I'm not sure my friend John (full disclosure) will appreciate this, but I have a better subtitle for his newest book: "The King James Version of the Bible: A Survival Guide."

I will come out of the closet on this issue: yes, the King James Version is a beautifully rendered, wonderfully poetic translation of the Bible. But, for study purposes, it falls short, in my opinion. So many problems prevent it from being the best Bible available.

The Church, of course, continues to use the KJV as its standard text. There are reasons for this, and Tvedtnes lists several of them. But there is a huge language barrier that stands between the modern reader and the text. and Tvedtnes has authored this fine introduction to the problems and their possible resolutions.

Chapter One, "History of the English Bible," offers a succinct study of the various translations of the Bible into English that had appeared prior to the KJV. Many readers will be surprised to learn how many previous renderings went into the construction of the KJV text. Others may be astonished to learn that the apocrypha appeared in early printings, and was even part of the Bible owned by Joseph Smith.

Chapter Two, "King James Language," studies the now-archaic word forms and language structures used in the Bible, and offers some insights from other literature as to why such language was used, and why Joseph Smith chose to use this form. He also looks at various editions of the KJV, and briefly studies some often-amusing printer's errors that have crept into the Bible.

Chapter Three, "Understanding the King James Version," opens with an interesting study of pronouns and verb forms. Is there a difference between "you" and "thee," and are they sometimes used incorrectly? Indeed! Tvedtnes also looks at the problem of transliteration of names from language to language, etc.

Chapter Four, "KJV Words Whose Meaning has Changed," tackles a very important aspect of this study. An extensive list of such words gives the reader a good foundation for correctly understanding the biblical text. I was, however, disappointed that he didn't include the word "study" (as in "Study to show thyself approved unto God..."), as its meaning is really "make every effort," and is so translated in many modern versions.

Chapter Five, "Spelling Variations," is a brief consideration of words whose spelling has changed over the years, and which become nearly unrecognizable by the modern reader.

Chapter Six, "Different Renderings of Hebrew and Greek Words," is a too-brief look at a problem that vexes students to this day. If you have a copy of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, look up a word and discover how many different words in the Hebrew, say, are translated by the same English word. It can be really messy if you know only the English. Tvedtnes rightly calls attention to this problem.

Chapter Seven, "Later Misunderstandings of Original Intent," is a delight to read, and addresses an issue that I've been arguing for years. Remember the "eye of the needle" verse in the gospels? So many have pointed to a physical location in the Holy Land called "The Eye of the Needle," insisting that this was the place of which Jesus made mention. But Tvedtnes rightly observes that this structure did not exist in Jesus' time, that He was only using hyperbole to make His point. He goes on to examine other words and phrases that are easily misunderstood if one ignores context.

An Appendix supplies the very lengthy, but ultimately fascinating, original preface to the 1611 King James Version. Inasmuch as it no longer appears in modern printings, it provides an interesting historical background to the KJV, and is worth reading and pondering.

Tvedtnes has given us a nice primer to help the beginning student cope with the King James Version. And his extensive word lists and cross-references can help even the experienced Bible student in coping with this sometimes-difficult translation of the Bible.

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Jeff Needle
January 15, 2006