Grace Junkies

The Bible, as one of the most revered and widely read texts in human history, has undergone centuries of transmission, translation, and interpretation. Recently, however, a new process has shaped the way we perceive and understand the Bible. Textual criticism reports to be a scholarly discipline that aims to reconstruct the original wording of ancient texts by comparing various manuscripts and weighing older manuscripts as more accurate or authentic. Is textual criticism essential for ensuring the accuracy of the Bible? Or should we depend upon God to preserve His Word as He has promised? Let us explore the results of textual criticism and see if it has led to a more accurate and inerrant Bible.  In this article I am will use the current most popular modern Bible version and list examples directly from the English Standard Version (ESV). The results are very similar across almost all modern English Bibles because they chose to use a skeptical critical philosophy and critical Greek editions in their attempt to “reconstruct the original”. See the last paragraph for more detail on this.  I will be comparing it to the KJV which used a traditional Greek collection of manuscripts called the Received Text (TR) which means it was the collection of texts that the church had always received or accepted as the Word of God. We can see evidence of this throughout church history by reading the church fathers and paying attention to where they quote the Bible they had received. Take a look at the following examples from the ESV and see if it is more accurate or even meets a basic standard of inerrancy:

1. Mark 1:2 – Crediting the Wrong Prophet

In the ESV, Mark 1:2 attributes a prophecy to Isaiah that is actually a compilation of quotes from both Malachi and Isaiah. The confusion arises due to poor decisions on textual variations in a minority of manuscripts. These avoidable errors can undermine the integrity of the biblical narrative and are an attack on the doctrine of inerrancy.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, -Mark 1:2 ESV

As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  -Mark 1:2 KJV

2. Philippians 2:5-8 – Teaching Different Doctrine

In Philippians 2:5-8, the ESV renders the text in a way that blatantly alters the doctrine of Christ’s divinity and equality with God. The original Greek text emphasizes Christ’s “equality with God,” but some modern versions, including the ESV, phrase it as Christ “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” However Jesus did consider His equality with God as something to be grasped in John 14:9. This ESV change in wording is an obvious error.

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped – Phil 2:6 ESV

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: -Phil 2:6 KJV

3. John 7:8-10 – Implying Jesus’ Falsehood

In John 7:8-10, Jesus tells his brothers he won’t be attending the Feast of Booths, yet later he does attend secretly. The ESV’s translation could be misconstrued as implying that Jesus lied, whereas other versions based on the TR present a more harmonious interpretation of the events.

You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” – John 7:8 ESV

Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. – John 7:8 KJV

4. 1 Timothy 6:5 – Missing the Conclusion

1 Timothy 6:5 in the ESV ends abruptly, omitting the conclusion of the verse found in other versions based on the TR. This omission alters the overall meaning of the verse and hinders a complete understanding of Paul’s message.

and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. -1 Tim 6:5 ESV

perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. -1 Tim 6:5 KJV

5. 1 John 5:7 – Grammatically Incorrect

The Comma Johanneum, found in 1 John 5:7, is a disputed verse regarding the nature of the Trinity. The ESV, along with many modern versions, omits this verse due to the lack of support from earlier manuscripts. However, its absence in the text causes a serious grammatical error in Greek, the masculine predicate in the apodosis of verse 7 is mated with the three neuter nouns (water, blood, spirit) found in verse 8 (which then becomes the subordinate clause), a serious grammatical error in greek. Scholars agree that originally there had to be some text present in order to make the sentence logical in Greek but modern critics are unwilling to concede that this is the passage from the TR. The issue is hidden when translated into English since our language does not have this constraint.  Not only does this issue defeat inerrancy but also the doctrine of divine preservation since according to critical scholars something has definitely been lost. The problem does not exist in the TR.

For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 1 John 5:7-8 ESV

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 1 John 5:7-8 KJV

6. 2 Samuel 21:19 – Goliath’s Slayer

The ESV, like many other modern versions, attributes the slaying of Goliath to Elhanan in 2 Samuel 21:19, whereas the account found in 1 Samuel 17 reports David as the victor.  And 2 Chronicles 20:5 supports the fact that it was Goliath’s brother that Elhanan killed. This is another obvious inconsistency that many use to dispute the accuracy of the bible.

And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 2 Sam 21:19 ESV

Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. – 2 Sam 21:19 KJV

7. Luke 2:22 – Purification Law

In Luke 2:22, the ESV incorrectly states that the family underwent purification according to the law. The reference by Luke is in Leviticus 12:2-8 and only pertains to the mother of the newborn. The ESV is clearly not inerrant.

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord – Luke 2:22 ESV

Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord – Luke 2:22 KJV

8. Luke 2:33  – Jesus’ Paternity

In Luke 2:33 the ESV refers to Joseph as Jesus’ father, which is either inconsistent with the biblical stories of Jesus’ divine conception and Mary’s virginity or is a serious doctrinal error. This error is repeated in Luke 2:43. The Bibles based on the TR however do not have this error, merely reporting him as Joseph.

And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. – Luke 2:33 ESV

And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. – Luke 2:33 KJV

 

Conclusion

Textual criticism claims to be a crucial field for ensuring the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible. However, as demonstrated by the examples from the ESV, the process is seriously flawed and causes many errors in modern versions and translations. The modern philosophy of reconstruction combined with the complexities of language, translation, and interpretation, of ancient manuscripts, has resulted in discrepancies and inconsistencies. It is essential for scholars, theologians, and lay readers to engage critically with modern critical Bible versions and take an unbiased look at textual criticism as a whole. If God has preserved His Word as He promised then it is definitely not the ESV or other similar versions based on the critical philosophy and critical Greek texts such as the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament or the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament or Wescott and Hort’s The New Testament in the Original Greek. Instead we should look to the Bible that the church has always received from the Holy Spirit and that God has divinely preserved: the Received Text (TR).

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