Attitudes toward the King James Version

[Adam]

I am curious to see what attitudes users of Mennonet have to the King James Version. I am not interested in starting a discussion on why or why not the King James Version should be the translation of choice for English speakers. (I find that such discussions seldom bear fruit.) So I would request that you refrain, at least in this thread, from any such discussion. If anyone would like to discuss such matters, please start a separate thread. I would simply be interested to see the results of the poll.

[RZehr]

I voted #3 because that is the version I grew up with and have memorized and is the version that is a common thread in my circles.
I do not prefer it because I think it is the best translation.

[RZehr]

I voted #3 because that is the version I grew up with and have memorized and is the version that is a common thread in my circles. This is why I prefer it.
I do not prefer it because I think it is the best translation.

[lesterb]

I would have prefered another option between 3 and 4. I am part of the same circles as RZehr, and the KJV is the commonly used translation in our circle and is sort of a unifying factor. However, I have, on occasion used other translations when teaching Sunday School, or giving a talk, and our ministers will refer to other translations during a sermon. I haven't heard any negative feedback on this. So I did end up choosing number 4 in the poll, but I don't think that 3 or 4 are totally accurate for me.

I used the NIV for my main reading translation for quite a while, but have shifted to the ESV. I seldom use only one version if I am studying for a project. In most cases I will use the KJV (it is still the most familiar to me), the ESV, the HSCV, the NIV and the NLT. Since I do almost all of my studying on a computer it is easy to put together my own parallel translation so that I can see at a glance what the differences are. If there are major differences on an important point, then I dig further to see why.

I don't necessarily give more weight to any of these translations. I appreciate the evidence of careful scholarship in each of the versions I listed above, but some of the more "free speech" ones are more like a commentary and I do take that into consideration, somewhat. For instance, the KJV and the ESV will stay closer to the original writings. The other three will take some freedom to interpret the text and tell you what they think a difficult passage means. I noticed this in reading Ecclesiastes 12. The latest version of the NLT interprets the signs of old age, while the ESV gives them as Solomon wrote them and lets you decipher what he was saying. Here is an illustration of this.

1 Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” 2 Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. 3 Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.
4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.
5 Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.
6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. 7 For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low— 5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,[a] and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets— 6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.

We should spend the time to become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the versions we use. Since all of them are man made translations, they will all have weaknesses. This is why I think it is a good idea to compare scripture with scripture both within a version and between versions.

Hopefully I didn't stretch the caveats of the OP too far with this post.

[Josh]

I have used KJV since I started attending a plain church simply because everyone else does, even though I don't like it. I do my personal devotions in both KJV and NET. Sometimes I try to read the original text as well with my (poor) understanding of Greek.

[Adam]

Hopefully I didn't stretch the caveats of the OP too far with this post.

What you have shared is fine. I just want to avoid King James Only debate on this thread. Personally I like the ESV as well and that is the main translation I read, but when I have trouble understanding it, I like to turn to the NLT (understanding, as you said, that it is more like a commentary at times than a translation).