Demar

The King James Version Defended

By Dr. Edward F. Hills

A Note from the Publisher

As has been noted elsewhere on this site, one of the foremost criticisms of those who in any way defend the textus receptus or the Authorized Version (KJV) of the Bible is that they are fanatics, naïve simpletons, or other such deficient creature who simply foams at the mouth as they scream, “If the KJV was good enough for Paul it’s good enough for me.” But this is, to be frank, not only incorrect but also dishonest. Not all defenders are of that embarrassing variety.

What is conveniently ignored (and therefore not revealed to most Christians today) is that historically some great scholars have defended both the TR and AV, scholars such as Burgon, Miller, Scrivener, and several others. Further ignored is the fact that there are contemporary scholars who defend both the TR and AV. One of these was Edward F. Hills (1912-1981), a Yale and Harvard educated scholar (A.B. Yale; Th.M. Columbia; Th.D. Harvard). In his classic work, The King James Version Defended, Hills defends the principle that the true Bible text has been preserved down through the ages by God's special providence and is found today in the Authorized Version. Hills examines the issue from every angle and presents a staggering case against the common teaching of today. We submit that if one has not read Hills, he has not really dealt with issue and will continue to swallow the story given by modern textual criticism. This book is without doubt is one of the most important books ever penned on this issue.

The appearance of this online book (ISBN: 0-915923-00-9) is by the copyright holder, Mrs. Edward Hills, as implied by her wish that this online edition be made available in its entirety, unaltered and at no cost to the recipient who downloads it. Not only can you read the book online by following the links below, but you can also download the book from our Download and Links page. (Note: the text is Copyrighted and may not be reproduced for sale or profit.)

As a quick introduction to this book, consider these six abbreviated reasons from page 218 why the King James Version should be retained. To introduce them, Hills first writes:

“Someone may reply, even if the King James Version needs only a few corrections, why take the trouble to make them? Why keep on with the old King James and its 17th‑century language, its thee and thou and all the rest? Granted that the Textus Receptus is the best text, but why not make a new translation of it in the language of today? In answer to these objections there are several facts which must be pointed out.”

1. “. . . the English of the King James Version is not the English of the early 17th century. To be exact, it is not a type of English that was ever spoken anywhere. It is biblical English, which...owes its merit, not to 17th-century English -- which was very different -- but to its faithful translation of the original.”

2. “ . . . the King James Version is enduring diction which will remain as long as the English language remains...”

3. “ . . . the current attack on the King James Version and the promotion of modern-speech versions is discouraging the memorization of the Scriptures, especially by children...”

4. “ . . . modern-speech Bibles are unhistorical and irreverent. The Bible is not a modern, human book . . . On the contrary, the Bible is an ancient, divine Book . . . Hence the language of the Bible should be venerable as well as intelligible, and the King James Versions fulfills these two requirements better than any other Bible in English.”

5. “. . . modern speech Bibles are unscholarly. The language of the Bible has always savored of the things of heaven rather than the things of earth. It has always been biblical rather than contemporary and colloquial.”

6. “ . . . the King James Version is the historic Bible of English-speaking Protestants. Upon it God, working providentially, has placed the stamp of His approval through the usage of many generations of Bible-believing Christians. Hence, if we believe in God's providential preservation of the Scriptures, we will retain the King James Version, for in so doing we will be following the clear leading of the Almighty.”

Quick Links: PREFACE INTRODUCTION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NOTES

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION: TEXTUAL CRITICISM AND CHRISTIAN FAITH

1. The Importance Of Doctrine

2. Two Methods Of New Testament Textual Criticism

CHAPTER ONE: GOD'S THREEFOLD REVELATION OF HIMSELF

1. In Nature God Reveals Himself As The Almighty Creator God

(a) What the Bible Teaches Concerning Astronomy

(b) What the Bible Teaches concerning the Fossils

(d) What the Bible Teaches Concerning Causation and Chance

2. In The Scriptures God Reveals Himself As The Faithful Covenant God

(a) The Covenant of Works

(b) The Covenant of Grace

(d)The New Testament--Emphasis on the Covenant of Grace

(e) Future Provisions of the Covenant of Grace

3. In The Gospel God Reveals Himself As The Triune Saviour God

(a) In the Gospel Christ Reveals Himself as Prophet

(b) In the Gospel Christ Reveals Himself as Priest

CHAPTER TWO: A SHORT HISTORY OF UNBELIEF

1. Ancient Forms of Unbelief

(a) False Sacrifices and the Growth of Heathenism

(b) Eastern Philosophy--The Transmigration of Souls, Ancestor Worship

(d) Philosophy of Aristotle

2. Philosophy in the Early and Medieval Church

(a) Philosophy in the Early Church

(b) Doctrinal Decline--Priestcraft, Image Worship, the Papacy

(d) The Scholastic Philosophy--Faith and Reason

3. Revelation and The Protestant Reformation

(a) The Protestant Reformers and the Living Word of God

(b) The Thirty Nine Articles and the Westminster Confession

4. Modern Philosophy--The Neutral World-View

(a) Rationalistic Philosophy--Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz

(b) Empirical Philosophy--Lock, Berkeley, Hume

(d) The Philosophy of History--Georg W.F. Hegel

(e) Philosophy Since Hegel--Neo-Kantianism, Existentialism

5. The Growth of Atheism--Materialism, Positivism, The Denial of Truth

(a) Materialism--La Mettrie, Holbach, Moleschott, Vogt

(b) The Origin of Life--Pasteur, Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel

(d) Cybernetics--The Philosophy of Automation

(e) Truth and Certainty, Probability and Error, Common and Saving Grace

(f) Christian Truth Versus Godless Economic Theory

(g) Victorious Faith!--The Difference Between Faith and Doubting

CHAPTER THREE: A SHORT HISTORY OF MODERNISM

1. The Skeptical Tendency of Naturalistic New Testament Criticism

(a) The Reformation Period--The Theological Approach to the New Testament Text

(b) The Age of Rationalism--The Naturalistic Approach to the New Testament Text

(d) Wescott and Hort--The Light That Failed

(e) New Testament Textual Criticism Since World War II

2. Naturalistic Textual Criticism And Modernism

(a) The Beginning of Modernism--The Denial of the Biblical Miracles

(b) The Rejection of John's Gospel--The Tuebingen School

(d) Old Testament Higher Criticism--Moses Versus J, E, D and P

(e) Wellhausen's Reconstruction of the History of Israel

(f) Modern Archaeological Discoveries--Barthianism

(g) The Account of Moses' Death--Who Wrote It?

(h) Jesus and the Critics

3. Naturalistic Textual Criticism And Apologetics

(a) Naturalistic Apologetics--The Fallacy of the Neutral Starting Point

(b) The Butler-Paley Apologetic System

(d) How to Take Our Stand--Through the Logic of Faith

CHAPTER FOUR: A CHRISTIAN VIEW OF THE BIBLICAL TEXT

1. The Principles of Believing Bible Study

(a) The Infallible Inspiration of the Scriptures

(b) The Eternal Origin of the Scriptures

2. How the Old Testament Text Was Preserved

(a) How the Priests Preserved the Old Testament Text

(b) The Traditional (Masoretic) Hebrew Text of the Old Testament

(d) The Latin Old Testament (Vulgate)--The Apocrypha

(e) The Pseudepigrapha--Enoch, Michael the Archangel, Jannes and Jambres

(f) Manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament--The Dead Sea Scrolls

3. How The New Testament Text Was Preserved

(a) The Universal Priesthood of Believers

(b) The Writing of the New Testament Books

(d) The Preservation of the New Testament Text

(e) Alternative Views of the Providential Preservation of the New Testament

(f) The Principles of Consistently Christian New Testament Textual Criticism

(g) New Testament Textual Criticism and Evangelism

(h) Believing Bible Study on the Graduate Level--Christ and Grammar

CHAPTER FIVE: THE FACTS OF NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICISM

1. An Enumeration of the New Testament Documents

(a) The Greek New Testament Manuscripts

(b) Cataloguing the New Testament Manuscripts

(d) The Ancient New Testament Versions

(e) The Quotations of the Church Fathers

(f) Families of New Testament Documents

2. The Early History of the Western Text

(a) Western Additions to the New Testament Text

(b) The Western Omissions

(d) How to Take Our Stand--Through the Logic of Faith

3. The Early History of the Alexandrian Text

(a) Early Alterations in the Alexandrian Text

(b) The Alexandrian Text Influenced by the Sahidic (Coptic) Version

(d) Christ's Agony and Bloody Sweat

(e) Christ's Prayer for His Murderers

(f) The Only Begotten Son Versus Only Begotten God

(g) Son of God Versus Holy One of God

(h) Other Heretical Readings in the Alexandrian Text

CHAPTER SIX: DEAN BURGON AND THE TRADITIONAL NEW TESTAMENT TEXT

1. Christ's Reply To The Rich Young Man (Matt. 19:16-17)

2. The Angel At the Pool (John 5:3b-4)

3. The Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:13b)

(a) External Evidence in Favor of Matt. 6:13b

(b) Is the Conclusion of the Lord's Prayer a Jewish Formula?

(d) The Liturgical Use of the Lord's Prayer

4. The Woman Taken in Adultery (John 7:53-8:11)

(a) Ancient Testimony Concerning the Pericope de Adultera (John 7:53-8:11

(b) What the Facts of History Indicate

(d) The Silence of the Greek Fathers Explained

(e) The Internal Evidence

(f) The Negative Evidence of the Manuscripts and Versions Explained

5. The Last Twelve Verses of Mark

(a) The Critics Unable to Develop Satisfactory Theory

(b) Ancient Evidence Favorable to Mark 16:9-20

(d) The Negative Evidence of the Documents Inconclusive

(e) The Alleged Difference in Literary Style

(f) The Alleged Discrepancy Between Mark 16:9-20 and Mark 16:1-8

(g) Eusebius' Epistle to Marinus

(h) Were Heretics Responsible for the Omission of Mark 16:9-20?

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE TRADITIONAL NEW TESTAMENT TEXT

1. The Traditional Text Not The Invention of Editors

(a) The Evidence of Codex W

(b) The Evidence of Codex A

(d) Traditional (Byzantine) Readings in Origen

(e) The Evidence of The Peshitta Syriac Version

(f) The Evidence of the Sinaitic Syriac Manuscript

(g) The Evidence of the Gothic Version

(h) The "Conflate Readings"

(i) Alleged Harmonizations in the Traditional Text

(j) Why the Traditional Text Could Not Have Been Created by Editors

2. The Traditional Text Not An Official Text

(a) Wescott and Hort's Theory of the Traditional (Byzantine) Text

(b) Wescott and Hort's Theory Disproved

3. Have Modern Studies Disintegrated The Traditional Text?

(a) The Researches of von Soden

(b) The Researches of Kirsopp Lake

4. Why Did The Traditional Text Triumph?

(a) The Early History of the True Text

(b) The Triumph of the True New Testament Text (300-1000 A.D.)

(d) The Church as an Organism

5. The Ancient Versions And the Providence of God

(a) The Providence of God in the Syrian Church

(b) The Providence of God in the Latin Church

(d) The Trend Toward the Orthodox Traditional Text--How to Explain It?

(e) The Protestant Reformation--A Meeting of East and West

(f) A New Reformation--Why the Ingredients Are Still Lacking

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS AND THE KING JAMES VERSION

1. Three Alternative Views Of The Textus Receptus (Received Text)

(a) The Naturalistic, Critical View of the Textus Receptus

(b) The High Anglican View of the Textus Receptus

2. How Erasmus And His Successors Were Guided By The Common Faith

(a) The Life of Erasmus--A Brief Review

(b) Erasmus Guided by the Common Faith--Factors Which Influenced Him

(d) The Greek Manuscripts Used by Erasmus

(e) Erasmus' Notes--His Knowledge of Variant Readings and Critical Problems

(f) Latin Vulgate Readings in the Textus Receptus

(g) The Human Aspect of the Textus Receptus

(h) Robert Stephanus--His Four Editions of the Textus Receptus

(i) Calvin's Comments on the New Testament Text

(j) Theodor Beza's Ten Editions of the New Testament

(k) The Elzevir Editions--The Triumph of the Common Faith

3. The Johannine Comma (1 John 5:7)

(a) How the Johannine Comma Entered the Textus Receptus

(b) The Early Evidence of the Johannine Comma

(d) Reasons for the Possible Omission of the Johannine Comma

4. The King James Version

(a) Forerunners of the King James Version

(b) How the King James Version Was made--The Six Companies

Preface to the Reader

(d) How the Translators Were Providentially Guided--The Marginal Notes

(e) Revisions of the King James Version--Obsolete Words Eliminated

(f) Obsolete Words in the King James Version--How to Deal with Them

(g) Why the King James Version Should be Retained

5. The Text of the King James Version--Questions and Problems

(a) The King James Version a Variety of the Textus Receptus

(b) The Editions of the Textus Receptus Compared--Their Differences Listed

(d) The Headings of the Psalms--Are They Inspired?

(e) Maximum Certainty Versus Maximum Uncertainty

6. Modern English Bible Versions--Are They Of God?

(a) The R.V., the A.S.V., and the N.E.B.

(b) Contemporary Modern-speech English Bibles

(d) Which King James Version?--A Feeble Rebuttal

CHAPTER NINE: CHRIST'S HOLY WAR WITH SATAN

1. The Gospel And The Logic Of Faith

(a) The Gospel Is a Message that Must Be Believed

(b) The Gospel Is a Command that Must Be Obeyed

2. Hyper-Calvinism And Arminianism Versus The Logic of Faith

(a) Hyper-Calvinism--An Error of Human Logic

(b) Arminianism--Another Error of Human Logic

Efficient for the Elect

3. The Logic Of Faith And The Christian Thought-System

(a) The Biblical View of Faith--The Difference Between Faith and Mere Belief

(b) The Biblical View of the Holy Scriptures--Their Content and History

(d) The Biblical View of Politics and Economics--Occupy Till I Come

(e) Why Believing Bible Students Must Use the King James Version--

A Recapitulation

4. Why Satan Cannot Win--God's Eternal Purpose

NOTES

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By Dr. Edward F. Hills

A Note from the Publisher

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