather long letter. (2.) Most outside marginal readings are enclosed in brackets "[ ]" in the text. (3.) Most inside marginal readings will be displayed at this site as section titles:
http://www.bibleword.org/kjvlet.html
RB, contradictions and translation errors are not the same. There is a HUGE difference in the two.
For example, here is a contradiction for you...
Matthew 27:3-5
3. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned , repented himself , and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4. Saying , I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said , What is that to us? see thou to that.
5. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed , and went and hanged himself .
6. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said , It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
7. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
8. Wherefore that field was called , The field of blood, unto this day.
Acts 1:16-18
16. Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled , which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
17. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
18. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
So
in one account, Judas threw the money at the feet of the Jewish leaders, went out and
hung himself. The priests and scribes take this "blood money" and buy a field and use it to bury the dead, because the money is unclean.
In the second account, Judas Iscarriot himself purchases a field.
No mention is made of him hanging himself. At some point, whether by accident or on purpose, Judas falls headlong (whether accidentally or on purpose, we can't know for certain) and he bursts assunder and his bowels gushed out.
Did Judas kill himself or did he accidentally fall off a cliff onto sharp rocks? Did Judas purchase the "field of blood" or was it the priests and scribes who purchased it? Those are contradictions, not mistranslations.
One more thing...if one is prepared to allow for the possibility of translator or transcriber errors, then the claim of Biblical inerrancy is
completely undermined since no originals exist to serve
as a benchmark against which to identify the errors. Left only with our error-prone copies of the originals, the claim of infallibility becomes completely meaningless. A pandora’s box would truly be open:
You could have the Bible say whatever you want it to say by simply claiming that words to the contrary are the result of copying or translation/interpretation errors, and nothing could prove you wrong.
Perhaps this is why there are more than 30,000 denominations.
