Re: Any comments?

Chuck Stevens wrote:
"LX-i" <lxi0007@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:5d1e7$44209f40$45491d7a$14101@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
All this, of course, depends on what one means by "the Bible". Is the KJV "The Bible"?

And if you're quoting the KJV as "the Bible", I note with some interest that "way", "truth", "life" and "me" are not capitalized in the version at www.kingjamesbible.com . By convention the capitalization of these words includes an implication that isn't present in the text you're citing (you also left out a comma before "but", but I don't believe that has the theological import that those initial capitals do).
I was taught that nouns and pronouns that refer to God are to be capitalized.

And I was taught when quoting scripture to quote it *exactly*, at the risk of altering the meaning. Few things will send me up the wall than having somebody "adjust" the text of Scripture so that it can be shown more clearly to support your position.

My "position" had nothing to do with the content of the verse - it was used as an example! :( Isn't that clear from my previous response? We weren't discussing whether Jesus *was* (or is) the way, the truth, or the life...

In this instance, you seemed to be quoting the KJV/AV, and in that recension the nouns aren't capitalized, even though Father is. Part of the reason, I think, is that these are Jesus' words in quotation, and it's my opinion that *He* would have thought it at best unseemly for him to be recorded as Describing Himself Using Capitals on All Applicable Nouns and Pronouns. There's a big difference between Jesus' saying "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" and his saying "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life".

How do you say a capital letter different than a lowercase one? :)

(Out of curiosity, do any translations have the *reductio* of that particular point *ad absurdum*, which I would hold to be "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life"?)

None that I've seen. (Probably one done by a former VB programmer would...)

(FWIW - the New American Standard and the Holman Christian Standard Bible capitalize the "Me"; The Message capitalizes all the words I did (although "way" becomes "road");

And I would contend that each of these has added theological content by doing so that is not present *iu this passage* in the original Greek. Neither recension of the New American Bible has any of the capitals. Nor does the NIV.

Maybe they simply conformed to the standard of English that was around at the time the translation occurred - especially if they were pursuing that ever-popular "readability" that some of the new translations seem to be going for. (I feel that they often miss the mark...)

and the 21st Century KJV [my personal favorite] is identical to my quote (minus the missing comma).)

Interesting that they would use "cometh" in a 21st-century English translation. That form of the word has been archaic for rather longer than my lifetime, I'd warrant.

I looked it up - yes, "cometh" is still there.

(As a side note, the NIV (mentioned above), a very popular modern translation, is my *least* favorite translation.)

I'm with you on that as well. I grew up in a KJV-only church. I bought my first NIV when I was attending BJU - as a ministerial major, I just *had* to see what was so bad about it. :) I didn't get to the level where I learned Greek, so my beef with it isn't in the translation, per se... It's more just a feeling. It's interesting to read side-by-side with another translation, but I've yet to preach or give a devotional from it.

But more to the point, www.kj21.com/intro.htm states "The 21st Century King James Version of the Holy Bible (KJ21(r)) is an accurate updating of the King James Version (KJV) of A.D. 1611. While easier to read and understand, it preserves the traditional Biblical language and sacred message of its historic predecessor."

Who says (besides the publisher), and on what authority?

That is a fair question of any translation. :)

It may be *your* personal favorite, but based on this example, I'm not at all convinced it ought to be *my* personal favorite!

To each his own - I wasn't proselytizing... :)

Self-aggrandizement like this doesn't sit well.

How is stating my personal favorite equivalent to overstating my importance as a person? You lost me with that one...

State the translation philosophies and the underlying texts, and leave the choice to the reader!

OK - all my quotes in the previous post were from KJV.

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