Updated August 1, 2002 (first published September 6, 1997) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) –

The editors and translators of the New King James Bible claim that they are standing in the tradition of the men who originally produced the Authorized Version and who slightly revised it in the 18th century, that they are only updating outmoded language and that they remain firmly committed to precisely the same Greek and Hebrew text as that underlying the original King James Bible. The advertisements for the NKJV would have readers believe that there are no textual changes and that the men who produced it love the old King James Bible. The Statement of Purpose issued by Thomas Nelson, publishers of the New King James Bible New Testament (1979), makes the following claim:

"Not to add to, take from, nor alter the communication intended by the original translators, but to convey that communication in 20th century vocabulary and usage."

This says to me that the producers of the NKJV are committed to PRECISELY the same text as that underlying the King James Bible.

This is not the case, though.

FIRST, THE EDITORS OF THE NKJV ARE DEFINITELY NOT COMMITTED TO THE RECEIVED TEXT UNDERLYING THE KJV.

We have corresponded with some of these men, including the executive editor of the Old Testament portion, Dr. James Price. In April of 1996 he admitted to me that he is not committed to the Received Text and that he supports the modern critical text in general --

"I am not a TR advocate. I happen to believe that God has preserved the autographic text in the whole body of evidence that He has preserved, not merely through the textual decisions of a committee of fallible men based on a handful of late manuscripts. The modern critical texts like NA26/27 [Nestles] and UBS [United Bible Societies] provide a list of the variations that have entered the manuscript traditions, and they provide the evidence that supports the different variants. In the apparatus they have left nothing out, the evidence is there. The apparatus indicates where possible additions, omissions, and alterations have occurred. … I am not at war with the conservative modern versions [such as the New International Version and the New American Standard Version]" (James Price, e-mail to David Cloud, April 30, 1996).

AT LEAST SOME OF THE EDITORS OF THE NKJV ARE COMMITTED TO THE SO-CALLED "MAJORITY TEXT," WHICH MAKES SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURES FROM THE RECEIVED TEXT UNDERLYING THE KJV.

In 1982, Thomas Nelson published “The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text.” The editors, Zane Hodges and Arthur Farstad, were also key players in the New King James Version project. There are almost 1900 differences between the Received Text and the Hodges-Farstad Majority Text. The deletion of 1 John 5:7 is an example. The translators of the Authorized Version accepted this passage as inspired Scripture and they placed it in the English Bible. The editors of the NKJV, on the other hand, do not believe 1 John 5:7 is Scripture, and they have omitted the passage from the Hodges-Farstad Majority Text, together with dozens of other portions of Scripture and hundreds of words. These men are definitely not committed to the Received Text or the King James Bible. Their goal is to modify it to bring it in line with their theories of textual criticism, which err by taking into consideration only the Greek manuscript evidence and ignoring the three other sources of evidence, ancient translations, writings of ancient church leaders, and lectionaries.

(A list of the omissions and changes proposed by the “majority text” view can be found in the back of the Interlinear Bible by Jay Green. A good refutation of the majority text position is available in Jack Moorman’s book The Majority Text, which is published by Bible for Today, 900 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ 08108. 800-564-6109, BFT@BibleForToday.org.)

FURTHER, THE MARGIN OF THE NKJV IS FILLED WITH THE SAME TYPE OF CRITICAL NOTES FOUND IN THE MODERN BIBLES.

The Nestle-Aland United Bible Societies critical Greek text (NU) follows the Westcott-Hort text of 1881 in removing or questioning dozens of entire verses and thousands of words which are in the Received Text. It is shorter than the Received Text by the equivalent of 1 and 2 Peter. Those who believe the Received Text underlying the Authorized Version and other revered Protestant versions is the preserved Word of God reject the NU text as corrupted. The editors of the NKJV claim they are honoring the Received Text with their New King James Bible, but they have given credibility to the corrupted UBS text by placing its doubt-producing readings in the margin of their Bible.

Many modern version defenders point to the marginal notes in the 1611 KJV and claim that it is inconsistent for King James Bible defenders to make something of the critical textual notes in the modern versions while ignoring the ones in the original KJV. James White does this in his popular but shallow book The King James Only Controversy (p. 77). This is a comparison of monkeys and trees, though. Both the 1611 KJV and the modern versions have marginal notes, but the nature of those notes is very different. The textual notes in the 1611 KJV were not critical as are the ones in the modern versions. The marginal notes in the 1611 KJV did not cast continual doubt upon the text, as do those in the modern versions. In testifying of the marginal notes in the modern versions, Jay Green, a biblical scholar and Bible translator, says, "Deceitful footnotes often throw doubt on the words of the text, such as may be found at Mark 1:1; Romans 9:5, etc. Worse, yet, in other places when words that witness to the Godhead of Christ are removed from the text, seldom is there a footnote to call attention to it. And when there is a footnote purporting to give evidence for the change, a false impression is often given by an incomplete presentation of the facts" (Jay Green, Sr., The Gnostics, The New Versions, and the Deity of Christ, Lafayette, Indiana: Sovereign Grace Publishers, 1994, p. 5). The marginal notes in the NKJV New Testament largely show the omissions and changes from the Nestle-Aland Greek text, a revision of the Westcott-Hort text of 1881. The note at 1 Timothy 3:16 says, "NU Who," telling the reader that "God" is removed from this important verse and is replaced with the almost meaningless "Who." The reader is left wondering why. If he were to pick up the popular New International Version to check further, he would be led even farther astray, as already noted, by being told that only "some manuscripts" have the word "God." To pretend that the marginal notes in the 1611 KJV are the same in nature as those of the modern versions is to ignore the facts.

Those who use the New King James Bible are therefore subjected to the same onslaught of potential doubt as those who use the New International Version or some other modern edition of the Bible. Many claim that the critical notes which question the authenticity of the Bible text are not harmful to readers. We believe this is nonsense. I saw the fruit of this questioning in my own life before I was grounded in the issue of God's Preserved Scripture and before I understood the unbelieving foundation of modern textual criticism. Before I went to Bible School I read my Bible carefully, word by word, and I did not doubt or question even one tittle. After I completed a course in New Testament Greek and was taught by a professor that the Received Text and the KJV are not based on the most dependable scholarship, I found myself questioning large portions of the Bible. I would like someone to explain to me how such confusion builds strong Christian lives.

(The following study is based on the margin of the New King James Version, Thomas Nelson, copyright 1984.)

44 ENTIRE VERSES ARE QUESTIONED IN THE MARGIN OF THE NKJV ON THE BASIS OF THE UNRELIABLE UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIES TEXT

Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 21:4; 23:14; 24:6 Mark 7:16; 9:44; 9:46; 11:26; 15:28; 16:9-20 Luke 17:36; 22:43; 22:44; 23:17 John 5:4; 7:53-8:11 Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29 Romans 16:24 1 John 5:7

PORTIONS OF 95 OTHER VERSES ARE QUESTIONED IN THE MARGIN OF THE NKJV ON THE BASIS OF THE UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIES TEXT

MATTHEW

5:22 NU omits "without a cause"
5:27 NU omits "to those of old"
6:13 NU omits "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."
9:13 NU omits "to repentance"
9:35 NU omits "among the people"
10:3 NU omits "Lebbaeus, whose surname was"
10:8 NU omits "raise the dead"
12:35 NU omits "of his heart"
13:51 NU omits "Jesus said to them"
15:8 NU omits "draw near to Me with their mouth, And"
18:29 NU omits "at his feet"
19:20 NU omits "from my youth"
20:7 NU omits "and whatever is right you will receive"
20:16 NU omits "For many are called, but few chosen"
20:22 NU omits "and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with"
20:23 NU omits "and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with"
22:13 NU omits "take him away, and"
23:3 NU omits "to observe"
25:13 NU omits "in which the Son of Man is coming"
26:60 NU omits "false witnesses"
27:35 NU omits "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots."

MARK

1:2 NU omits "Isaiah the prophet"
1:14 NU omits "of the kingdom"
2:17 NU omits "to repentance"
3:5 NU omits "as whole as the other"
3:15 NU omits "to heal sicknesses and"
4:4 NU omits "of the air"
6:11 NU omits "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city"
6:36 NU omits "bread; for they have nothing to eat"
7:2 NU omits "they found fault"
9:29 NU omits "and fasting"
9:45 NU omits "into the fire that shall never be quenched"
9:49 NU omits "and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt"
10:24 NU omits "for those who trust in riches"
11:10 NU omits "in the name of the Lord"
12:4 NU omits "and at him they threw stones"
12:30 NU omits "This is the first commandment"
12:33 NU omits "with all the soul"
13:14 NU omits "spoken of by Daniel the prophet"
14:19 NU omits "And another said, 'Is it I?'"
14:27 NU omits "because of Me this night"
14:70 NU omits "and your speech shows it"

LUKE

1:28 NU omits "blessed are you among women"
1:29 NU omits "when she saw him"
1:78 NU omits "shall visit"
4:4 NU omits "but by every word of God"
4:8 NU omits "Get behind Me, Satan"
4:18 NU omits "to heal the brokenhearted"
4:41 NU omits "the Christ"
5:38 NU omits "and both are preserved"
6:10 NU omits "as whole as the other"
6:45 NU omits "treasure of his heart"
7:10 NU omits "who had been sick"
7:31 NU omits "And the Lord said"
8:45 NU omits "and those with him"
8:45 NU omits "and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"
8:54 NU omits "put them all out"
9:54 NU omits "just as Elijah did"
9:55 NU omits "and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of'"
9:56 NU omits "For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them"
10:35 NU omits "when he departed"
11:2 NU omits "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
11:4 NU omits "But deliver us from the evil one"
11:11 NU omits "bread from any father among you, will he give you a stone? Or if he asks for"
11:29 NU omits "the prophet"
11:44 NU omits "scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites"
11:54 NU omits "that they might accuse Him"
17:3 NU omits "against you"
17:9 NU omits "him? I think not"
19:5 NU omits "and saw him"
20:23 NU omits "Why do you test Me?"
20:30 NU omits "took her as wife, and he died childless"
22:30 NU omits "in My kingdom"
22:31 NU omits "And the Lord said"
22:64 NU omits "struck Him on the face and"
22:68 NU omits "Me or let Me go"
22:23 NU omits "and of the chief priests"
23:34 NU omits "Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do"
23:38 NU omits "written and in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew"
24:1 NU omits "and certain other women with them"
24:42 NU omits "and some honeycomb"

JOHN

3:13 NU omits "who is in heaven"
3:15 NU omits "not perish but"
4:42 NU omits "the Christ"
5:3 NU omits "waiting for the moving of the water"
5:16 NU omits "and sought to kill Him"
6:11 NU omits "to the disciples, and the disciples"
6:22 NU omits "which His disciples had entered"
6:47 NU omits "in Me" 8:6 NU omits "as though He did not hear"
8:9 NU omits "being convicted by their conscience"
8:10 NU omits "and saw no one but the woman"
8:59 NU omits "through the midst of them, and so passed by"
9:11 NU omits "the pool of"
10:26 NU omits "as I said to you"
11:41 NU omits "from the place where the dead man was lying"
12:1 NU omits "who had been dead"
17:12 NU omits "in the world"
19:16 NU omits "and led Him away"

ACTS

2:23 NU omits "have taken"
2:37 NU omits "to the church"
7:30 NU omits "of the Lord"
7:37 NU omits "Him you shall hear"
9:5 NU omits "It is hard for you to kick against the goads"
10:6 NU omits "will tell you what you must do"
10:21 NU omits "who had been sent to him from Cornelius"
10:32 NU omits "When he comes, he will speak to you"
15:24 NU omits "saying, 'You must be circumcised and keep the law'"
17:5 NU omits "who were not persuaded"
18:21 NU omits "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem"
21:8 NU omits "who were Paul's companions"
21:25 NU omits "that they should observe no such thing, except"
22:9 NU omits "and were afraid"
22:20 NU omits "to his death"
24:6 NU omits "and wanted to judge him according to our law"
24:8 NU omits "commanding his accusers to come to you"
24:15 NU omits "of the dead"
24:26 NU omits "that he might release him"
25:16 NU omits "to destruction"

ROMANS

1:16 NU omits "of Christ"
3:22 NU omits "and on all"
8:1 NU omits "do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit"
8:26 NU omits "for us"
9:31 NU omits "of righteousness"
9:32 NU omits "of the law"
10:15 NU omits "preach the gospel of peace"
11:6 NU omits "But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work"
14:6 NU omits "and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks"
14:21 NU omits "or is offended or is made weak"
15:24 NU omits "I shall come to you"
15:29 NU omits "of the gospel"

1 CORINTHIANS

5:7 NU omits "for us"
6:20 NU omits "and in your spirit, which are God's"
9:18 NU omits "of Christ"
10:23 NU omits "for me"
10:28 NU omits "for 'The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness'"
11:24 NU omits "Take, eat"
11:29 NU omits "in an unworthy manner"
15:47 NU omits "the Lord"

2 CORINTHIANS

8:4 NU omits "that we would receive"
12:11 NU omits "in boasting"
13:2 NU omits "I write"

GALATIANS

3:1 NU omits "that you should not obey the truth"
3:17 NU omits "in Christ"
4:7 NU omits "through Christ"

EPHESIANS

3:9 NU omits "through Jesus Christ"
3:14 NU omits "of our Lord Jesus Christ"
4:17 NU omits "rest of the"
5:30 NU omits "of His flesh and of His bones"

PHILIPPIANS

3:16 NU omits "rule, let us be of the same mind"

COLOSSIANS

1:2 NU omits "and the Lord Jesus Christ"
1:14 NU omits "through His blood"
2:2 NU omits "both of the Father and"
2:11 NU omits "of the sins"

1 THESSALONIANS

1:1 NU omits "from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

2 THESSALONIANS

2:4 NU omits "as God"

1 TIMOTHY

2:7 NU omits "in Christ"
3:3 NU omits "not greedy for money"
3:16 NU replaces "God" with "Who"
4:12 NU omits "in spirit"
5:4 NU omits "good and"
5:16 NU omits "man or"
6:5 NU omits "from such withdraw yourself"
6:7 NU omits "and it is certain"

2 TIMOTHY

1:11 NU omits "of the Gentiles"

HEBREWS

1:3 NU omits "by Himself"
2:7 NU omits "And set him over the works of Your hands"
3:6 NU omits "firm to the end"
8:12 NU omits "and their lawless deeds"
10:9 NU omits "O God"
10:30 NU omits "says the Lord"
11:11 NU omits "she bore a child"
11:13 NU omits "were assured of them"
12:20 NU omits "or thrust through with an arrow"

JAMES

4:4 NU omits "adulterers and"

1 PETER

1:22 NU omits "through the Spirit"
4:1 NU omits "for us"
4:14 NU omits "On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified"

1 JOHN

2:7 NU omits "from the beginning"
4:3 NU omits "Christ has come in the flesh"
5:13 NU omits "and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God"

REVELATION

1:8 NU omits "the Beginning and the End"
1:11 NU omits "I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, and"
1:11 NU omits "which are in Asia"
1:20 NU omits "which you saw"
4:3 NU omits "And He who sat there was"
5:14 NU omits "Him who lives forever and ever"
11:1 NU omits "And the angel stood"
11:17 NU omits "and who is to come"
14:8 NU omits "is fallen, that great city, because"
14:12 NU omits "here are those"
15:2 NU omits "over his mark"
16:5 NU omits "O Lord"
16:7 NU omits "another from"
16:14 NU omits "of the earth and"
19:1 NU omits "the Lord"
21:6 NU omits "It is done"
21:24 NU omits "of those who are saved"

See also "Response to NKJV Article by Kirkbride Board of Reference Member"