What About The King James Bible?

You probably won’t do this, but it could change your whole attitude to the Bible if you do.

Take a King James Bible and an NIV. Open both to Matthew, and read them side by side. You won’t get far before you’re shocked.

The changes aren’t small—they’re serious.

In Matthew alone, the KJV mentions God 40 more times than the NIV. Christ is mentioned 20 more times. “The Lord” is removed 40 times. Jesus is missing from Matthew 8:29, 13:36, 15:30, 16:20, 17:11, 17:20, and 24:2. God is gone from 6:33, 19:17, 21:12, 22:30, 22:32, and 23:8. “Son of Man” is removed from 25:13.

These aren’t just translation choices—they’re text issues. The names of God are erased.

This goes all the way back to Genesis 3 and Satan’s question to Eve: “Yea, hath God said?”—and 2 Corinthians 2:17, where Paul warns that “many” were already corrupting the Word.

The root of the problem is the Westcott-Hort Greek text, which came from Gnostic and Roman Catholic sources such as Origen of Alexandria, who didn’t believe Jesus was God, and Constantine, who wanted a Bible that fitted his empire. And Eusebius, who helped him get it.

Modern translations follow that same corrupt line from Westcott and Hort, Douay-Rheims, Latin Vulgate, Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Constantine, Eusebius, Origen, and all the way back to Satan’s first attack.

There’s a comprehensive list of links under this article that will show how newer translations remove names of deity and weaken Christ’s identity.

One missing word—like “not”—can change a sentence.

In Mark, Jesus is missing from 5:13, 6:34, 7:27, and 9:24. God is gone from 11:24. In 14:45, Jesus is called “Master” instead of “Lord”—a title used by His enemies. These changes are subtle; most people don’t notice what’s missing, but they’re serious.

In Luke 4:4, “by every word of God” is gone. In Luke 4:41, “Christ the Son of God” is missing. In John 16:16, “because I go to the Father” is gone. In Acts 3:36, 4:24, 7:30, 7:32, 7:37, and 8:37, names like Jesus, God, and the Lord are removed—or the whole verse is gone. Acts 8:37, where the Ethiopian eunuch confesses Jesus as the Son of God, is either missing or bracketed.

In John 3:16, the KJV says “only begotten Son.” New versions say “one and only Son,” which contradicts Scripture. Israel is called God’s firstborn son in Exodus 4:22, and believers are sons by adoption (Galatians 4). Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, or Christianity is false.

In Luke 2:33, the KJV says “Joseph and his mother.” New versions say “his father and mother,” making Joseph Jesus’ father. That’s a direct attack on His deity.

Mark 1:2 in the KJV says “as it is written in the prophets”—plural. New versions say “Isaiah,” then quote Malachi. That’s a factual error.

Mark 9 warns about hell three times. Those verses are missing in Westcott-Hort, Vaticanus, and Sinaiticus. Remove them, and you lose the cross-reference to Isaiah 66.

Mark 16 has three endings. Some translations stop at verse 8, skipping 9–20. Those verses include snake handling, tongues, and healing. As dispensationalists, we know those verses belong to Israel’s tribulation commission. You don’t cut out verses just because you don’t understand them.

John 1:18 in the KJV says “only begotten Son.” The NASB says “only begotten God”—a dangerous reading that matches the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Bible.

The Jehovah’s Witness interlinear bible even thanks Westcott and Hort.

Don’t let anyone tell you the differences don’t matter. They do. They affect doctrine. They affect how we see Jesus.

The King James Bible comes from the preserved line. The new ones come from a polluted stream. That’s not opinion. You can easily study this out yourself.

Just search “defending the King James.” You’ll find more than you can read in a week. And don’t be fooled by scholars like F.F. Bruce or James White who say 1 John 5:7 isn’t in any Greek manuscript.

Edward F. Hills, a Yale scholar, shows it is—in Codex Ravianus, manuscript 88, and 629. It was quoted before Vaticanus and Sinaiticus even existed. It was quoted in the first, second, and third centuries and found in early church writings.

Don’t let critics shake your faith.

Prejudice is judging without facts. We don’t need to memorise everything—just know where to look.

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) came from the failed American Standard Version of 1901. Dewey Lockman, a postmillennial businessman, wanted a new Bible to make money.

The Lockman Foundation also owns the Amplified Bible. Their theology denies the Second Coming and the Kingdom—and that bias shows in their Bibles, even though it’s often subtle.

Look at history.

Wycliffe gave us the first English Bible in the 1380s. Gutenberg’s press came in 1450. Tyndale’s translation followed in the 1500s.

Luther’s work shook Europe. Rome fought back with the Jesuit Douay-Rheims Bible. The Reformation’s goal was to get God’s Word into the hands of common people. Rome violently opposed that.

Tyndale prayed God would open the king’s eyes. The Bible we hold today came through blood.

Since Eden, there’s been a battle between the pure Word and the corrupted one. That battle still goes on.

In 1881, Westcott and Hort mixed corrupt texts with pure ones, weakening the truth about Jesus. Now we’ve got so many versions that people don’t know what to believe. Satan’s trick is working—confuse the people so they trust nothing.

It’s not just the Pope anymore. Now it’s radio and TV preachers saying, “That verse is wrong.”

Even the renowned Charles Swindoll said the King James didn’t help us much.

But it’s not about what we like; it’s about which Bible comes from the right text. The King James Bible comes from the majority text. It keeps the deity of Christ, the names of God, and the full verses.

The Authorised Version is God’s preserved Word. Be a Bible believer, not a Bible corrector. So now you know there’s a much wider problem than simply modernising the bible, and God holds us responsible for what we know.

Look at our comprehensive list of links below to get a huge amount of information on bible manuscripts, translators and texts.

Books…

The King James Version Defended – Edward F Hills

Which Bible? – David Otis Fuller

The History Of Your Bible – Proving the King James to be the perfectly preserved words of God – Terence D Mclean

Evaluating Versions of the New Testament – Everett W Fowler

God Only Wrote One Bible – James Jasper Ray – PDF

Videos by Terry McLean.

Please note!

The original Vimeo versions of these teachings are of poor quality.

I have enhanced the voice quality of these videos, and these are the enhanced versions…

Video – Terry McLean – Bible Manuscripts – Part 1