Random Ways The King James Version Of The Bible Changed The Original Text (13 items)

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  (#12) The King James Bible Warns About Giants

  According to the King James Bible, giant humans used to roam the Earth. In Genesis 6:4, it says “There were giants in the earth in those days.” But the word is actually a mistranslation of the Hebrew N’filim, which means “fallen ones.” 

  This passage convinced people that fossils and even hoaxes like the Cardiff Giant were actually biblical giants. Many argued that fossils were created by the biblical flood, which wiped out creatures like the giants mentioned in Genesis.

  There’s only one problem: the original texts don’t mention giants at all.
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  (#2) The Goal Of The King James Bible Was Deeply Political

  King James wanted to protect Britain from a contentious religious war like the ones that had torn France and Germany apart in the 16th century. So he appointed a committee of 54 scholars and clergymen to write the King James Bible. It took them over seven years to complete the translation.  

  As writer and editor Charles McGrath points out, “From the start, the King James Bible was intended to be not a literary creation but rather a political and theological compromise between the established church and the growing Puritan movement.” Essentially, James wanted a clear text with no room for doctrinal dispute. 

  But the King James Bible still contained a number of mistranslations that have confused readers for centuries.
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  (#6) The Holy Ghost Was Never Meant To Be A Ghost

  In Matthew 28:19, Jesus told his followers to spread his message and baptize new Christians “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” There’s only one problem: the Greek New Testament never mentions a ghost. Instead, it uses the word pneuma, as in breath or spirit. But the King James Bible translated pneuma as ghost instead. 

  This mistranslation was likely because the creators of the King James Bible drew from a number of manuscript sources, including Latin translations of the New Testament. The Latin Vulgate, for example, used Spiritu Sancto, which some English translations turned into Holy Ghost. 
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  (#5) The “Wicked Bible” Ordered Men To Commit Adultery

  In one 1631 edition of the King James Bible, a printing error completely changed the Ten Commandments. Instead of the old standards – thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal – this Bible left out one very important word. It commanded, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Whoops!

  The printer, Robert Barker, was given a heavy fine, and his printing license was revoked. King Charles I ordered all 1,000 copies of the so-called “Wicked Bible” to be burned. Only about 10 copies remain, and in 2015, one sold for over $40,000.
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  (#8) In The King James Bible, Jesus Orders Men To Hate Their Fathers And Mothers

  Because the Greek New Testament was written in Koine Greek, certain words were mistranslated. One of the trickiest word was the Greek term miseo. The King James Bible translates this as “hate.” Because of this, in Luke 14:26, Jesus tells his followers “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” 

  Harsh. But according to scholars of Koine, miseo does not quite mean “hate.” Instead, it means to separate from, or to prefer less. Jesus was not telling his followers to hate their fathers and mothers, rather, he was warning them that they had to place their dedication to faith above earthly bonds. 
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  (#13) For 400 Years, The King James Bible Has Been The Most Quoted Book In The English Language

  The King James Bible was written in 1611 to prevent religious wars in England. It didn’t succeed – in the 1640s, England was caught in a civil war that threatened to tear it apart. Puritans and other religious minority groups found themselves at war with the Anglicans – exactly what King James had hoped to prevent.

  Over 400 years later, the King James Bible has proven itself to be the most influential translation of the Bible into English. And yet the language of the King James Bible can sound awkward to our modern ears. “Charity vaunteth not itself” almost sounds like it hasn't been translated into English at all. Still, the King James Version of the Bible is one of the bestselling books in history, and the most quoted book in the English language. 

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