The New King James Version was conceived by Arthur Farstad, a conservative Baptist and a former editor at Thomas Nelson Publishers. The project was inaugurated in 1975 with two meetings (Nashville and Chicago) of 68 interested persons, most of them prominent Baptists but also with some conservative Presbyterians.
The Statement of Purpose issued by Thomas Nelson, publishers of the New King James Bible New Testament (1979), makes the following claim: “Not to add to, take from, nor alter the communication intended by the original translators, but to convey that communication in 20th century vocabulary and usage.”
The Preface to the New King James Version (NKJV) reads, “A special feature of the New King James Version is its conformity to the thought flow of the 1611 Bible. . .
The publishers gave us a hint, though, as to their versions origins. Located prominantly on the front of Thomas Nelson Publisher’s NKJV is the Satanic Triquetrium symbol, which is an occultic inscription for 666. It is commonly used in Satanism, the occult, New Age, and Free Masonry. It is also known as the ‘black Madonna”.
They claim, on the inside-cover, that the symbol, “. . .is an ancient symbol for the Trinity.” But Acts 17:29, clearly forbids such symbology: “. . . we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”
THOSE THEE’S & THOU’S
Among the first changes that greets the reader of the NKJV is the removal of the much maligned “thee, thou and ye”. The Preface to the NKJV states, “. . .thee, thou, and ye are replaced by the simple you,. . .These pronouns are no longer part of our language.” But “thee, thou and ye” were no longer part of the language” during 1611 either. (just read the intro to the 1611 King James, there are no “thee”, “thou” and “ye”). In fact, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, says of ye: “used from the earliest of times to the late 13th century. . .” (p.2648) And yet the 1611 King James was published 400 years later in the 17th century!
The Greek and Hebrew language contain a different word for the second person singular and the second person plural pronouns. Today we use the one-word “you” for both the singular and plural. But because the translators of the 1611 King James Bible desired an accurate, word-for-word translation of the Hebrew and Greek text – they could not use the one-word “you” throughout! If it begins with “t” (thou, thy, thine) it’s singular, but if it begins with “y” (ye) it’s plural. Ads for the NKJV call it “the Accurate One”!
By the way, if the “thee’s” and “thou’s” are “. . .no longer part of our language” – why aren’t the NKJV translators rushing to make our hymnbooks “much clearer”? “How Great Thou Art” to “How Great You Are”, or “Come Thou Fount” to “Come You Fount” Doesn’t sound right, does it? Isn’t it amazing that they wouldn’t dare “correct” our hymns – and yet, without the slightest hesitation, they’ll “correct” the word of God!
UPDATING OBSOLETE WORDS?
And if you think the NKJV just “innocently” updated the “obsolete words” (removed the “thee’s and thou’s”) – here’s what the translators proudly admit: “It is clear that this revision required more than the dropping of “-eth” endings, removing, “thee’s” and “thou’s,” and updating obsolete words.” They further claim to make the “old” KJV “much clearer” by “updating” these “obsolete words” (The New King James Version, 1982e. p. 1235).
How about that “obsolete word” – “hell“. The NKJV removes the word “hell” 23 times! And how do they make it “much clearer”? By replacing “hell” with “Hades” and “Sheol”! Ask the average person what the word Hades means, and you will get a wide variety of answers; but ask them what Hell means, and most will nail it exactly right. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines Hades: “the underground abode of the dead in Greek mythology”. By making it “much clearer” – they turn your Bible into mythology! Not only that, Hades is not always a place of torment or terror! The Assyrian Hades is an abode of blessedness with silver skies called “Happy Fields”. In the satanic New Age Movement, Hades is an intermediate state of purification! Who in their right mind would think “Hades” or “Sheol” is “up-to-date” and “much clearer” than “hell”? Example: (Luke 16:23)
KJV: “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
NKJV: “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
Hell is removed in 2 Sam. 22:6, Job 11:8, 26:6, Psalm 16:10, 18:5, 86:13, 116:3, Isaiah 5:14, 14:15, 28:15,18, 57:9, Jonah 2:2, Matt. 11:23, 16:18, Luke 10:15, 16:23, Acts 2:27, 31, Rev. 1:18, 6:8, 20:13,14.
Furthermore, to make these obsolete words even ‘clearer’, the NKJV decides that “Hades” should be “grave”! So the NKJV changes 1 Corinthians 15:55 to read: O Hades, where is your victory?” Clear as mud!
Another one of those “obsolete words” is “repent“. They take it out 44 times! And how does the NKJV make it “much clearer”? In Matthew 21:32 they use “relent”. Matthew 27:3 repentance is changed to “remorseful” and in Romans 11:29 it is changed to “irrevocable”.
Ezra 8:36: The KJV reads, “And they delivered the king’s commissions unto the king’s lieutenants. . .” The “much clearer” NKJV reads, “And they delivered the king’s orders to the king’s satraps. . .” Who in the world thinks “satraps” is “much clearer” than lieutenants?
The word “devils” is not in the NKJV! It is replaced with the “transliterated” Greek word “demon” (ditto NIV, RSV, NRSV, NASV). The Theosophical Dictionary describes demon as: “. . . it has a meaning identical with that of ‘god’, ‘angel’ or ‘genius'”. Even Vines Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (p.157) defines “demon” as: “an inferior deity, whether good or bad”. Webster defines “demon” as: “divinity, spirit, an attendant power or spirit”, but “devil” as: “the personal supreme spirit of EVIL. . .”
One of the most absurd changes ever made is changing the word “servant” to “slave”! The NKJV in Romans 6:22, reads: “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God…”
The KJV rightly states: “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God…”
In Ro 1:18, the KJV states: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;” The NKJV changes hold the truth to the amazingly unsimilar suppress the truth!
So, if the NKJV is just updating an outdated KJV, why did they change Mt 20:20?
KJV “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping Him, and desiring a certain thing of him.”
NKJV “Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down, and asking something from Him.”
In John 14:2, the NKJV changes “mansions” to “dwelling places”…which would you rather have?!
In Phil. 2:6, they change “thought it not robbery to be equal with God” to “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped”. I think they should further state: “did not consider equality with the KJV something to be grasped”!!!
In Acts 17:29, the New(Age)KJV changes “Godhead” to “Divine Nature”! The KJV reads: Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.
With all the “corruptions” in the NKJV, you’d expect 2 Cor. 2:17 to change: “For we are not as many which corrupt the word of God” (KJV)… It does! They are embarrassed by it…it sears their guilty consciences. They changed it to “For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God”
The translators and publishers of the NKJV are both corrupting the word of God and peddling it!!!
Remember, the NKJV is not simply a contemporary wording of the KJV:
Mt 7:14 (KJV) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Mt 7:14 (NKJV) Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
1Co 1:18 (KJV) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1 Cor 1:18 (NKJV) For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
There is oh so much more corruption done to the precious pure word of God by these NKJV peddlers:
The NKJV removes the word “Lord” 66 times!
The NKJV removes the word God 51 times!
The NKJV removes the word “heaven” 50 times!
In just the New Testament alone the NKJV removes 2,289 words from the KJV!
The NKJV makes over 100,000 word changes!
And most of these changes will exactly match with the NIV, NASV, and RSV!
And Thomas Nelson Publishers have the audacity to claim in an ad for the NKJV: “Nothing has been changed except to make the original meaning clearer”! (Moody Monthly, June 1982, back cover)
The New King James is a CONFUSING, CORRUPT COUNTERFEIT!
(Much of the information in the above sections was obtained from AV1611.org, by Terry Watkins)
In a poll by Ellison Research, among Protestant pastors, the version most likely to be rated as “excellent” was the NIV (rated as excellent by 42% of ministers), followed by the New King James (33%), the NASB (32%), the King James (31%), and the NRSV (23%).
(The following is taken from an article on the NKJV by David Cloud)
In reality, the New King James Version is simply a bridge to the modern versions. Those who move away from the standard King James Bible to the New King James are lulled into a sense of security that they have moved merely to an updated and improved King James, but actually they are being brainwashed to be weaned away from the King James altogether and to accept the modern versions. [The NIV or NAS couldn’t draw the Fundamentalists away, but the NKJV would. The NKJV is like a ‘gateway version’; if one starts to use it, they are much more likely to consider other drugs…I mean, versions.]
Kirk DiVietro, Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Franklin, Massachusetts, attended one of the Thomas Nelson planning meetings that prepared the way for the publication of the New King James. He testified to me that the Thomas Nelson representative plainly stated that their goal with the NKJV was to create a bridge to the modern versions, to break down the resistance of those who still revere the KJV.
The footnotes in the NKJV are based on the Nestle-United Bible Society critical Greek text and thus create exactly the same kind of doubt you find in the modern versions. It tempts the readers to discount the authority of the passages questioned in footnotes. It also accustoms Bible students to the philosophy of textual neutrality, of picking and choosing between the readings of competing texts and versions.
[The NKJV is dangerous in that its margin notes place doubt in the minds of the reader as to the accuracy of many, many passages of scripture.] For instance, 44 entire verses and 95 verse portions are questioned in the margin of the NKJV as being unreliable (based upon the UBS text).
The New King James Version is not an improvement over the King James and is not merely another slight revision after the fashion of earlier revisions. Be wise and beware and stand by the old KJV. It’s hard to read, you say? It’s really not that hard. Most of the words are one or two syllables, and it has a very small vocabulary. The reading level of the King James Bible, in fact, is not that much different from the New International Version. If you will devote to the KJV the serious study that it deserves, you will soon find that it is not that difficult.
“Some people say they like a particular version because they say it’s more readable. Now, readability is one thing, but does the readability conform to what’s in the original Greek and Hebrew language? You can have a lot of readability, but if it doesn’t match up with what God has said, it’s of no profit. In the King James Bible, the words match what God has said. You may say it’s difficult to read, but study it out. It’s hard in the Hebrew and Greek and, perhaps, even in the English in the King James Bible. But to change it around just to make it simple, or interpreting it, instead of translating it, is wrong. You’ve got lots of interpretation, but we don’t want that in a translation. We want exactly what God said in the Hebrew or Greek brought over into English” (Waite, Defending the King James Bible, p. 242).
(used with permission from Pastor Dave Warner at Faithful Baptist Church in College Station)
