Here is the question that I would like to have answered by those who created the modern translations:
Why even go so far as to qualify these alleged additions by copyists? Why go so far as to add the qualifier "Some manuscripts prayer and fasting?"
If the majority of the mss used do not say fasting then declare majority rules and omit the words that are found in the minority.
Correct?
Take a stand. Remove fasting.
Yet they don't. All of these modern translations continue to compare to the King James and if the King James has it then their modern translations keep it, even if they bury it in the margin or footnotes. And yet their translation is an improvement upon the original.
I don't know about you, but when I buy a product that continues to have a defect or design flaw from a previous edition I do not consider the new product to be any sort of improvement.
Why is this? Why are these KJV only items constantly listed in modern translations? I find the practice confusing because it appears as if they themselves are confused (James 1:8?) or not entirely conviced and because of that they don't want to take a stand on whether or not fasting, in this case, is required.
Is Rev 22:19 on their mind? I thought according to the modern translation crowd the warning in Rev 22:18 & 19 was only a warning against willful distortion? Certainly by their reasoning removing fasting would not be willful distortion because 1. it was added by a copyist and therefore should be removed, and 2. Jesus simply said (their argument, not my stance) they needed faith and not fasting.
I was told once by someone who preferred the NIV to the KJB that one goal of the NIV and other modern translations was to provided the widest-range of translations from the largest amount of mss available, in other words the least common demominator approach. Let everyone know what all the manuscripts say, but point out what was in the majority and what was in the minority.
Wait. I thought that is what we have in the King James? At least one manuscript said fasting so the King James translators added it.
Peace,
Harley