Thus Saith The LORD – The Saturday Morning Post
Today’s Passage – Ezekiel 35 – 37 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Thessalonians 1 – 5; Psalms 46 – 50; Proverbs 10)
Read the “0910 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,” (Ezekiel 35:1)
“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:27)
Did you know that the phrase, “thus saith the LORD”, appears in 413 verses of the Bible. Do you believe what the Bible says? Then you should want to know every Word that God has spoken. Right? After all, man does not live by bread alone…
Eight years ago, I was candidating for a church. I was able to make it to their Men’s Bible Study and Breakfast. It was a good time of fellowship and Bible study. The Bible study also opened my eyes to something I needed to study and talk about. The person teaching was from a different church and was using a bible that was a little different than my King James. This morning we are going to take a look at the New King James Version.
There is a good book out called “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same” by Dr. Mickey Carter.
The title says it all and a pastor should protect his people from false teachings circulating in the world. Thomas Nelson – the publishers of the New King James – said that they’ve changed some of the old archaic words to make it easier to read. Really?
The word Repent has been omitted in 44 places.
The word Blood has been omitted in 23 places.
Even God has been omitted in 66 places.
How could they consider any or all of these words archaic, especially God? The truth of the matter is that the NIV is at the reading level of a 7th grader. The New King James is at a 6th grade reading level. And the King James Bible is at a 5th grade reading level.
One of their claims is that the NKJV is easier to read. Well let’s take a look…
Mar 15:16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band.
Praetorium is the judgment hall. You can understand that by looking at the other parallel verses…
Matthew 27:27 calls it the common hall.
John 18:28,33; and 19:9 call it the judgment hall.
These verses in the New King James translate them all as Praetorium.
So if you want to find out exactly what it is, you need to look it up: it is the hall of the governor’s court room, in other words: the judgment hall.
Do you know what Keveh is? It’s a place, a region in southeastern Anatolia, named Cilicia by the Greeks. In the NKJV the verse reads…
1Kings 10:28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price.
This tells us that Solomon imported horses from Egypt and Keveh and he must have got a better deal from the Egyptians: he paid the current price in Keveh. Now, if you look at the King James Bible…
“And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.” (1Kings 10:28)
The King James Bible tells us that Solomon received horses, and linen yarn from Egypt, but had to pay for the linen yarn. So what does Keveh have to do with this? Maybe this…
The New King James Version was copyrighted in 1979. In order to copyright something, it must be an original work. Unless Thomas Nelson Publishers made enough changes to the King James Bible, they would not be able to copyright theirs. It’s all about the buck ($).
Let’s look at another changed word. Ezekiel 31:14 says in the NKJV…
(Ezekiel 31:14) The waters made it grow; Underground waters gave it height, With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out rivulets to all the trees of the field.
This paints a nice picture of sitting in the shade of a tree watching the rivers flow by. Peaceful. And watching the rivulets reaching to all the trees of the field. Very peaceful… but…
What are rivulets? The dictionary says it is a small brook or stream.
But what does that have to do with what the King James Bible says…
“To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the thick boughs, neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink water: for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with them that go down to the pit.” (Ezekirl 31:14)
Oh my…
Which one is right? Peaceful and nice, or destruction and death? Things that are different are not the same.
How about Syrtis Sands? Acts 27:17 uses that in the NKJV…
“When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the SyrtisSands, they struck sail and so were driven.”
The Syrtis Sands are located near Lybia in the Mediterranean Sea.
But why would those on the ship fear that they would hit this sand?
The King James Bible explains…
“Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.” (Acts 27:17)
So, it was quicksand. That explains it. This is only a few of the problems with the New King James Version. If you want the whole Word of God then stick with your King James Bible. It is the preserved Word of God for English speaking people.
Peace.
Posted in Devotions by Pastor Ted Stahl with 2 comments.
Amen & amen.
Amen