{"id":1269,"date":"2018-05-28T01:24:34","date_gmt":"2018-05-27T23:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcgill.org.za\/stuff\/?p=1269"},"modified":"2018-07-25T11:44:43","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T09:44:43","slug":"kjver-king-james-version-easy-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcgill.org.za\/stuff\/archives\/1269","title":{"rendered":"KJVER: King James Version Easy Read"},"content":{"rendered":"
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More underlining than text. Copious stupid explanations that try to correct the text. Lazy heading for the next book. Hebrew names, because Hebrew is magic.<\/p><\/div>\n

A friend lent me a copy of the KJVER \u00ae edition – King James Version Easy Read.\u00a0 After looking it over to see what it is like, I have made some observations.\u00a0 In short, I don’t like it.\u00a0 It\u00a0 is a ham-fisted search-and-replace edition with stupid and misleading footnotes. It supports evolution, zionism, and works salvation. And it\u2019s ugly.<\/p>\n

What is the *ER<\/h2>\n

It says this about itself:<\/p>\n

KJVER, The Trusted King James in an Easy Read Format™
\nHebrew names of God indicated and explained
\nSpecial word meanings noted
\nComplete red letter edition
\nOld testament \u2013 the direct words of God in red
\nNew testament \u2013 the words of Christ in red
\nDictionary \u2013 concordance
\nMap section with new original study maps<\/p>\n

ER is supposed to stand for \u201cEasy Read\u201d, although it might also stand for \u201cEmergency Room\u201d. My first thought on this edition of the Bible is that the \u201cER\u201d is short for error:<\/p>\n

<\/a> KVJ Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This edition has rendered this very verse as:<\/p>\n

<\/a> *ER Matthew 22:29 Je\u2019sus answered and said to them, Youp<\/sup> do err<\/u>, not knowing <\/u>the scriptures, nor the power of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition, it offers small print corrections and clarifications:<\/p>\n

do err: are wrong
\nknowing: understanding<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For the rest of this article, I\u2019m going to refer to the *ER\u2019s rendition as: \u201cJe\u2019sus answered and said to them, You(p) do err (are wrong), not knowing (understanding) the scriptures, nor the power of God.\u201d Putting something away in a footnote or a sidenote serves only to draw attention to it \u2013 a normal reader reads the footnotes as if they are part of the text.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So does \u201cknowing\u201d mean \u201cunderstanding\u201d? Did the saducees have knowledge of the scripture, but somehow lacked actual understanding? No: they simply didn\u2019t know the scripture. If they had spent more time knowing it, they would also have understood. Knowing is not understanding. Another verse, which speaks about understanding the scriptures, the *ER has rendered almost without alteration:<\/p>\n

<\/a> KJV Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

*ER Luke 24:45 Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The only change here is horrific honorific capitalisation of pronouns \u2013 a stupid and meaningless gloss that adds nothing useful. The Bible already makes a distinction between knowledge and understanding. Dulling that distinction is not helpful. Jesus told them they were ignorant: not that they somehow lacked understanding without there being a reason.<\/p>\n

I name this book the Search-and-Replace Edition with Amplified Footnotes (SREAF).<\/p>\n

Copyright page<\/h2>\n

Here is how they would like their work to be acknowledged:<\/p>\n

Scripture quotations marked (KJVER) are taken from the King James Easy Ready Bible, KJVER \u00ae, \u00a9 2001, 2007, 2010, 2015 by Whitaker House. Used by permission. All rights reserved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Well good for them to have worked for 15 years on this book, but this acknowledgement says that they are \u201cscripture quotations\u201d. When I quote the KJVER, I\u2019m arguably not quoting actual scripture \u2013 according to their own standards \u2013 so maybe no acknowledgement is due.<\/p>\n

They have an impressive trademark portfolio: KJVER \u00ae, Word of God ™, Sword Study Bible ™, the Sword Emblem\u00a0™, Word for Word ™ and Red Letter Old ™ are registered trademarks of Whitaker House. Wow, they trademarked the Word of God ™. They t\u00aeademarked Jesus™!<\/p>\n

The introduction<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s what the introduction to the book says \u2013 many revealing things:<\/p>\n