Over the past few years I have been hearing that there is a problem with the New International Version of the Bible and how there are verses missing from it. In reasearching this I found that there were some changes in the NIV Bible from the King James Bible versions. This concerned me and I let myself get all worked into a frenzy about everything that I had ever read in the NIV Bible right down to how can I trust any version of the Bible. Well, those worries may not have been completely unfounded, meaning that we should study the Word of God to be able to know it well enough to prove to God that were are workmen who can rightly divide the Word of truth. II Tim. 2:15. Those worries were unfounded because I jumped ahead onto the band wagon of the King James version of the Bible can be the only right verson, knowing better from all my fancy Bible schooling I that I have had which taught me to look at all the facts first and then I am free to jump to any conclusion that I want to. Now after my expert research skills were put to use, by asking Google, I found this really well laid out article explaining the in's and out's of what version showed up in history when and who is really behind this train of thought that the KJV is the only right version on earth. I decided that I would not try to restate the article but rather I would just share it with you so that you can see for yourself. Using tools like the internet can be very useful as well as very confusing, I can expertly speak on this with great authority after getting myself really confused about a lot of different things, so for me it's important not to use online sources as the final say. Of course, you have your way of learning and gathering information and above all else, you are welcome to jump to whatever conclusion you want to, but please do so after you check out this info first before jumping this time. You might find that you have saved yourself from trouble.
The shared article is below but let me share a few things first. What this article says is most important to our understanding about how satan will use anything he can to take us out of God's Word. I don't know if you are aware of the movement of the King James only people but it's important for you to know that they have a strong belief that no other version but the 1611 KJV is the only one that should ever be read and believed. That is a religious spirit at work behind that belief and we can see how much that has caused a problem even causing us to want to throw away bibles and to stop reading them. I'm guilty to of being caught up in the worries of what to do with my bibles and of wondering if I was taught wrong my whole life. Those who have worried about such things, as I did, about this whole situation has made us angry and fearful and doubtful. God doesn't give us a spirit of fear but rather a spirit of peace so our take away is that if we are presented with a concept that causes us worry or anger or fear then we really need to test that concept to see where it comes from or where it's beginnings are from. Today it is too easy to gather information due to the internet to not only dupe ourselves into making fast and uneducated and unfounded decisions about issues that really do nothing more then help us build up prejudices and hatreds and opinions that are ccausing us to waste time informing all the poor souls that have never heard our new found information or are now not as smart as us on this issue because we have seen a youtube video or have seen a Facebook post about it or read some article that has been reproduced over and over just to prove a point that we some how feel validation in knowing that others opinions support this new frenzy, that we forget to go back to the source, which is God and ask Him to lead us to what is true about the current issue and also we often loose the Christ likeness that we want to strive to live in. We can be sure of that by the way we aporoach the topic with others because our conversations about the issue usually invole such words and or thoughts that make us feel proud, validated, superior, disgust, disbelief, anger, and an urgency to tell everyone we know this awesome new information that will change lives forever. Notice what is missing in this new found information? Peace and lack of fear.
The enemy against God's Word is so cunning and deceiving that we often don't recognize that it's him at work. Because of this we all need to step up our game and make sure that we are reading God's Word every day, putting on the armor of God and praying ever day which does several things for us, it helps grow out spirit which makes us strong and builds our relationship with God so that we can hear and know His voice and it helps us know how to test every spirit that brings new or really to be honest it is recycled, (because there is nothing new under the sun), information to us that draws us away from doing the things listed above that keeps our minds busy and in a whirlwind.
Be encouraged and pray for wisdom and strength and unity. We are all in this together and remember, united we stand but once the enemy gets us divided we then often get prideful and then we fall, usually right into the trap the enemy set for us that God has already warnned us about.
Amy Hosp
Here is the article that I promised.
JesusAlive.cc Fish
Q: #258. Why is the NIV Bible missing some verses?
By: Steve Shirley
A: The NIV has 16 "missing" verses, all in the New Testament. I put "missing" in parenthesis because many scholars would say that they aren't "missing" at all, but rather, the Bibles that have them (like the KJV) "added" them when they never should have been included in the Bible in the first place.
First off, it is important to understand that we do not have the "autographa" or original manuscripts of the Bible. The versions of the Bible we have today are based on copies from these original manuscripts. We have thousands of fragments and copies of the original manuscripts (some dating before 100 A.D.) that are surviving today. These are used by scholars when they write different versions of the Bible, generally using what is considered the best manuscript evidence available at the time.
These copies agree more than 98% of the time in what they say, but there are some differences. It should be understood that as Christians, we believe that the "autographa" is infallible, however, because fallible man has been involved in copying or translating what God originally stated, MINOR errors have occurred (none that concern any major doctrine). Many of these have been corrected over time. This being said, the "missing" verses would fall into this category.
When the KJV Bible was written in 1611, it was written primarily using what is called the "Textus Receptus." This was a highly regarded source at the time. However, since the KJV was written, we have found many more ancient source texts to use that were not available to those KJV writers (i.e the Codex Sinaiticus - found in the mid 1880's). When these different sources are compared they sometimes (but rarely) disagree. Regarding the "missing" verses, nearly all of the manuscripts we have today do not contain the "missing" verses. Therefore, they are not believed to have been a part of the "autographa" and are removed from that version (the NIV places them in footnotes with an explanation). Some versions include them, but with a warning. The NASB has them in parenthesis and says in the footnotes "Early mss do not contain this verse." The NKJV says, "NU omits verse --" (NU = Nestle-Aland).
I should add here that many who make an attack against these verses being left out are "KJV only" people. They believe that the KJV Bible is infallible or error free. (This is refuted here: Q: #1) We must understand that all Bibles we have are VERSIONS or copies of the original. NONE are infallible or error free. When a "KJV only" person or anyone else voraciously attacks a version of the Bible that leaves out these verses, they are often stating that "their" version (which includes the verses) is the correct standard by which every other version should be judged. If the verses are in "their" version, they should be in ALL versions. Again, this is simply false. (They also attack for other reasons too, some of which have more validity.)
Let me close by sharing this truth with you. God has promised in (Isa 40:8)(1 Pet 1:23,25)(Mt 5:18) that he would preserve His word, and He has done just that. The Bible is the most tested, scrutinized, proven and enduring book in history. While there may be differences in different versions of the Bible, we can rest assured that God's word is preserved.
PS: For those of you who want to know, here is a list of the "missing" verses: (Mt 17:21)(Mt 18:11)(Mt 23:14)(Mk 7:16)(Mk 9:44,46)(Mk 11:26)(Mk 15:28)(Lk 17:36)(Lk 23:17)(Jn 5:4)(Acts 8:37)(Acts 15:34)(Acts 24:7)(Acts 28:29)(Rom 16:24).
*** It should be noted that these are also missing from other Bible versions like the NLT, RSV, NRSV, CEV
http://jesusalive.cc/ques258.htm
