This, translation claims to be "a revised English edition which will unlock the spiritual treasures found uniquely in the, King James Version of the Holy Scriptures" (p. iii). One, would have thought that such spiritual treasures were to be found 'in the original Greek of the New Testament, rather than in the translation published in 1611, but the "119 scholars, editors, and church leaders" (dust jacket) who are responsible for this translation have chosen to update that venerable trandation. The updating includes the replacement of some archaic vocabulary with modern equivalents, the replacement of archaic pronouns and verb forms by modern English forms, and an improvement in syntax for some of the most obscure seventeenth century syntactic structures.
Section headings have been added. Punctuation has been modernized. Old Testament quotations are indicated by a change in type face, with a footnote reference to the Old Testament location, Passages identified as poetry, for example, Luke 1.46-55, but not, Philippians 2.6-11, are printed in lines with initial capital letters, Where "Lord" occurs in an Old Testament quotation referring,to "the covenant name of God" (p. iv) it is now printed in small capital letters. The practice of identifying added words by italics has been dropped. Words of Jesus are printed in brown, in contrast to the normal black type. In brief this is the King James Version, (also known as, the, Authorized Version) in modem dregs. It should be noted, however, ,that some of the "improvements" are steps backward toward an even more literal translation, as for example in Matthew 5.9, where the King James Version's "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" is replaced by "Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called, the sons of God."
There are two really shocking things about this translation: its use of initial capital letters for all pronouns referring to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, and in acceptance of the traditional Greek text underlying the 1611 translation. The Introduction states that although the use of thee, thou, etc. is being abandoned, "reverence for God in the present work is preserved by capitalizing all pronouns, including You, Your, and Yours, which refer to Him." This betrays a woeful, lack of knowledge about such matters in the Greek manuscripts that have come down to us. The principle stems to have been applied mechanically, and it leads to some real absurdities. In dialogue with Jesus, all speakers, whether, disciples, family members, or opponents, address their remarks to Him. In John 4:19 the Samaritan woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet" and, in John 10:33 the Jews say, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man (sic), make Yourself God."
It seems almost incredible at this stage in the development of New Testament textual criticism, with all the new evidence that is now available for the history of the transmission of the text, that a group of "scholars, editors, and church leaders" would be willing to update the language of the King James Version, and make no effort to recover a more certain, textual base than that available to the translators in 1611. This seems even more incredible when one reads that "all participating scholars have signed a document of subscription to the plenary and verbal inspiration of the original autographs of the Bible" (p.v). One would have thought that such a view would have compelled the scholars involved to do more toward the recovery of the earliest text than to suggest that "the traditional Greek text is much more reliable than previously supposed" (p. v). Indeed one has the distinct impression in reading this translation that it is the King James Version itself, and not even its late underlying Greek text, which here here taken as the authoritative standard.
The Bible translator should not be misled. This is not a modem translation. To quote the King James, Version, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau" (Gen. 27.22). This "new" King James Version New Testament should not be used as a base or as a model for the work of translation. HEBER F. PEACOCK.
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