Another King James Bible Believer

Psalms 100:3 KJB - "Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, AND NOT WE OURSELVES; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

ESV (NIV, NET, Holman) - "Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, AND WE ARE HIS; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."

"it is he that hath made us, AND NOT WE OURSELVES"

So reads the Hebrew Masoretic text, and the following Bible translations: Wycliffe 1395, The Great Bible 1540, Matthew's Bible 1549, Bishops' Bible 1568, the Douay-Rheims 1582, the Geneva Bible 1599, the KJB, The Bill Bible 1671, the Thomson Bible 1808, The Longman Version 1841, The Sharpe Bible 1883, the Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907, the 1936 Hebrew Publishing Company version, Rotherham's Emphasized bible 1902, Douay 1950,  New Life Version 1969,  the NKJV 1982, The Word of Yah 1993, KJV 21st Century 1994, The NASB 1995, God's First Truth 1999, The Complete Apostle's Bible 2003, Green's literal 2005, The Mebust Bible 2007, The Jubilee Bible 2010, The New Heart English Bible 2010, The New European Version 2010, The Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, The Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011, The Work of God's Children Bible 2011, The Natural Israelite Bible 2012, The Voice 2012, The New Brenton Translation 2012, The Aramaic Bible in Plain English Bible 2013, The Biblos Bible 2013, The Modern English Version 2014, The Hebraic Roots Bible 2015 and The New English Septuagint Translation 2014.

Foreign Language Bibles = "it is he that made us, AND NOT WE OURSELVES"

The Portuguese Almeida Corrigida 2009 - "e não nós",  The Italian Diodati 1649 and 1991 - "è lui che ci ha fatti e non noi da noi stessi" = "it is he who made us and not we ourselves", The Spanish Sagradas Escrituras 1569, Cipriano de Valera 1602 and Reina Valera 1995 - "él nos hizo y no nosotros a nosotros mismos",  Luther's German Bible 1545 and the German Schlachter Bible 2000 - "Er hat uns gemacht, und nicht wir selbst", The French Martin bible 1744 and French Ostervald 1996 - "C'est lui qui nous a faits, et ce n'est pas nous qui nous sommes faits", the Dutch Staten-Vertaling Bible, The Czech BKR Bible,  and the Romaina Fidela Bible 2014.

And the Modern Greek Bible -= "he made us and not we"

However, instead of "AND NOT WE OURSELVES" the NIV reads: "Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, AND WE ARE HIS".

Agreeing with the NIV reading are the ASV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, NET, and the Holman Standard.

But the Holman Standard footnotes that this reading of "and we are His" is "An alternate Hebrew tradition", but that "other Hebrew manuscripts, the LXX, Syriac and Vulgate read 'and not we ourselves'".

So, here is a case where the vast majority of all Hebrew manuscripts as well as the Greek Septuagint and the Syriac Peshitta, the Latin Vulgate and the Aramaic all read like the King James Bible - "it is he that hath made us, AND NOT WE OURSELVES" - and yet many versions have chosen to adopt another reading which is found in the margin.  

The Catholic Connection

As usual, the Catholic versions are all mixed up too, with the earlier Douay-Rheims 1612 and the 1950 Douay reading as does the KJB, but the more recent Catholic versions like St. Joseph NAB 1970 and the New Jerusalem Bible 1985 now reading like the NIV.

However the 2009 Catholic Public Domain Version and the 2012 Revised Douay-Rheims have gone back to "it is he who has made us AND NOT WE OURSELVES". 

Not to be outdone in the realm of novelty, Peterson's 2002 The Message tells us: "He made us; WE DIDN'T MAKE HIM."

The Pulpit Commentary remarks - "Know ye that the Lord he is God; It is he that hath made us, AND NOT WE OURSELVES; or, according to another reading, and his are we. This latter reading is preferred by the Revised Version. But the other, which was the reading of the LXX; and is supported by the Vulgate and the old commentators generally, SHOULD, HOWEVER, BE RETAINED, AS YIELDING A BETTER SENSE."

Psalms 102

Psalms 102:6 "I am like A PELICAN of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert."

A PELICAN of the wilderness is the reading found in the KJB, Wycliffe 1395 - "I am maad lijk a pellican of wildirnesse", Coverdale 1535, The Great Bible 1540, Matthew's Bible 1549, the Bishops' Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587 - "I am like a pelicane of the wildernesse: I am like an owle of the deserts.",  the Douay-Rheims 1610, The Jewish Family Bible 1864, the Revised Version 1885, American Standard Version 1901, Rotherham's Emphasized bible 1902, The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907, NKJV 1982, NASB 1995, Jewish translations of 1917 (JPS) and 1936 Hebrew Publishing Company, Young's, Darby 1890 and Douay 1950, Amplified Bible 1987, Third Millennium Bible 1998, The Koster Scriptures 1998, God's First Truth 1999, World English Bible 2000, Complete Apostle's Bible 2003, A Conservative Version 2005, Green's Literal 2005, The Context Group Version 2007, The Mebust Bible 2007, The Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, Jubilee Bible 2010, The Scripture 4 All Translation 2010, New Heart English Bible 2010, The New European Version 2010, The Work of God's Children Bible 2011, The Bond Slave Version 2012, The Concordant Version 2012, The New Brenton Translation 2012, The Biblos Bible 2013, the ISV (International Standard Version) of 2014, The Hebrew Names Version 2014, the Aramaic Bible in Plain English 2010, Lamsa's translation of the Syriac Peshitta, The New English Septuagint Translation 2014, and the Greek Septuagint - = pelekani  

Foreign Language Bibles = PELICAN

Foreign language bible that also read "pelican" are the Italian Riveduta 1927-2008 and Italian Diodati 1649 and La Nuova Diodati 1991  - "Son simile al pellicano del deserto", the Czeck BKR - "pelikánu", Albanian Bible - "pelikanit", Lithuanian Bible - "pelikan?", the Danish Bible - "Pelikan", the Norwegian Det Norsk Bibelselskep 1930 - "pelikanen", the Polish Gdanska bible - "pelikanowi", the Afrikaans bible 1853 - "'n pelikaan", the Hungarian Karoli Bible - "pelikánhoz", the French Louis Segond and French Ostervald 1996 - "Je ressemble au pélican du désert", the Portuguese Almeida Actualizada - "Sou semelhante ao pelicano no deserto", the Romanian Cornilescu bible - "pelicanul", the Finnish Pyha Raamattu bible - "pelikaani ", the Spanish Sagradas Escrituras 1569, Reina Valera 1909- 1995,  Nueva Biblia de los Hispanos 2005 - "Me parezco al pelícano del desierto", the Swedish bible 1917 - "pelikan", the Tagalog Ang Dating Biblia 1905 - "pelikan", the German Elberfelder 1871 - "Pelikan" and the Modern Greek Bible -

However the NIV, joining the ESV and Holman, says: "I am like a DESERT OWL.... 

Can you guess who else now translates this as "a desert owl" even though in 1610 and 1950 the Catholic Douay-Rheims and Douay had "a pelican". Yep, the Catholic St. Joseph NAB 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible 1985. Just another one of those "coincidences", huh?

Or perhaps we should follow the RSV with its: "I am like A VULTURE of the wilderness..."

Or maybe we can go with Peterson's The Message and, violá, now instead of a PELICAN and an OWL we have  - "I'm like a BUZZARD in the desert, a CROW perched on the rubble." 

Now, I must confess that I am not an expert on birds, but I'm pretty sure there is a difference between a pelican, and owl and a vulture ;-)

Hey, not to worry, all bibles have the same message, don't they?  Most Christians today don't even read their bibles anyway, so who's gonna notice or care? And the only ones who actually believe in the infallibility of the Bible nowadays are those wacky King James Bible fanatics and we all know they're just "a cult", right?

Psalms 102:7 "I watch, and am as a SPARROW alone upon the house top."

SPARROW is the reading found in Wycliffe 1395, Coverdale 1535, The Great Bible 1540, Matthew's Bible 1549, the Bishops' Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, the Douay-Rheims 1582, the KJB, Darby 1890, Revised Version 1885, ASV 1901, The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907, NKJV 1982,  Jewish translations of 1917, 1936,  Douay 1950, Lamsa's translation of the Peshitta, Living Bible 1971, Amplified Bible 1987, Contemporary English Version 1995, Third Millennium Bible 1998, God's First Truth 1999, World English Bible 2000, The Yah Sacred Scriptures 2001, Complete Apostle's Bible 2003, The Context Group Version 2007, The Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, New Heart English Biblish 2010, Jubilee Bible 2010, The New European Version 2010, The Work of God's Children Bible 2011, the English Standard Version 2011, The Bond Slave Version 2012, The New Brenton Translation 2012, The Voice 2012, The Biblos Bible 2013, The Hebrew Names Version 2014, The New English Septuagint Translation 2014,  and the Modern English Version 2014.

However the NASB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NET say: "I am like a LONELY BIRD on the house top."

Yet the ESV, NASB, and NIV all translate this same word as SPARROW in other verses. See Pro. 26:2; Psalms 84:3 -"the SPARROW has found a house". They just change it for the sake of changing to get their copyright.

Psalms 102:10 "for thou hast lifted me up, and CAST ME DOWN."

"CAST ME DOWN" is the reading of the KJB, 1936 Jewish translation, Geneva, Darby, Young's, Douay, Green's interlinear, Third Millenium Bible and Lamsa's.

However the NKJV, RSV, NASB say: "you have CAST ME AWAY", while the NIV has: " you have THROWN ME ASIDE". Now, to be cast down by God is not the same thing as to be cast away or thrown aside. It is one thing for God to cast us down and humble us, and quite another for Him to cast us away. He will do the one for our good, but He will never do the other.

Psalms 102:16 "WHEN the LORD SHALL BUILT UP Zion, he SHALL APPEAR in his glory."

This is obviously referring to the future and is so rendered in the KJB, NKJV, NIV, RSV, NRSV, ESV, Lamsa, Darby, TMB, and the Spanish Reina Valera. However the NASB puts this whole thing in the past tense by saying: "For the LORD HAS BUILT UP Zion, he HAS APPEARED in his glory."

All bibles do not teach the same thing, even when they translate the same texts. This is Bible Babel, not the sure words of God.

Psalms 103:5 KJB - "Who satisfied THY MOUTH with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's."

ESV, Holman Standard - Who satisfies YOU with good things (Ft. Hebrew obscure)

NASB - Who satisfies your YEARS with good things

NIV, ASV, Young's - Who satisfies your DESIRES with good things

Darby 1890, JPS 1917 - Who satisfieth THINE OLD AGE with good things

NET Bible 2006, Lexham bible 2012 - Who satisfies your LIFE with good things


Hebrew words often have multiple meanings, just as English words do.

Example:  Boys wear trunks when they go swimming.  Elephants' trunks serve as their arms. The lady packed two trunks of clothes for the voyage. Most people have a spare tire in their trunks. The farmer needs to remove several tree trunks before he plows the field.

This particular word is # 5716 gadee. It is found some 12 or 13 times and is usually translated as "ornaments",  as in "no man did put on his ORNAMENTS." (Exodus 33:4), but that obviously would not make much sense in this context.

It is also translated in the KJB and others (Coverdale, Great bible, Matthew's bible, Bishops' bible, Geneva Bible)  as MOUTH in Psalms 32:9 when speaking of a horse or a mule.

"Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; whose MOUTH must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee."

In Psalms 103:5 not only does the King James Bible translate this as "Who satisfieth THY MOUTH with good things" but so also do the Bishops' bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, the Revised Version 1885, Lamsa's translation of the Syriac 1933, Bible in Basic English 1961, the NKJV, KJV 21st Century 1994, Jubilee Bible 2010, the Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011, Modern English Version 2014, the Italian Diodati (tua bocca), the Spanish Reina Valera ( tu boca), the Portuguese Almeida Corrigida (tua boca) and the French Ostervald bible 1996 (ta bouche)

Psalms 104

Psalms 104:4 "Who maketh HIS ANGELS SPIRITS; his ministers a flaming fire."

So read Coverdale's Bible of 1535 -"Thou makest thine angels spretes, and thy ministers flammes of fyre.", the Bishops' Bible 1568, the King James Bible 1611, NKJV 1982,  Darby's translation 1889, the Douay Rheims of 1610, Webster's translation of 1833, the Douay of 1950, Third Millennium Bible 1998 and  Green's literal of 2000. 

It is so quoted in all the versions in Hebrews 1:7 "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." The Geneva Bible is a little off with -"Which maketh his spirits his messengers." 

Among foreign language translation that agree with the KJB reading of "who maketh his ANGELS SPIRITS" are the Reina Valera of 1909 - "El que hace á sus ángeles espíritus, Sus ministros al fuego flameante.", the French Martin 1744 - "Il fait des vents ses Anges", the Italian Diodati 1649 - "Egli fa i venti suoi Angeli", the Dutch Staten Vertaling Bible - "Hij maakt Zijn engelen geesten", Luther's German Bible of 1545 and the Schlachter 2000 - "der du machest deine Engel zu Winde", the Norwegian Det Norsk Bible 1930 - "der du machest deine Engel zu Winde", the Russian Synodal Version, the Portuguese Almeida Corrigida E Fiel - "Faz dos seus anjos espíritosand the Modern Greek Translation -

However the RV, ASV, NASB, NIV, RSV, ESV and Holman Standard read: " He makes WINDS HIS MESSENGERS, flames of fire his servants." Have you heard a message from the wind lately?

To make His angels spirits is not the same thing as to make winds his messengers. This should be obvious, yet many insist on telling us all bibles say the same things.

The Bible in Basic English 1961 actually says "He makes winds his angels, and flames of fire his servants."

The word translated as "angels" is #4397 mal-ahch and can be translated as either angels or messengers.  Even the NIV 1984 edition has translated this word as "angels" some 107 times!

The word translated as "spirits" is #7307 roo agh and has several meanings including "spirits, vain, air, breath, mind, wind, blast, anger" but the most common meaning is "spirit". 

The NIV 1984 edition translated this word as "spirit" or "spirits" some 180 times and yet here in Psalm 104:4 as "wind"; even though it quotes the verse in Hebrews 1:14 using both words "angels" and "spirits" and not "winds" and "messengers", just as the King James Bible has it.  So too do the NASB, ESV, NET, RSV etc. Go figure.

Psalms 104:8 "They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them."

The context here is speaking of the waters of the earth and the weather patterns. "THEY GO UP BY THE MOUNTAINS; THEY GO DOWN BY THE VALLEYS unto the place which thou hast founded for them. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth. He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst."

Spurgeon comments: "They go up by the mountains, climbing in the form of clouds even to the summits of the Alps. They go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them: they are as willing to descend in rain, and brooks, and torrents as they were eager to ascend in mists."

Speaking of the waters that "go up by the mountains, they go down by the valleys" is the reading of the KJB, NKJV, RV, NIV, NRSV, NEB, Young's, Spanish, TMB

However the NASB, RSV, ESV and Geneva bible say: "THE MOUNTAINS ROSE, THE VALLEYS SANK DOWN to the place You did establish for them." Notice the RSV reads as the NASB, then the NRSV changed to read as the KJB, and then the ESV went back to the RSV reading. These are all revisions of one another and the scholars can't seem to make up their minds.

There is a big difference between the waters going up by the mountains and going down by the valleys, and the mountains rising and valleys sinking down.

Psalms 104:18 "The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the CONIES."

A coney is a rabbit, or type of a rabbit. Conies is the reading of the KJB, RV, ASV, NRSV, Jewish translations of 1917, 1936, Young's, Geneva, Lamsa, even the NIV, and the Spanish agrees with conejos, which means rabbits.

But the NKJV, NASB, RSV, ESV read: "and the rocks for the ROCK BADGERS." Notice again how the RSV, NRSV and ESV go back and forth.

This word is found only four times in the O.T. and all are conies in the KJB. Proverbs 30:26 tells us "The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks."

Psalms 104:34 "My meditation of him SHALL BE SWEET: I will be glad in the LORD."

This is a beautiful statement of fact in the KJB. The NKJV changes this to a request, like the NIV, NASB, and says: "MAY my meditation of Him be sweet", while the NASB, NIV have: "LET my meditation of him BE PLEASING to him." There is a difference between stating a fact and making a request. The point being that not all bibles say or teach the same things.

Psalms 105:22 "to BIND his princes" or "to INSTRUCT his princes"?

KJB - "TO BIND his princes AT HIS PLEASURE; and teach his senators wisdom."  

NIV - "TO INSTRUCT his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom."

In Psalms 105 we read of the history of Israel and how God had sent Joseph into the land of Egypt and later raised him up to be in authority next to Pharaoh.

17 "He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

19 Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.

20 The king sent and loosed him; even the ruler of the people, and let him go free.

21 He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance:

22 To BIND his princes at his pleasure; and teach his senators wisdom."

The Hebrew text clearly says "to bind his princes" and so read the JPS (Jewish Publication Society) 1917 translation, the Geneva Bible 1587 - "That he shoulde binde his princes", the Revised Version 1881, ASV 1901 - "To bind his princes at his pleasure", Rotherham's Emphasized Bible 1902, Darby, Young's, the NKJV 1982, Amplified Bible 1987 "to bind his princes at his pleasure", Green's literal 2000, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, the ESV 2001-2011 "to BIND his princes at his pleasure", the Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011 - "to BIND his princes at his pleasure", Jubilee Bible 2010 and the 2012 Natural Israelite Bible - "To BIND his princes at his pleasure"

The Hebrew word used here is #631  ahsar and is used in such places as when they BOUND Samson with cords and fetters (Judges 16) or "to BIND their kings with chains" (Ps. 149:8) or "to BIND the sacrifice with cords" (Ps. 118:27)

 This "binding" may have been literal or perhaps more likely the figurative "binding" to obey his laws and commands as Genesis 41:40,44 where Pharaoh tells Joseph "according to thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou." and "without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." But it also seems to follow that if they did not obey his rule, then they could be physically bound in prison as well.

The NASB is close with: "to IMPRISON his princes AT WILL" and then it footnotes that Literally it is "to bind" and "at HIS will", just as the King James Bible has it. The Voice 2012 also has "to IMPRISON his royal officials".

Dan Wallace and company's NET version says: "giving him authority to IMPRISON his officials and to teach his advisors." and then footnotes that the Hebrew is literally "to bind at his will", as the KJB has it. The NET version omits the words "at his pleasure" and "wisdom".

However the NIV 1984 and 2011 say "to INSTRUCT his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom." with no footnotes. The RSV and NRSV also read "to INSTRUCT his princes" but then they footnote that the reading "to instruct" comes from the Greek Septuagint and Jerome, but that the Hebrew reads "to bind".  

Also reading "TO INSTRUCT" is the New Living Translation 1996 and The Message 2002 - "to personally INSTRUCT his princes"  

The Jehovah Witness New World Translation 1961 had part right and part wrong with: "TO BIND his princes AGREEABLE TO HIS SOUL".

But now the 2011 JW revision has "TO HAVE AUTHORITY over his princes as he pleased."

The Common English Bible 2011 (another critical text version) paraphrases the whole thing as "to make sure his princes acted according to his will"

And the Lexham English Bible 2011 also paraphrases it as: "to OBLIGATE[a] his officials as he saw fit."  but then it footnotes that the Hebrew reads "to bind, to imprison" while the Greek LXX reads "to instruct". 

The ESV, the revision of the revision of the revision, has since then gone back to the Hebrew reading and says: "to BIND his princes at his pleasure".

Once again we can see the purification process going on among the previous English Bibles till we reach perfection in the King James Bible.  Wycliffe followed the Latin instead of the Hebrew and says: "the he should LEARN his princes as himself" and both Coverdale and the Bishops' Bible said: "That he might ENFOURME (INFORM) his prynces after his wil". It wasn't till the Geneva Bible came out that they started to get it right.

The Catholic Connection

ALL Catholic versions get it wrong and read like the NIV with "to INSTRUCT his princes" but then footnote that the Hebrew reads "to bind". These include the Douay-Rheims 1610, Douay 1950, St. Joseph NAB 1970, the New Jerusalem bible 1985 and the 2009 Catholic Public Domain Version. This is because they follow the Latin Vulgate instead of the Hebrew.  The Latin Vulgate reads: "ut erudiret principes eius secundum voluntatem." = "to INSTRUCT princes according to his will."   

The King James Bible is right, as always.

Psalms 105:28 "They joined themselves unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices OF THE DEAD."

There is no verb found in the phrase "sacrifices of the dead". There is much difference of opinion as to what the phrase means, but it is better to just translate what the Hebrew says rather than forcing an interpretation on the passage. Some think it refers to necromancy, or offering sacrifices on behalf of those already dead. Others think it refers to offering sacrifices like those of the surrounding heathen who were dead in their sins, and thus, of no spiritual value. The RV, ASV, Hebrew Names Version and others agree with the KJB.

However the NKJV adds a verb saying: "They ate the sacrifices MADE TO the dead", the NASB has: "they ate the sacrifices OFFERED TO the dead", while the NIV differs from them all and says: "they ate sacrifices OFFERED TO LIFELESS GODS." There is no way the verb used in "the dead" can be translated as "lifeless gods" - that is pure conjecture on the part of the NIV, and its "interpretation" differs from that of the NKJV, NASB.

Psalms 105:30 "Then stood up Phinehas, and EXECUTED JUDGMENT: and so the plague was stayed."

The verb used here clearly means to judge or execute judgment, and that is what Phinehas did by killing the two offending parties involved. See Numbers 25:7-8.

"Executed judgment" is the reading of the KJB, RV, ASV, 1917, 1936 Jewish translations, Youngs, Darby and others. However the NKJV, NIV, NASB, and RSV have all been watered down to say merely that Phinehas INTERVENED, rather than executed judgment.

Psalms 106

Psalms 106:15 "And he gave them their request; but SENT LEANNESS INTO THEIR SOUL."

This is the reading found in the KJB, RV, ASV, NKJV, TMB, Geneva Bible, 1917, 1936 Jewish translations, Young's, Darby, Spanish of 1909, and the modern Hebrew Names Version.

However the NIV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, and ESV all give a very different meaning here. They read: "He sent A WASTING DISEASE AMONG THEM."

These modern versions often reject the Hebrew reading and follow the Syriac or the LXX, but that would do them little good here. Both the Syriac and the LXX read: "He sent FULNESS into their souls" and the Douay actually reads this way, giving the opposite meaning found in the KJB.

Leanness is # 7332 and is used only 3 times. In Isaiah 10:16 we read: "Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones LEANNESS", and in Micah 6:10 we read of "the SCANT measure". This noun "leanness" comes from a verb used only twice and found in Zeph. 2:11 "he will FAMISH all the gods of the earth", and in Isaiah 19:4 "the fatness of his flesh SHALL WAX LEAN."

The word for "soul" here is neh-phesh # 5315 - soul or life.

The KJB and all the others are clearly correct in that God sent leanness into their souls. Their spiritual fellowship with God was diminished. However the reading of the NASB, NIV of "he sent a wasting disease among them" has a very different meaning and would speak of a physical affliction rather than a spiritual one.

Psalms 106:33

"They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes. Because they provoked his spirit so that he spake unadvisedly with his lips."

Here "his spirit" refers to Moses and he spake unadvisedly with his lips. "his spirit" referring to Moses, is the reading of the KJB, RV, ASV, Jewish translations, RSV, NRSV, ESV, Darby, Young and others.

However the NKJV, NASB say they provoked His Spirit, thus making this God's Spirit, rather than the spirit of Moses.

The NIV goes even further by adding words not found in any Hebrew text and says: "They rebelled against THE SPIRIT OF GOD, and rash words came from MOSES' lips." Here the NIV adds "of God" and "Moses" to the Hebrew texts besides altering the meaning found in the KJB.

Psalms 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Psalms 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

Psalms 110:3 THY PEOPLE SHALL BE WILLING IN THE DAY OF THY POWER, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: THOU HAST THE DEW OF THY YOUTH.

Psalms 110:4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Verse 3 has been changed in many modern versions. The context refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead and then seated at the right hand of God. In Acts 2:30 - 35, the apostle Peter applies this passage to the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and states that His flesh saw no corruption.

"Therefore (David) being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses...For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool."

The day of His power is the present day of salvation. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Romans 1:3-4 refers to the gospel of God, "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."

God works in His people to make us willing. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

The reading of THY PEOPLE SHALL BE WILLING IN THE DAY OF THY POWER, is that of the KJB, Revised Version, American Standard Version, Webster's 1833 translation, KJV21, TMB, Green's interlinear, Darby, 1936 Jewish translation, the Spanish Reina Valera, and the World English Bible.

Instead of "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power", the NKJV says: "Your people will be VOLUNTEERS in the day of your power." The NASB is very similar with: "Your people will VOLUNTEER FREELY in the day of Your power", but the NIV has: "Your TROOPS will be willing ON YOUR DAY OF BATTLE." The NIV in particular has lost the principal meaning.

There is also much confusion about the meaning of the phrase "Thou hast the dew of thy youth". I think most commentators have missed it completely. The context is speaking about the resurrection of Christ from the dead. His flesh saw no corruption. He was raised from the dead in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning of that resurrection day, and became the Head of a new creation. This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. See 1 Cor. 15:45-54 and 2 Cor.5:17.

Compare the use of the word Dew in Isaiah 26:19 which also speaks of the resurrection. "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise, Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy DEW is as the dew of herbs." There is a fresh beginning of a new eternal day and our youth will be restored; but all this was first true of Christ, who is our representative Head.

"Thou hast the dew of thy youth."

The NKJV agrees with the KJB and others, but the NASB says: "Your youth ARE TO YOU as the dew"; the NIV has "You WILL RECEIVE the dew of your youth", and the ESV reads: "the dew of your youth will be yours." Then in a footnote, the ESV says "the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain."

It is of interest to note that the RSV, NRSV both say: "from the womb of the morning, like the dew, your youth will come to you". This rendering can be taken either way, but both versions tell us in a footnote that the Hebrew literally reads "the dew of your youth", which is what the KJB says.

The interpretive rendering of the NASB makes the "dew" out to be people of youth who come to Christ. In any case, the meaning found in all bibles is not the same, even when they use the same Hebrew texts.

Psalms 118

Psalms 118:13 "THOU HAST THRUST SORE AT ME that I might fall: but the LORD helped me."

The Hebrew reading here is clearly THOU, or "you" as some modern versions have it. THOU is the reading of the KJB, RV, ASV, Young's, the Jewish translations of 1917, 1936, and the Geneva Bibles. The "thou hast thrust sore at me" is addressed to each of the many enemies who compassed Israel about like bees.

The NKJV, NASB read: "YOU pushed me violently..."

However the NIV, RSV and ESV all reject the Hebrew reading and follow the LXX and Syriac. The NIV reads: "I WAS PUSHED BACK..."

The NIV departs from the Hebrew Scriptures well over 80 times and follows the Syriac, LXX, Vulgate or some other source. They usually tell you this in their footnotes, but not this time. However if you consult either the RSV or the ESV, they tell you in a footnote that the Hebrew reads "You" but the reading of "I" comes from the LXX and the Syriac.

Though the ESV also follows the LXX and Syriac, yet in their footnote the ESV informs us: "Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard."

Psalms 118:22

"The stone which the builders refused is become THE HEAD STONE OF THE CORNER, This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes."

The "head stone of the corner" or its equivalent of "chief corner stone" is found in the RV, ASV, KJB, NKJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, ESV, Jewish translations, Geneva, Young's and many others including the Living Bible, World English Bible,and New Century Version .

The head stone of the corner is placed on the foundation and gives the whole structure it's strength and shape.

However the NIV joins the equally blasphemous Message in turning the whole thing upside down and says: "the stone the builders rejected has become THE CAPSTONE".

The capstone is the very last stone put in place at the top of the building. Apparently the new revision of the old NIV, the 2005 TNIV, realized their previous blunder, and they have now changed this updated version to read "the CORNERSTONE".

Psalms 118:27

"God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: BIND THE SACRIFICE WITH CORDS, even unto the horns of the altar."

These last two predictions refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, who would become the rejected corner stone of His church and the sacrifice upon the horns of the altar.

Compare this reading of "bind the sacrifice" to the spiritual type found in Genesis 22:9 where Abraham "bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar."

"Bind the sacrifice with cords" is the reading of the RV, ASV, NKJV, 1936 Jewish translation, Webster's, KJV 21, Third Millennium Bible, Darby, and the Hebrew Names Version.

The NASB, ESV are a little different with "Bind the festival sacrifice with cords", but they still have the idea of a sacrifice. However the RSV has: "bind the festal procession with branches up to the horns of the altar", (say what!?!),

while the NIV says: "The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. WITH BOUGHS IN HAND, JOIN IN THE FESTAL PROCESSION up to the horns of the altar." This rendering loses all reference to the predicted sacrificial death of Christ, the lamb of God who fulfilled the type given in Isaac. The niv's "message" is not the same.

Even Daniel Wallace's NET version contains the idea of a "sacrifice" when he translates the passgage as: "Tie the OFFERING with ropes to the horns of the altar!". Then he footnotes: "The Hebrew noun normally means ?festival,? but here it apparently refers metonymically to an offering made at the festival."

More concerning the CORNER STONE versus the CAPSTONE of the NIV.

In Matthew 21:42 we read: "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the HEAD OF THE CORNER: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?"

The KJB contains the literal rendering. So also the Revised Version, the ASV, Geneva, Young, Tyndale and even the RSV. The head, kephale, is used as Christ the head of the Church, the head of the body, the man being the head of the woman, etc. Corner is govia, as in in the corners of the streets, this thing was not done in a corner, the four corners of the earth.

This name or reference to Christ as the head of the corner occurs in Mat.21:42; Mark 12:10, Acts 4:11 and I Peter 2:7. The NKJV and NASB are pretty close with "chief corner stone", though the word stone is not in the text, but it can be implied.

In any case, a corner stone, or head of the corner is a large stone placed at the angle where 2 walls of a building meet, and helps bind them together. This large stone gives direction to the entire structure, and is the first stone put into place.

Notice the reference in Job 38:4-6 where the LORD asks Job "Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof?"

However the NIV has totally messed up these four references to Christ being the head of the corner, and instead has translated the exact same Greek as "the CAPSTONE." "The stone which the builders rejected has become the capstone."

Now the capstone is not the first stone placed in the foundation of the building to give it shape and direction, but is rather the very last stone to be placed in the near finished structure. A capstone goes on the top of the building, so it is the exact opposite of the head of the corner.

The NIV even contradicts itself. If we look at the prophesy found in Isaiah 28:16 we read: ? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a FOUNDATION a stone, a tried stone, a precious CORNER STONE, a sure FOUNDATION.? This corner stone is the foundation, not the capstone. Even the NIV has ?a precious corner stone for a sure foundation.?

Don't worry, they are just updating that old fashioned KJB language so we can better understand it. They aren't really perverting (turning upside down) the words of God.

Psalms 121:1 King James Bible - "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth."

NKJV makes it a question - "I will lift up my eyes to the hills? From whence comes my help?"  

Other versions that make it a question are the ASV, NASB, NIV, RSV, ESV, Darby, Youngs, ESV, the NET version, the Jehovah Witness New World Translation, the Catholic St. Joseph New American bible 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible 1985.

The Catholic Connection  

The earlier Douay-Rheims of 1610 as well as the Douay Version 1950 both read like the KJB - "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence help shall come to me."

BUT the latest Catholic versions like the St. Joseph NAB 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible 1985 make it a question like the NKJV, NASB, ESV, NIV do - "I lift up my eyes toward the mountains; whence shall help come to me?" (St. Joseph New American bible 1970) 

Reading like the King James Bible and making it a statement are Lamsa's 1933 translation of the Syriac Peshitta, and the so called Greek Septuagint version.

Agreeing with the King James Bible and making Psalms 121:1 a statement are Wycliffe 1395, Matthews Bible 1549, the Bishops' Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, the Douay Rheims 1610, the Bill Bible 1671, The Thomson Bible 1808, Webster's 1833 translation, the Longman Version 1841, The Wellbeloved Scriptures 1862, The Smith Bible 1876, The Sharpe Bible 1883, Rotherham's Emphasized Bible 1902, Lamsa's 1936 translation of the Syriac, The Word of Yah 1993, the KJV 21st Century Version 1994, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, God's First Truth 1999, The Apostolic Polyglot Bible 2003, The Revised Geneva Bible 2005, the Complete Apostle's Bible 2005 - "I lifted up my eyes to the mountains ? from where my help shall come.", The Ancient Roots Translinear Bible 2008, the Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011 - "I will lift up mine eyes unto the harim (hills), from whence cometh ezri (my help).", the Jubilee Bible 2010, The Work of God's Children Illustrated Bible 2011, The Revised Douay-Rheims Bible 2012, The New Brenton Translation 2012, The Biblos Bible 2013.  

and this online Interlinear Hebrew Bible - "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help."

http://studybible.info/IHOT/Psalms%20121:1

Foreign Language Bible = KJB

Foreign language Bibles that make it a statement and not a question are Luther?s German Bible 1545 - "Ich hebe meine Augen auf zu den Bergen von welchen mir Hilfe commit.", the Spanish Sagradas Escrituras 1569, the Spanish Reina Valera 1909, and the 2004 Reina  Gomez - "ALZARÉ mis ojos á los montes, De donde vendrá mi socorro.", the French Martin 1744 and the 1996 French Ostervald - "J'élève mes yeux vers les montagnes d'où me viendra le secours.", the 1649 Italian Diodati - "IO alzo gli occhi a monti, Per vedere onde mi verrà auto." and the Portuguese Almeida Corregida E Fiel 1681 - " Levantarei os meus olhos para os montes, de onde vem o meu socorro." , the Dutch Staten Vertaling Bible - "Een lied Hammaaloth. Ik hef mijn ogen op naar de bergen, van waar mijn hulp komen zal." = "A Song of Ascents. I lift my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." and the Czech BKR Bible  and the 2009 Romanian Fidela Bible - "ÎMI ridic ochii spre mun'i, de unde îmi vine ajutorul."

The Bible Commentators

Adam Clarke agrees with the King James Bible readings and comments: "Unto the hills- Jerusalem was built upon a mountain; and Judea was a mountainous country; and the Jews, in their several dispersions, turned towards Jerusalem when they offered up their prayers to God."

John Gill comments: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills" Not to the hills and mountains in Judea, looking about to see if the inhabitants of them, or any bodies of men, appeared upon them to his help in distress; rather to the hills of Moriah and Zion, where the ark of God, the symbol of his presence, was, and to whom he looked for assistance and deliverance: or to heaven, the holy hill of the Lord, and to him that dwelleth there."

The Pulpit Commentaries - "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. The "holy hills," that stand round about Jerusalem, are intended (Psalms 87:1; Psalms 125:2). There God had "promised his blessing, even life forevermore" (Psalms 133:3).

Charles Spurgeon - Psalms 121:1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. "The holy man who here sings a choice sonnet looked away from the slanderers by whom he was tormented to the Lord who saw all from his high places, and was ready to pour down succor for his injured servant...they that lift up their eyes to the eternal hills shall soon have their hearts lifted up also."

Matthew Henry - commenting on the reading found in the KJB says: "I will lift up my eyes to the hills"  - probably he meant the hills on which the temple was built, Mount Moriah, and the holy hill of Zion, where the ark of the covenant, the oracle, and the altars were -.

John Wesley comments on Psalms 121:1 saying: "Hills - To Sion and Moriah, which are called the holy mountains."

Matthew Poole comments on Psalms 121:1 - "Unto the hills; either to Zion and Moriah, which are ailed the holy mountains, Psal. lxxxvii. 1

Other Psalms and see what they have to say about the hills.

 Psalms 3:4 says: "I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah."

"Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill Zion."  Psalms 2:6

"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?  who shall dwell in thy holy hill?"  Psalms 15:1

"Who shall ascend into the hilll of the LORD?  or who shall stand in his holy place?"  Psalms 24:3

"O send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles."  Psalms 43:3

"The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.  Why leap ye, ye high hills?  this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will  dwell in it forever."  Psalms 68:15-16

"His foundation is in the holy mountains."  Psalms 87:1

"Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy." Psalms 99:9

Other Scriptures reveal the truth of God?s presence to be found in the mountains.  "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen."  Genesis 22:14

"And Moses....came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb." Exodus 3:1

"And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount: and Moses went up."  Exodus 19:20

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them."  Exodus 24:12

"Then Joshua bult an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal."  Joshua 8:30

Compare Psalms 125:2 where the lofty mountains surrounding Jerusalem are symbolic of God's watchful presence. "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from henceforth even for ever." 

The King James Bible is right, as always. 

Psalms 138:2 Magnified thy word ABOVE all thy name

Psalms 138:2 "I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy TRUTH: for thou hast magnified thy word ABOVE all thy name."

The word "Truth" is disappearing from the modern bibles. The word TRUTH is found 118 times in the Old Testament of the KJB. In the NASB the number is down to 92, 26 fewer times than the KJB and in the NIV the number is down to 41 times, or about one third the number of times as in the KJB. Maybe with one or two more modern, improved, up to date versions, we will finally be rid of that pesky word "truth". It seems the modern scholars are working on it.

The NIV and NASB have substituted "faithfulness" for truth, and the meaning is not the same. For example in Psalms 100:5 "For the LORD is good; his MERCY is everlasting; and his TRUTH endureth to all generations." The NASB has "lovingkindness" instead of "mercy" and "faithfulness" instead of truth.

Mercy is God not dealing with us as our sins and iniquities deserve. The NIV has "love" instead of mercy, and faithfulness instead of truth.

In fact, if you look at the complete concordances, the words "mercy, merciful, and mercies" occur 288 times in the Old Testament of the KJB, while in the NASB only 51 times and the NIV only 85 times. They substitute either lovingkindness, or as in the NIV "love" which is a totally different word in Hebrew and in English.

Love and mercy are not at all the same things. Mercy implies that we deserve judgment, punishment and condemnation, but God has not done so with us. Love does not have this meaning at all. Something is definitely lost in the modern versions.

The phrase in Psalms 138:2 "thou hast magnified thy word ABOVE all thy name" is found in the 1917 Jewish Publication Society translation,  and 1936 Hebrew- English versions,  the Revised Version 1885, the NKJV 1982, the American Standard Version 1901, Green's interlinear 2000, Webster's 1833, Darby 1870, Youngs 1898, Rotherham's 1902 Emphasized Bible, the Complete Jewish Bible, the 21st Century KJV, the French Martin 1744 "car tu as magnifié ta parole au-dessus de toute ta renommée", the Modern Greek translation, and the Italian Diodati 1649 "u hai magnificata la tua parola, sopra ogni tua fama." and the 2004 Spanish Reina Valera Gomez translation - " porque has magnificado tu palabra por sobre todo tu nombre." This is literally what it says.

The NASB however says: "For Thou hast magnified Thy word ACCORDING TO all Thy name". The word is # 5921 - (al) - and it means "above" as in Gen. 1:7 the waters were above the firmament" and Gen.27:39 dew from heaven above.

The NIV, Holman, and the 2001 ESV read: "You have exalted above all things your name and your word." Just by switching a few words around they have changed the meaning of the whole sentence. But at least they correctly translated "above" whereas the NASB did not.

Thr RSV is interesting in that it reads: "Thou hast exalted above everything thing Thy name and Thy word." It reads basically like the NIV, ESV, but the RSV tells us in their footnotes: - 'Hebrew "exalted Thy word ABOVE all thy name."

The NRSV reads like the RSV, and its footnote tells us that the Hebrew literally says what is found in the KJB. A similar footnote is found in the ESV.

Daniel Wallace's goofy NET version renders the verse: "for you have exalted YOUR PROMISE ABOVE THE ENTIRE SKY."

Then in his footnote he tells us: "The MT reads, "for you have made great over all your name your word." If retained, this must mean that God's mighty intervention, in fulfillment of his word of promise, surpassed anything he had done prior to this. However, the statement is odd and several emendations have been proposed. Some read, "for you have exalted over everything your name and your word," while others suggest, "or you have exalted over all the heavens your name and your word." The translation assumes an emendation of "your name" to "your heavens" (a construction that appears in Pss 8:3 and 144:5). The point is that God has been faithful to his promise and the reliability of that promise is apparent to all." (end of Dan Wallace and company notes)

How foolish of men to change the true words of God. The result of "altering the text" by men like Daniel Wallace is that they "understand neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm" (1 Timothy 1:7). There is no specific promise made in this Psalm that "surpassed anything he had done prior to this", as Mr. Wallace tells us. David is merely praising God for the Truth of His Word in all circumstances. It is foolish presumption on the part of some wannabe scholar to alter the text of the inerrant words of God merely because he doesn't understand the meaning of a certain passage. The fault is not with the Text, but with the Fool who places his own understanding above what God has written. Men like Wallace clearly do not believe in an inerrant Bible in any language.

Holman Standard - "You have exalted Your name AND Your promise above EVERYTHING ELSE."

Judaica Press Complete Tanach - "for You magnified Your word OVER ALL YOUR NAMES."

The Message- "Most holy is your name, most holy is your Word. "

Catholic Douay Rheims - "for thou hast magnified THY HOLY NAME ABOVE ALL."

Lamsa's translation of the Syriac - "for thou hast magnified thy word above EVERY name."

The King James Bible was the FIRST ENGLISH TRANSLATION TO GET IT RIGHT.

Wycliffe 1395 - "for thou hast magnefied thin hooli name aboue al thing."

Geneva Bible 1599 - "for thou hast magnified thy Name ABOVE ALL THINGS BY THY WORD."

Coverdale 1535 - "for thou hast magnified thy worde, acordynge vnto thy greate name."

 English Standard Version 2001 - "for you have exalted above all things your name AND your word." FOOTNOTES: OR, YOU HAVE EXALTED YOUR WORD ABOVE ALL YOUR NAME." At least they got it right in their footnote!

This is what the Hebrew and the King James Bible read, but the new version editors have a much lower view of God's word, and Psalm 138:2 is one example of many where they have changed what God really said.

In what sense then can God magnify His word above His name? My understanding of this is that God Himself is subject to His spoken word and compelled by His very nature to fulfill what He has sworn to do. Let's look at some examples of this.

Hebrews 6:13-18 "For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multplying I will multiply thee...For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which is was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us."

We see God's spoken words promising a seed to Abraham and making a mighty nation from his loins. See Genesis 15:5; 21:13. Yet later in Israels history when they had grievously sinned and God threatened to destroy them, Moses pleads with God in Exodus 32:7-14 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom THOU SWAREST BY THINE OWN SELF, and SAIDST unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it forever." Then we read "And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."

Christ Himself was God manifest in the flesh and when it came time for Him to go to the cross and become sin for His people, His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. He prayed that if it were possible this cup of suffering might pass from Him. Yet He knew the Scriptures promised that these things must be so and He yielded to the Father's will and word. "The scriptures must be fulfilled"; and "Thus it is written, and thus IT BEHOOVED Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day." See Mark 14:49, Luke 24:46.

If God has sworn in His word to do something, then He is subject to this oath and bound by His word to fulfill it, no matter what the cost to Himself nor to His Son, and without regard to the sins and unfaithfulness of His people.

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