Lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420 ad. Of the 8 verses from the book of mormon that contain possible or likely kjv translation errors all of these errors seem to be preserved in the 1611 king james version. The book tells a dramatic story in fine biblical style. One plausible explanation that author stephen gibson put forward was, instances where the book of mormon parallels the bible, joseph smith must have noted the parallels and used the king james bible to guide him in his choice of words. It is to the variants that we will give our attention here. Kjv errors in the book of mormon book of mormon research. This addendum hopes to present information which will enable the reader to understand what the gnostic doctrine teaches and which mistranslations in the kjv. Sometimes the quotation is explicit, as in the second book of nephi, which contains 18 quoted chapters of the book of isaiah. That the book of mormon replaces the corresponding matthean passage is shown by the fact that the verses immediately before and after this section in the book of mormon correspond to the verses in the kjv before and after matthew 5. The fact is, the king james version is a good translation, and far better than the paraphrases which are so popular today e. Not only is the book of mormon written in a style that imitates the king james bible, but it also incorporates actual phrases and sometimes entire blocks of material from the kjv. Also, if it be contended that the language of the book of mormon, word for word, and letter for letter, was given to the prophet by direct inspiration of god, acting upon his mind, then again god is made responsible for the language errors in the book of mormon a thing unthinkable. Many book of mormon passages combine phrases from several different biblical texts. The problem with this is that a christ quoted isaiah in matt.
Since nephi would have relied on the isaiah passages on the brass plates of laban, doesnt joseph smiths use of the kjv suggest that he did not really translate from an ancient record. No, the book of mormon does not contain unique errors from the king james version bible. Anachronistic some scholars believe that isaiah chapters 40 to 55 were written during the babylonian captivity, thus after when the jews in the book of mormon left jerusalem for the new world. The book of mormon teaches that the disobedience of adam and eve in eating the forbidden fruit was necessary so that they could have children and bring joy to mankind 2 nephi 2. There are other similar mistakes where the book of mormon includes the spurious kjv readings in 3 nephi. A book of mistakes, error, and fraud by jon gary williams introduction the mormon church promotes the book of mormon as an inspired writing. Volumes have been written on its distinctive and rhythmic style, and it is still regarded as a triumph of modern english literature. Additionally, the book of mormon describes the sea as the red sea. The book of mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the king james bible kjv. Dec 19, 2018 yes, and we can only speculate as to why. Book of mormon and kjv bible text printed materials michael hickenbotham, answering challenging mormon questions. For example, there is the mention of the most precious steel in. Errors represented across both 1611 and 1769 kjv a. The book of mormon restores plain and precious truths that have been lost from the bible.
Kjv as a source for book of mormon edit all pleasant pictures. These take the form of such things as double negatives, incorrect adverbs and adjectives, and incorrect tenses. The king james version itself was considered a vile innovation by many when it first came out. Kjv isaiah, bom 2nd nephi, correct translation, kjv bom translation. Many of these errors, however, are found in the kjv bible. Of the 8 verses from the book of mormon that contain possible or likely kjv translation errors all of these errors seem to be preserved in the 1611 king james version in general, the book of mormon appears to rely exclusively on the 1769 king james translation compared with the 1611 king james version or other derivatives in other instances where the two texts diverge. Large portions of the book of mormon are very similar to the king james. What are 1769 king james versionedition errors doing in. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book history of the church, vol. What are the similarities between the book of mormon and.
It is a matter of opinion which word is a better translation. The jst is not considered perfect, just as the kjv and the book of mormon are not considered perfect. Well, what about any imperfections or difficulties in the afrikaans translation of the bible. The book of mormon is the most correct book and was translated a mere decade before the jst. Are there errors from the 1769 king james version of the. It is true that the book of mormon was written in an olde englishe style reminiscent of the kjv bible and shared some errors cherubims and seraphims found in the kjv bible for example. Kjv does not take the word for rock and accidentally translate it is lamp post. This article explains that joseph claimed to be restoring the true, original meaning of the bible, and looks at examples of josephs changes to the gospel of john proving this claim to have been false.
Thus, mosiah 14 had to have been copied from the king james bible. Textual errors in the book of mormon also found in the kjv. It seems reasonable to assume that since smith was a prophet of god and was translating the book of mormon under divine inspiration, he would have known about the errors found in the king james version and would have corrected them when passages from the king james version appeared in the book of mormon. Book of mormonanachronismstranslation errors from the kjv. Needless to say, he made all sorts of mistakes, except in places where the book of mormon plagiarized from the kjv. Rather than translate from an ancient document, smith seems to have quoted from matthew 57 of the kjv and to have made.
Fifth, the majority of differences between the book of mormon text and the isaiah text are not associated with italicized words in the king james version. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, some claim that it shouldnt contain these translational errors. Josephs plagiarism in book of mormon and other revelations. In some cases, entire passages are duplicated in the book of mormon. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. Sources and notes on presence of 1769 king james version edition errors in the book of mormon a supposed ancient text. The book of mormon teaches that little children are not capable of sin because they do not have a sinful nature moroni 8. Early mormon apostle orson pratt made a statement concerning the book of mormon. It is either of divine or human origin, and if it is of human origin that means that joseph smith concocted the book.
The king james version of the bible is, in all likelihood, the most successful of all the english translations. The king james version contains certain translation and textual errors which will facilitate a global transition from the true gospel of jesus christ to the false gospel of the antichrist. The most extensive plagiarism is of isaiah, where over 19. It is in fact replete with such errors, as i intend to show in these two part 6 posts to ed.
What are 1769 king james versionedition errors doing in the. Although few in number, the king james version does contain a number of undeniable incorrect translations. The best confirmation that the book of mormon used the kjv bible is the. Yet it contains many grammatical errors and required changes in subsequent editions. Errors in grammar there are literally thousands of grammatical errors in the original edition of the book of mormon errors that gradually have been changed in later editions. Textual and linguistics issues book of mormon research. The book of mormon abridged for reddit ploni almoni. Some 58 are paraphrased and 11 others are variants and or paraphrases. Kjv errors in the book of mormon when quoting passages from isaiah in the book of mormon, joseph smith relied on the english king james version kjv of the bible. Why do italic translator words from the kjv bible appear in. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of. Critics of the book of mormon claim that major portions of it are copied, without attribution, from the bible. When you ride that translation pony, you import the errors it carries. Since joseph smith claimed to have translated the book of mormon by divine means, the urim and thummim, it should be error free.
The living bible, and the book, which is a new edition of the living bible, but it is not perfect. Contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible. If true, it is one of the most important messages ever sent from godif false, it is one of the most cunning, wicked, bold, deeplaid impositions ever palmed upon the world. Of the 478 verses in the book of mormon quoted from the book of isaiah, 201 agree with the king james reading while 207 show variations. Lds scholar hugh nibley wrote the following in response to a letter sent to the editor of the church news section of the deseret news.
In the book of mormon, there are many chapters of isaiah directly incorporated from the king james version kjv of the bible, complete with translation errors that were obviously not possible to have been recorded on the gold plates since the kjv was not available until thousands of years later. As a companion to the bible, the book of mormon is a witness of jesus christs divinity and his role as the savior of the world. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. Jims first response on page 16 of his very long pdf was to jeremys question about kjv quotes and errors in the book of mormon. It seems reasonable to assume that if smith was a prophet of god and was translating the book of mormon under divine inspiration, he would have known about the errors found in the king james version, and would have corrected them for when passages from the king james version appeared in the book of mormon. Jospeh smith made it up and copied large parts from other texts, including the kjv. Either the book of mormon is what the prophet joseph said it is or this church and its founder are false, fraudulent, a deception from the first instance onward. Not 18th century language there were no errors, but the question still stands.
Rather than ascribe these errors to deity, either through direct or indirect means, men will reject the claims of the book of mormon. When quoting passages from isaiah in the book of mormon, joseph smith relied on the english king james version kjv of the bible. The only explanation is that the book of mormon is not an ancient text, but rather came into being after the kjv i. Several critics have pointed to grammatical errors in the early modern english style of the book of mormon and made the argument that because the original ms, the printers ms, and the first edition of the book of mormon appear to have contained hundreds of grammatical errors, the book was therefore fabricated by smith and not divinely inspired. They present this as evidence that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon by plagiarizing the authorized king james version of the bible. Thus, there are multiple theories about the relationship between the kjv and book of mormon. If joseph smith blindly copied it out of the bible. The book of mormon disproved in less than 1 minute youtube. The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. Jul 30, 2019 while other books were attempted to be added, they were considered noncanonical due to the lack of eyewitnesses, the heavy gnostic heresy content, historical errors, etc.
Not only is almas rendering different from the kjv, its also different from matth. The book of mormon incorporates text which seems to be taken from the king james version, including passages which are now considered to be mistranslations in the king james version. In short, he read from the stone as he translated the texts. Joseph smiths inspired revisions to the king james bible. Why do italic translator words from the kjv bible appear. Since joseph smith used no paper notes, scripts or other texts, whatever he produced in the book of mormon came from god. Ive researched kjv errors a bit, but i havent been able to find specifically any errors that are. Jeremy runnells, a formerly committed mormon and byu grad, in his now famous letter to a ces director, asks at the very beginning of his paper. Disparities with hebrew language, text, and style part 5. In response, apologists sometimes claim that the book of mormon does not transmit translation errors, mainly focusing on the highly subjective nature of translating.
The contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the book of mormon as latterday scripture supplemental to the bible. That said, the bible verses embedded in the book of mormon do show a clear reliance on the 1769 king james version of the bible and not on the 1611 version. In responding to the ces letters book of mormon section, fairmormon makes a few critical concessions, including that errors unique to the 1769 version of the king james version bible are included in the current version of the book of mormon. It does not require much reasoning to see which solution is the simplest. For example, no, the book of mormon does not contain unique errors from the king james version bible. This is a clear case of plagiarism, with no other purpose than adding volume to the book of mormon without too much effort. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. So one of the talking points in the ces letter, which i have seen quoted in this sub as well, is that there are 1769 kjv bible edition errors unique to only that edition present in the book of mormon.
If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the king james bible. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new york state where. When we study the book of mormon, our understanding of the doctrines in the bible is clarified. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of mormon. The book of mormon has no claim to validity due to its lack of incorporation into the biblical cannon. The book of mormon was not corrupted over time and did not need correcting. Why would these errors exist in the book of mormon. Aint nobody got time for that when asked by the new york times to name a book that people might be surprised to discover on his bookshelf, the illustrious physicist and mathematician freeman dyson responded, the book of mormon. Since nephi would have relied on the isaiah passages on the brass plates of laban, doesnt joseph smiths use of the kjv suggest that he did not really translate from an ancient.
Book of mormonplagiarism accusationsking james bible. Yet the book of mormon is not a slavish copy of the kjvthere are numerous words deleted, revised, or added to the text. The book of mormon and the king james version secular web. Jun 19, 2008 the kjv was a great piece of work, but has some translation errors. The joseph smith translation of the kjv has, as far as i know, not been changed since joseph smith stopped working on it. Fairmormons response to presence of 1769 kjv errors in book of mormon in terms of attempting to pinpoint the origin of the book of mormon, even more significant than book of mormon revisions are places where it follows the kjv into error, echoing mistranslations or including translations of late and derivative greek texts. While other books were attempted to be added, they were considered noncanonical due to the lack of eyewitnesses, the heavy gnostic heresy content, historical errors, etc. Errors represented across both 1611 and 1769 kjv a careful.
The book of mormon contains passages from the king james bible summary. In contrast, the bible specifically declares that adams transgression was a sinful act of rebellion that unleashed the power of sin and death in the human. I dont think you can say that the book of mormon contains unique errors from the king james version bible. There is evidence that the biblical passages cited in the book of mormon were translated from hebrew, not copied from the king james bible. His response was printed in the church news in 1961. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. The joseph smith translation is josephs supposedly inspired revision of the king james bible. There are all kinds of differences from what is italicized in the kjv. The reader has to wait with growing tension almost until the. Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is true. If this is true, then the book of mormon should be full of errors. How is it that the book of mormon has the incorrect sermon on the mount passage and does not match the correct jst version in the first place. For none can have power to bring it to light save it be given him of god.
Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is. What are 1769 king james version edition errors doing in the book of mormon. For example, in hebrew, singular masculine nouns are changed to plural by appending im pronounced eemthe equivalent of s or es in english. As for factual errors, there are a number of anachronisms in the book of mormon. In general, the book of mormon appears to rely exclusively on the 1769 king james translation compared with the 1611 king james version or other derivatives in other. The web page you linked to is clearly about the book of mormon and not the kjv. Oct, 2017 ces letter is incorrect about italic words ces letter claims the book of mormon quotes this verse isaiah 9. What is more, the bom quotes sections of the kjv which scholars now know to contain errors. Furthermore, the book of mormon is full of scripture, and for the world of joseph smiths day, the king james version was the scripture, as we have noted. How something should be translated is often subjective. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of.
There are two possible explanations for the origin of the book of mormon. Clearly the book of mormon revises this passage, but it retains that part of the kjv which has been questioned by modern scholarship. What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon. Third, in addition to errors that are due to textual variants, the kjv also made grammatical and stylistic errors that were naively copied by the book of mormon.
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