Does KJV-Only Honor the KJV?

One frequent accusation I hear because I prefer modern translations over the KJV for most purposes is that I hate the KJV. Presumably, the people who say such things think that they honor the KJV by means of their doctrine. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I believe that the KJV was probably the single greatest achievement in Bible translation. It provided a sold English Bible for use by the church. It was a Bible written in language that the people could understand. Its translators developed substantial ideas in translation theory which they expressed in their document, The Translators to the Reader. Amongst their accomplishments was the understanding that the same Greek or Hebrew word need not be translated by the same English word each time it appeared.

In addition, this group of men developed some of the basics of a committee produced translation and performed their job exceptionally well. They managed to eliminate much of the polemic from the notes, something that had been a major barrier to general acceptance of prior translations. They worked from the source languages throughout, though comparing existing translations and using the wording of the Bishops’ Bible wherever it expressed the thought of the original well.

Now the KJV-Only camp wants to deny their accomplishments in an attempt to continue the use of the translation they made at a time when it was not appropriate. While they searched for the best translation, KJV-Only advocates try to defend whatever they found ad-hoc. The KJV-Only camp has no theory of translation, no understanding of textual criticism, no understanding of linguistics, and no respect for the accomplishments of the translators.

The KJV translators used the best scholarship they had available. Scholarship has advanced since that time. We now have additional resources. A modern translator producing a translator using less than the best materials and scholarship available would be failing in his mission. He would be shirking his responsibility to the word of God. And yet this is precisely what the KJV-Only advocates want modern readers to do. They think to honor people who put out heart, soul, and mind in order to produce a wonderful new translation of the Bible to be satisfied with the old, to accept less than the best.

It does not honor good translators to use their work in the promotion of ignorance. It does not honor them to expect people to read a Bible version that is not in their common, everyday language. Their memory is not honored by stubborn ignorance.

I love the KJV, I just don’t recommend it to modern readers unless they are proficient in its language and anxious to read it either for its literary beauty or because they are familiar with it. I honor it as what it is–I don’t insult it by claiming it’s something it is not.

(For more information, see the pamphlet What about the KJV?.)