Bible Comparison - KJV vs NIV

Lets compare the King James Bible (KJV) to the New International Version (NIV). I suggest having both bibles available to verify for yourself that nothing is being misrepresented or taken out of context. I also recommend downloading the free e-Sword Bible software. E-sword has many versions of the Bible available but unfortunately the NIV is not available without charge. I'm not aware of a free electronic version of the NIV so you may need to acquire a printed copy. Perhaps just borrow one from a library.

Before we move forward, it is of tremendous importance that we note the serious nature of the warnings from Jesus Christ found in The New Testament:

Matthew 7:13-20: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Jesus Christ, in His own Words, makes it crystal clear that few will find the path to salvation and that those who don't find the narrow gate will have been lead astray by false profits. We should not take that lightly.

I believe with all my heart that the Holy Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God. It is therefore infallible and inerrant. I believe in the reality of satan and that he continually interferes in the affairs of men. He is subtle and cunning and by way of his interference, many Christians are lured to think that good is evil and evil is good. Thus I believe most of the modern translations of the bible to be the work of men influenced by satan for it is surly not the Word of our Creator or our Savior. If they were all the true Word, there would be no conflicts between them. In the inspired Word, God specifically denies the right of any man to alter His sacred Word.

Revelation 22:18-19 "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

In these modern times, it seems that many fail to grasp the impact of Rev. 22:19. This is the Word of God. With absolute clarity, God says in His inspired Word that any man who takes away from the words of this book shall be removed from the book of life. Being in the book of life is to have eternal life. Being removed from the book of life is to be condemned to eternal damnation.

God and his expectation of us is unchanging. The Holy Bible does not evolve according to what is socially acceptable. Quite the contrary, The Bible defines what is socially and morally acceptable. Nor should our understanding of Scripture be updated according to scientific theories on man's origin. The NIV, and many other modern translations add to and take away from Scripture in an attempt to make God's Word more palatable in our modern world. We dare not dilute the truth of God's Word.

Jeremiah 23:36 ". . . for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God."

So lets take a brief look at what the ever changing times have brought us, then we'll move on with the comparison.

Our current generation has a lust for perversion. What was considered perversion just a few years ago, is now thought by some to be an "alternative lifestyle". What was "hiding" in the closet is now "parading" in our streets. Perversion has found a welcome home - from our schools, to the White House and all across our great country. We pass out contraceptives to 13 year old children, as much as telling them that "it's" OK. It concerns me greatly that we teach and accept that being Pro-Choice is opposite to being Pro-Life. The opposite of Life is not Choice, it is death and the opposite of choice is not life, it's forced compliance. Perversion has even found it's way into the Word of God through books like the NIV. Don't allow that last statement to anger you. Read on, do your own research and decide for yourself. Our friend Webster, defines "pervert" as 1. to cause to turn aside or away from what is good or true... 2. to twist the meaning or sense of: misinterpret. (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1977, p.856).

A perfect definition of the NIV: "to cause to turn aside or away from what is good or true" and "to twist the meaning or sense of: misinterpret." And I will explain in detail what I mean by that.

Isaiah 14:14 seems to reveal Satan's desire:

KJV: "I will be like the most High."

With only slight modification, the NIV seems to want the same thing.

NIV: "I will make myself like the Most High."

The NIV associates Jesus Christ with Lucifer?

Isaiah 14:12

KJV: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O LUCIFER, son of the morning!. . ."

NIV: "How you have fallen from heaven, O MORNING STAR, son of the dawn. . ."

The NIV changed "Lucifer" to "MORNING STAR". That in itself may not seem to carry too much impact until you read the next comparison.

Revelation 22:16

KJV: "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and MORNING STAR."

NIV: "I Jesus have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright MORNING STAR."

In Revelation 22, The NIV agrees that Christ is the MORNING STAR but calls Lucifer the MORNING STAR in Isaiah 14.

Is this just an oversight or is the NIV attempting to cloud the distinction between Lucifer and Jesus Christ, or worse yet, are they claiming that Christ and Lucifer are one in the same? I simply pose the question. You have to decide for yourself what's right and wrong.

The NIV replaces the word "Hell" throughout the Old Testament

Isaiah 14:15

The KJV condemns Lucifer to hell: "Yet thou shalt be brought down to HELL . . ."

The NIV does not, it reads, "But you are brought down to the GRAVE. . ."

We all go to the GRAVE when our mortal body dies but when our soul dies, it is spiritual death and hell is where we shall be tormented for eternity. The GRAVE is just a hole in the ground. I think that some and perhaps many who read the NIV would conclude that the wicked would simply be buried in a grave and that would be the end of it. This watering down of God's Word eliminates the eternal consequence of living a wicked life. I guess that would fit right in with today's political climate but really doesn't address the consequence of not going to Heaven. When anyone dies, their soul will either go to Heaven or HELL before their body ever gets to the GRAVE. There is no middle ground here, Heaven or hell.

The word "hell" occurs 31 times in the Old Testament of the King James Bible. In the Old Testament of the NIV it occurs ZERO times. The word "hell" is not in the Old Testament of the NIV.

And what do they do with "hell"?

PSALM 9:17 for example:

KJV: "The wicked shall be turned into HELL. . ."

NIV: "The wicked return to the GRAVE. . ."

By removing "hell" the NIV reduces Psalm 9:17 to nonsense. None of us were born from the grave, how would we return to it?

In the New Testament the NIV changes the word "hell" 9 times. And what "clearer" "easier to understand" word does the NIV "update" hell with? Five times they use - HADES. (Matt 16:18, Rev 1:18, 6:8, 20:13,14)

Do you know what HADES is? 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. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines HADES: "the underground abode of the dead in Greek MYTHOLOGY". Is the NIV trying to reduce our Bible to MYTHOLOGY? or Do they just want to minimize the eternal outcome of a non-repentant lifestyle too also eliminate the need for a moral, repentant lifestyle?

Everyone knows what HELL is. It's crystal clear and couldn't be easier to understand.

Why did the authors of the NIV choose to dismiss the notion of hell? Is this "version" perhaps actually the work of Lucifer himself attempting to disguise the result of unrepentant sin?

Luke 8:12 "Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the Word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."

The NIV turns The Lord's Prayer into The Devil's Prayer

Luke 11:2-4

KJV: "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."

NIV: "He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.' "

The NIV removes everything that refers to a Holy God in heaven -"WHICH ART IN HEAVEN. . . THY WILL BE DONE, AS IN HEAVEN, SO IN EARTH. . . BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL." Everything that distinguishes God from the Devil is removed. "OUR FATHER" of the NIV is "NOT IN HEAVEN" and "DOES NOT DELIVER FROM EVIL." I wonder who it could be? Perhaps Lucifer disguising himself as Christ?

John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

The NIV removes the blood of Jesus Christ

This is very important.

Colossians 1:14:

KJV: "In whom we have redemption THROUGH HIS BLOOD, even the forgiveness of sins:"

NIV: "In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

The NIV removes the precious words "THROUGH HIS BLOOD." Gods gift to all of us is the redemption of our sins. That redemption is ONLY "THROUGH HIS BLOOD" which he willingly shed on the cross for all of us!! I don't believe there are any more important words in the entire Bible.

Hebrews 9:22: "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."

Does the NIV deny the virgin birth?

Luke 2:33

KJV: "And JOSEPH and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him."

NIV: "The CHILD'S FATHER and mother marveled at what was said about him."

Who was the "CHILD'S FATHER?" Was Joseph Jesus's father? Not if you believe the virgin birth. Not if you believe John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Luke 2:43 "And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it."

The NIV denies the deity of Jesus Christ?

I Timothy 3:16 The clearest verse in the Bible proclaiming that Jesus Christ was God.

KJV: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. . ."

NIV: "Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: HE appeared in a body..."

The KJV says, clearly, "GOD was manifest in the flesh". The NIV twists "GOD" to "HE". "HE appeared in a body?" Every human that has ever existed has "appeared in a body." "He" is a pronoun that refers to a noun or antecedent. There is no antecedent in the context. The statement does not make sense. The NIV subtly reduces I Timothy 3:16 to utter nonsense. (see also Genesis 3:1)

Philippians 2:6

KJV: "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery TO BE EQUAL WITH GOD"

NIV: "Who, being in very nature God, DID NOT CONSIDER EQUALITY WITH GOD something to be grasped,"

The KJV again, clearly declares the deity of Jesus Christ. The NIV again subtly denies the deity of Jesus Christ.

The NIV alters the meaning of John 3:16

John 3:16

KJV: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

NIV: "For God so loved the world that he gave his ONE AND ONLY SON, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Jesus is NOT "the one and only son" - Adam is called the "son of God" in Luke 3:38, there are "sons of God" in Job 1:6 and Christians are called "sons of God" in Phil 2:15 and I John 3:2 - but Jesus is the "ONLY BEGOTTEN SON." By removing the critical word "BEGOTTEN" - The NIV alters John 3:16 to make Jesus Christ a simple mortal man. The NIV does the same in John 1:14, 1:18, and 3:18.

The NIV and sexual perversion

Romans 1:25-32 shows the fruits of sowing the truth of God into a lie. Verse 25 says "Who changed the TRUTH of God into a LIE and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator. . ." Verses 26-27 say "FOR THIS CAUSE God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, . . ."

During the past few years homosexuality and sexual perversion have seemingly exploded into the mainstream. Legislation is now pending and has passed in some states to make same-sex marriage legal but you should know that where the choice to allow same sex marriage has been placed on the ballot at election time, it as never gained a majority vote. Books such as "Heather Has Two Mommies" and "Daddy's Roommate" promoting homosexuality, are in our schools. According to the Washington Post, bisexuality and homosexuality, are the "in thing" in our public schools due to "grooming" in the classroom. And even churches are now welcoming homosexuals without repentance and some of them are even ordaining them into the ministry.

It comes as no surprise that one of the literary critics on the NIV translation was homosexual author Dr. Virginia Mollenkott. In Episcopal, Witness (June 1991, pp. 20-23), she admits, "My lesbianism has ALWAYS been a part of me. . ." To no surprise, "sodomite" is completely removed from the NIV. (Deut. 23:17, I Kings 14:24, 15:12, 22:46, II Kings 23:7) And of course, I Cor. 6:9, ". . . effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. . ." is replaced with the non-offensive ". . . nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders. . ." Notice the NIV in I Cor. 6:9 does NOT condemn "homosexuals" or the "act of homosexuality" - but ONLY "homosexual OFFENDERS".

The NIV completely removed 17 verses

Wonderful and precious verses like:

Matthew 18:11: "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."

Acts 8:37: "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."

The NIV completely removed Matthew 17:21, 18:11, 23:14, Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46, 11:26, 15:28, Luke 17:36, 23:17, John 5:4, Acts 8:37, 15:34, 24:7, 28:28, Romans 16:24 and 1 John 5:7

After Mark 16:8 the NIV says, "The most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20. " There's another 12 verses removed. And by the way, that is absolutely untrue. The book, The Last Twelve Verses of the Gospel of Mark, by Dean Burgon contains over 400 pages of documented evidence for Mark 16:9-20, that has never been refuted, nor ever will.

After John 7:52, the NIV, reads, "The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11" There's another 12 verses wrongfully removed.

Matt. 12:47, 21:44, Luke 22:43 and 22:44 are all removed in the footnotes.

That's 45 complete verses the NIV removes from the text or in the footnotes.

The NIV removed over 64,000 words

Don't look for words like "mercyseat", "Jehovah" or "Godhead". Their gone.

The NIV removes wonderful Bible "terms" like remission, regeneration, impute, propitiation, new testament and many others.

Despite God's clear warnings about "taking away" from His words, the NIV removes over 64,000 words and major portions of at least 147 verses. We're not talking about insignificant words like "thee" and "thou". Here is a small (very small) sampling of words they removed.

Matt. 6:13 , "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
Matt. 15:8 , "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth"
Matt. 19:9 , "and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery."
Matt. 20:7 , "and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive."
Matt. 20:16 , "for many be called, but few chosen."
Matt. 20:22 , "and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with"
Matt. 25:13 , "wherein the Son of Man cometh."
Matt. 27:35 , "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet They parted my garments among them and upon my vesture did they cast lots"
Mark 6:11 , "Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."
Mark 10:21 , "take up the cross."
Luke 1:28 , "blessed art thou among women"
Luke 4:4 , "but by every word of God"
Luke 4:8 , "get thee behind me Satan"
Luke 4:18 , "he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted"
Luke 11:2-4 , "Our ... which art in ... Thy will be done, as in heaven so in earth... but deliver us from evil"
John 1:27 , "is preferred before me"
John 3:13 , "which is in heaven"
John 3:15 , "should not perish"
John 11:41 , "from the place where the dead was laid"
John 16:16 , "because I go to the Father"
Acts 10:6 , "he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do"
Acts 15:18 , "Known unto God are all his works"
Acts 20:24 , "But none of these things move me"
Acts 23:9 , "let us not fight against God"
Rom. 8:1 , "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"
Rom. 13:9 , "Thou shalt not bear false witness"
I Cor. 6:20 , "and in your spirit which are God's"
I Cor. 11:24 , "Take eat... broken"
II Cor. 10:4 , "but mighty through God"
Gal. 3:1 , "that you should not obey the truth"
Eph. 5:30 , "of his flesh, and of his bones"
Phil. 3:16 , "let us mind the same thing"
I Tim. 6:5 , "from such withdraw thyself"
Heb. 7:21 , "after the order of Melchizedek"
I Pet. 1:22 , "through the Spirit"
I Pet. 4:14 , "on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified"
I John 4:3 , "Christ is come in the flesh"
I John 5:13 , "and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God"
Rev. 1:11 , "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last"
Rev. 5:14 , "him that liveth for ever and ever"
Rev. 14:5 , "before the throne of God"
Rev. 21:24 , "of them which are saved"

Jesus Christ says, in Luke 4:4 , ". . . It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD of God." But the NIV even removed the last half of Luke 4:4 - "BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD." And Jesus Christ was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 to Satan. Does the NIV seriously think the Lord Jesus Christ does NOT know Deut. 8:3?

The NIV & Zondervan

A little known fact: In 1988 Zondervan and the NIV was purchased by Harper & Row, Publishers (now HarperCollins Publishers). HarperCollins publishes a large number of pro-homosexual books!

HarperCollins is a subsidiary of the global media empire, The News Corporation, owned by Rupert Murdock. The News Corporation empire includes Fox Broadcasting, Twentieth Century Fox, and more than 128 newspapers. Fox Broadcasting produces some of the most sexually lewd shows on television. Murdock also publishes the British newspaper, the Sun, notorious for its nude pin-ups.

Jesus Christ plainly said in Matthew 7:17-18, "Even so every GOOD tree bringeth forth GOOD fruit; but a CORRUPT tree bringeth forth EVIL FRUIT. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a CORRUPT tree bring forth GOOD FRUIT."

Do you think Jesus Christ was exaggerating or being untruthful?

Do you really believe God would allow His Holy Word to be "owned" by anyone?

2 Cor. 6:14 , ". . .for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

1 Peter 1:23 , Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

We find it amazing that the King James Bible is the ONLY Bible that is not OWNED by men? That's right. The King James Bible has no COPYRIGHT ownership. Its copyright is the CROWN COPYRIGHT which allows it to be published by anyone, anytime, without asking for permission. It was mentioned earlier that the NIV is not available, without charge, from the e-sword website. The reason is because the publisher has a copyright on it and demands royalties be paid for every copy downloaded.

2 Timothy 2:9: "Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound."

What makes one better the the other

Some Christians say the NIV just updates the "archaic" words and makes it "easier to understand". Nothing is really changed. The fact is, the NIV denies the deity of Jesus Christ; the virgin birth; glorifies Satan; tries to dispel the notion of Hell; removes 17 complete verses and over 64,000 words. These are NOT insignificant or harmless changes. They actually change the meaning of the text.

Some Christians claim the NIV is a "better translation." "It's easier to understand." The fact is, According to a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level research study, The King James Bible is by far the easiest. Out of 26 different categories - the KJV graded easier in a whopping 23. In selected analysis, the KJV average required grade level was 5.8 - the NIV was 8.4. (New Age Bible Versions, Riplinger, pp.195-209)

Some Christians say the NIV is more accurate. The Fact is, the KJV is a literal word for word translation. When the translators had to add words for sentence structure they are in italics. The NIV uses "textual criticism" Rather than a word for word translation, they add, change and subtract to make the verse say what they "thought" it should. The Preface to the NIV even says, ". . .they have striven for more than a word-for-word translation. . ." Also know that the KJV was taken from the Majority Text which consists of more then 5000 manuscripts which are in virtually complete agreement with each other. The NIV was taken from 5 manuscripts known as the Westcott-Hort text. These 5 manuscripts are NOT part of the Majority Text because they don't agree with each other let alone the other 5000 plus manuscripts of the Majority Text. That's why they had to use textual criticism in the translation and is also the reason for the multitude of errors in the NIV , or perhaps they're not really errors but a long term plan to water down the Word to the point that it becomes completely unknown.

Revelation 22:19 "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."