 Verses found in the KJV which do not appear in the NIV (nor in other
contemporary translations)
The words are in the footnotes,
with the note that they occur in later manuscripts. They are entirely
absent from the early Greek manuscripts and papyri. So why are these
words found in the KJV?
The talented KJV translators worked from 1604 to 1611 and they did
a fine job with the very limited resources available to them back then.
They had basically twelve ancient manuscripts which the subcommittees
shared. Since that time, however, many hundreds of additional manuscripts
have been found, and many of them are far older than those available
to the KJV team. And of course, more ancient means closer to the originals,
closer to the first inspired manuscripts which came from the mind of
God to the original authors. Therefore they are also more trustworthy
and reliable.
The important fact here is that in these far older manuscripts some
of the words and phrases found in later manuscripts are absent. Clearly
they were added somewhere along the way. How did this happen?
During the terrible persecution of the Christians under Nero, Decius,
and Diocletian, all copies of the Scriptures were ordered to be destroyed.
Of course, some did survive and then when Emperor Constantine became
a Christian in 312, he ordered that hundreds of copies of the Scriptures
should be made. And pious scribes and copyists set to work with great
fervor. Occasionally they would add a word or phrase in the margin, and
then the next copyist would come along and suppose that these words belonged
in the text, and he would insert them. So the later manuscripts got to
be a bit longer and contain material not found in the earliest and best
manuscripts. And that’s why translators today take those words and phrases
out of the text, because they are not found in the earliest and most
trustworthy manuscripts and codices.
In conclusion, you may be sure that in
the NIV you will find all of the inspired text but not the words added
by men, however much we might like to have those additional words. Translators
must give us the very best and genuine text without any human additions.
The highest criterion of the NIV team is accuracy in transmitting the
inspired text.
The NIV: The Making of a Contemporary Translation 
Portion from Chapter 14:
Isn’t the King James Version Good Enough? (The KJV and the NIV Compared)
I love the King James Version. I was converted
under it, my first memory verses were taken from it,
and I have been blessed by it. And God still uses the
KJV to bring many people to salvation in Christ. This
version was translated by godly men who did an excellent
job with the tools they had in the language of four centuries
ago. Countless millions have been converted, sanctified,
and nurtured through it. Thank God for that marvelously
used translation.
The KJV is not, however, the best translation
to use today. This is so for two reasons: (1) it adds
to the Word of God and (2) it has now-obscure and misleading
renderings of God’s Word.
Additions to the Word
of God
The KJV translators did not intend to
add to the Word of God. They did their best, but all
they had to work with was a handful of copies of the
Greek manuscripts of the New Testament books. These
were very late copies dating from a thousand (!) years
after the New Testament was written. In a few sections
they had no Greek manuscript at all! Instead, they
had to rely on the Latin Vulgate’s rendering of what
they thought must have originally been in the Greek!
Through the providence of God, many more
Greek manuscripts had been preserved and were subsequently
discovered—in fact, more than five thousand of them.
Some were very old indeed, dating back much farther
than the relatively few the KJV translators used. Some
of the Greek manuscripts date back to the four hundreds
and three hundreds—even to about a.d. 200. These ancient manuscripts were
more reliable and accurate, not being corrupted by
errors made during countless times of copying, such
as occurred with the late manuscripts used by the KJV.
As a result we know today, with a high
degree of accuracy, what was in the original writings.1 Uncertainty
now exists in only an infinitesimally small part of
the New Testament (the difference would be comparable
to that between “don’t” and “do not” or “street” and
“way”).
Some examples of verses that the KJV
added to the Word of God, even though it did so unwittingly
and in all innocence, are
In addition many phrases and words
were also added. [read more]
 Accuracy Defined & Illustrated
- An NIV Translator Answers Your Questions
 Honest and true—the New International
Version. Honest with the original languages and sources
and true to the Bible's intent and context, the NIV defines accuracy.
To help others understand the NIV's passion for accuracy, Kenneth
L. Barker explains the translation of 150 Scripture passages in
the NIV. From the creation account in Genesis 1:1, the prophesied birth
of Isaiah 7:14 or the fourth person of Daniel 3:25, to head covering
in 1 Corinthians 11:4-7, the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 or
the tree of life in Revelation 22:19, the author carefully answers
translations questions.
Accuracy
Defined & Illustrated
- Adobe Acrobat (1.5M)
Copyright © 1995 Kenneth
L. Barker
All rights reserved.
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