The Importance of Thee and Thou
The Following excellent article
was written by
Pastor E. L. Bynum | August 1995
A New Bible With No `Thou Shalt Nots'
The following story was taken from the pages of a
newspaper. We quote it word for word, so our readers can see this shameful
story.
Thou shall not find any `thou shall nots' in new Bible translation
The Contemporary English Version of the Bible-arriving in bookstores next month propelled by an $8 million advertising blitz-may be the most easy-to-read translation of the perennial bestseller ever published.
Other recent translations have already dumped the troublesome thees, thous and whithersoevers of the 17th century's King James Version. But millions of Americans still weren't sure just what such things as an ark and a manger were, American Bible Society translators found.
So, in the new version, they have Noah simply building a "boat" and Mary laying Jesus on a "bed of hay." Instead of beating swords into plowshares, the new version turns them into "rakes and shovels."
"The truth can't set you free if you can't understand it," says one slogan developed for the new Bible campaign by advertising giant Bozell International. The agency also promotes Taco Bell and American Airlines, and recently touted dairy products in ads showing celebrities with moist milk mustaches.
-Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Sunday, June 25, 1995
Attacking The Bible
The American Bible Society, was once under the
control of godly people who believed in the holy Word of God. This is no
longer true, and has not been so for many years. While they still print and
sell copies of the King James Bible, they have been busy promoting its
destruction.
No Bible believer should support the American Bible Society in any way. Do not
give them money, and do not purchase any bibles or supplies from them.
This Contemporary English Version of the Bible is a bold and Satanic attack upon God's word.
No More "thou shalt not"
The ABS evidently thinks that it is a good thing to get rid of "thou shall not" in the Bible. At least they seem to be making light of them in their news release. A quick check reveals that "thou shalt not" appears 219 times in the KJV. It starts in Genesis 2:17, and ends in Revelation 3:3. It occurs 11 times in Exodus 20. The liberals, libertarians and free thinkers have never liked "thou shall not." The liberals have longed to change the Ten Commandments into the Ten Suggestions. Please consider these classic examples of "thou shalt not." They were once memorized and believed in this country, but they are largely relegated to the ash heap in modern America.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them... 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain... 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work... 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife....
-Quotations selected from Exodus 20:3-17
Consider Other Changes
They boast about changing "ark" to "boat." The
Hebrew word for "ark" is "tebal," which simply means "ark" or "vessel." Boat
may not be a radical change, but it is not called for.
In this new bible (?), they change "manger" to a "bed of hay." This is a
blatant and uncalled-for altering of the Word of God. "Manger" comes from the
Greek "phatne." It is translated "manger" three times, and "stall" one time.
It simply means a "manger." There is no "bed of hay" to be found in the Greek
New Testament. The ABS people know this, but the Word of God is not sacred to
them. To them, the Bible is a nose of wax, that can be twisted in any shape
they desire.
God said that they would "beat their swords into plowshares." The new bible
produced by the ABS says that they will beat their swords into "rakes and
shovels." This is a perverse change of what God said in His word. "Plowshares"
comes from the Hebrew word "eth." It is translated in the KJV "plowshares"
three times, and "coulters" one time. It simply means plowshares. There is
nothing in the Hebrew text that means "rakes and shovels." This once again
shows the disregard of the American Bible Society and their translators, for
the Holy Bible.
Those Terrible Thee's And Thou's
The use of "thee" and "thou" in the KJV has brought the ridicule of the critics for many years. The news media, with their abundance of ignorance, have jumped onto the critic's bandwagon over and over again. The modern Bible translators know better, but they are willing to use any weapon to fault the KJV. The truth of the matter is, you cannot properly translate the Bible without using thee, thou, thy, and thine. Rather than trying to explain this, I shall quote from an internationally known modern scholar, who has a handful of University degrees. The quote below is from the pen of Dr. Henry M. Morris.
Those Thee's And Thou's
"And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do." (Exodus 4:15)
These words of God, spoken to Moses concerning the mission he and his brother Aaron were to undertake at Pharaoh's palace are one of numerous examples in Scripture where the King James translation uses several different forms of the second-person pronoun. In this one verse, we see the words "thou," "thy," "you," and "ye," all fulfilling this function. Most modern translations would translate this sentence: "You shall speak to him ...and I will be with your mouth,... and will teach you what you shall do." Why would the King James translators use four different forms of the pronoun when only "you" and "your" are used in modem versions?
The fact is that the Elizabethan-age English was able to make much finer distinctions than modem English. That is, "thou," "thee," "thy," and "thine," were used for the second person singular, whereas "ye," "you," "your," and "yours" were the corresponding words for the plural. Different words also were used for subject, object, and possessive modifier, as is still true for first and third-person pronouns.
In our text, God was telling Moses that he (Moses) was to speak to Aaron, and that He (God) would then teach both of them, not just Moses, what they were to do. This distinction is clear in the King James English, but not in modern English. This is one of numerous examples where such fine points in the King James language are lost in modern translations.
In the Lord's Prayer, for example, "Yours is the kingdom" could suggest that many will possess the kingdom, where "thine is the kingdom" clearly recognizes one God alone. Clear words are important for clear meanings, and Jesus said, "My words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). HMM
--From Days of Praise, Henry M. Morris. Editor
I have already said, the translators of the new
Bible versions know the above facts from the able pen of Dr. Henry M. Morris.
It is no secret, but they are so dishonest they are unwilling to tell us the
facts. They are willing to tell falsehoods, in order to destroy the KJV.
Our Critics Are Active
There exists a class of preachers in this country who profess to love the KJV. They solemnly claim that it is the Bible they preach from. Of course, they tell us, that they do not agree with the "King James Only" crowd. In truth, they are some of the harshest critics of the KJV. They persistently attack David Otis Fuller, even though he is dead. They are the vicious critics of Hills, Ray, Waite, Riplinger, Bynum, and others. While professing to love the KJV, they viciously attack those who are exposing the errors of the modern versions.
You never hear these critics exposing the errors of these new and heretical versions. They have no stomach for that. Their time is spent in diatribes against those of us who are exposing the false versions.
I, for one, shall not be sidetracked into endless arguments with these false brethren. It is far more productive to declare the truth, than to argue with the crackpots.
August 1995 | Published by: TABERNACLE BAPTIST CHURCH
1911 34th Street
Lubbock, Texas 79411
