Bible Versions Questions and discussion about the Bible version issue.

 
 
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Old 04-17-2009, 02:28 PM
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Default Isaiah 34:16

(KJV) Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. Isaiah 34:16

God makes it clear His word, the Scriptures, is the foundation of His dealings with His creation. Few places in the Scriptures will we find this stated more clearly or forcefully than this passage in Isaiah. He is not going to contradict or deviate from His words, and we can with confidence seek out His book and read; He is truly as good a His Word.
While not uniformly corrupted as I Tim. 3:16 or other doctrinal passages, this verse has not escaped every bible corrector’s notice, we will examine the verse and the various representations of it over the centuries.

Jerome’s Vulgate and the Clementine Vulgate agree with the reading of the KJV, as does several of the more prominent foreign language reformation texts:

(Jerome’s Catholic Vulgate) requirite diligenter in libro Domini et legite unum ex eis non defuit alter ad alterum non quaesivit quia quod ex ore meo procedit ille mandavit et spiritus eius ipse congregavit ea
(Luther Bible 1534) Suchet nun in dem Buch des HERRN und leset! es wird nicht an einem derselben fehlen; man vermißt auch nicht dies noch das. Denn er ist's, der durch meinen Mund gebeut, und sein Geist ist's, der es zusammenbringt.
(Catholic Clementine Vulgate 1599) Requirite diligenter in libro Domini, et legite: Unum ex eis non defuit, alter alterum non quæsivit; quia quod ex ore meo procedit, ille mandavit, et spiritus ejus ipse congregavit ea.
(Dutch Statenvertaling 1637) Zoekt in het boek des HEEREN, en leest; niet een van dezen zal er feilen, het een noch het ander zal men missen; want mijn mond zelf heeft het geboden, en Zijn Geest Zelf zal ze samenbrengen.
(Reina Valera 1669) Preguntad de lo que está escrito en el libro del SEÑOR, y leed, si faltó alguno de ellos; ninguno faltó con su compañera; porque su boca mandó y su mismo Espíritu los ayuntó.

The English language translations leading up to the AV1611 maintain a positive consistency:

(Wycliffe) Seke ye diligentli in the book of the Lord, and rede ye; oon of tho thingis failide not, oon souyte not another; for he comaundide that thing, that goith forth of my mouth, and his spirit he gaderide tho togidere.
(Coverdale) Seke thorow the scripture of the LORDE & rede it. There shal none of these thinges be left out, there shal not one (ner soch like) fayle. For what his mouth commaundeth, that same doth his sprete gather together (or fulfilleth).
(Bishops Bible) Seke through the booke of the Lorde and reade it: there shall none of these thynges be left out, there shall not one nor such lyke fayle: for his mouth commaundeth, and that same doth his spirite gather together, or fulfyll.
(Geneva Bible) Seeke in the booke of the Lord, and reade: none of these shall fayle, none shall want her make: for his mouth hath commaunded, and his very Spirit hath gathered them.
(KJV-1611) Seeke ye out of the booke of the Lord, and reade: no one of these shall faile, none shall want her mate: for my mouth, it hath commaunded, and his spirit, it hath gathered them.

The foundation of all modern Scriptural corruption, the Revised Version of Westcott & Hort with its companion, the Douay-Rheims of Rome, give a correct rendering of this verse, along with the 1905 Syriac Peshitta in English and the Jewish Publication Society’s English translation of the OT:

(English Revised Version 1885) Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall be missing, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
(Catholic Douay-Rheims 1899) Search ye diligently in the book of the Lord, and read: not one of them was wanting, one hath not sought for the other: for that which proceedeth out of my mouth, he hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
(Peshitta) Seek out the book of the LORD, and read; no one of these shall fail, none sought for her mate; but he with his own mouth has commanded, and his spirit it has gathered them.
(Jewish Publication Society 1917) Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read; no one of these shall be missing, none shall want her mate; for My mouth it hath commanded, and the breath thereof it hath gathered them.

A surprising number of the more prominent “versions” maintain the reading, “…book of the LORD”:

(RSV) Seek and read from the book of the LORD: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.
(Catholic New American Bible) Look in the book of the LORD and read: No one of these shall be lacking, For the mouth of the LORD has ordered it, and his spirit shall gather them there.
(English Standard Version) Seek and read from the book of the LORD: Not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.
(CEV) In The Book of the LORD you can search and find where it is written, "The LORD brought together all of his creatures by the power of his Spirit. Not one is missing."
(Good News Bible) Search in the LORD's book of living creatures and read what it says. Not one of these creatures will be missing, and not one will be without its mate. The LORD has commanded it to be so; he himself will bring them together.
(New American Standard) Seek from the book of the LORD and read Not one of these will be missing None will lack its mate7. For His mouth has commanded And His Spirit7307 has gathered them.
(NKJV) "Search from the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
(New Living Translation) Search the book of the LORD, and see what he will do. He will not miss a single detail. Not one of these birds and animals will be missing, and none will lack a mate, for the LORD has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true.

In the common usage of colloquial English, many of us will say, “Lord help us…” or “Thank the Lord…” with full understanding of His Lordship. Three versions I examined attempt to throw the context of the passage back into an Old Testament context only by telling us to seek out the book of “…Jehovah”:

(ASV) Seek ye out of the book of Jehovah, and read: no one of these shall be missing, none shall want her mate; for my mouth, it hath commanded, and his Spirit, it hath gathered them.
(Young’s Literal Translation) Seek out of the book of Jehovah, and read, One of these hath not been lacking, None hath missed its companion, For My mouth--it hath commanded, And His spirit--He hath gathered them.
(New World Translation) Search for yourselves in the book of Jehovah and read out loud: not one has been missing of them; they actually do not fail to have each one her mate, for it is the mouth of Jehovah that has given the command, and it is his spirit that has collected them together.

We arrive at three of the most high profile versions in use as this is written. Their proponents and stockholders assure us of the “archaic” nature of the KJV without informing us that in this verse in Isaiah we are commanded to seek out a “…scroll of the LORD…” a form of data/information storage not used for centuries and found only in many Jewish synagogues today, effectively rendering the passage as nearly useless for any contemporary doctrinal application, unless of course you are an Orthodox Jew who reads Hebrew and has access to the synagogue copy. The Holman and NET bibles both cast the verse into poetry, further diluting its value as a doctrinal passage:

(NET) Carefully read the scroll of the LORD
Not one of these creatures will be missing
none will lack a mate.
For the LORD has issued the decree,
and his own spirit gathers them.43
(Holman Christian Standard) Search and read the scroll of the Lord:
Not one of them will be missing,
none will be lacking its mate,
because He has ordered it by my mouth,
and He will gather them by His Spirit.
(NIV) Look in the scroll of the LORD and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together.

We come to the last of the altered versions where we meet out friend, YAHWE, the most blatant mistranslation being the Concordant Literal Version, the bible of many Univeralists:

(Catholic New Jerusalem Bible) Search in Yahweh's book, and read, not one of these will be missing, not one of them lacking a mate; for thus his mouth has ordained it, and his spirit has brought them together.
(World English Bible) Search in the book of Yahweh, and read: Not one of these will be missing. None will lack her mate. For my mouth has commanded, And his Spirit has gathered them.
(Concordant Literal Version) Inquire from the scroll of Yahweh and read: None of them shall be deranged. The dam does not miss her mate. For the mouth of Yahweh instructs them, and His spirit, it convenes them."

Finally we examine where “…the book of the LORD” has been excised completely from the text, not unexpected in the case of the “LXX” and the 1979 revision of the “authoritative” version of the Latin Vulgate which is the official “scriptures” of the Catholic Church:

(Bretton’s English LXX) They passed by in full number, and not one of them perished: they sought not one another; for the Lord commanded them, and his Spirit gathered them.
(Complete Apostles' Bible) They passed by in full number, and not one of them perished; they sought not one another; for the Lord commanded them, and His Spirit gathered them.
(Catholic New Vulgate) ex eis non deest,alter alterum exspectare non debet;quia os Domini praecepit,et spiritus eius ipse congregavit ea.

Mt 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Mt 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Mr 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?

In Luke chapter 4 Jesus Christ confronts Satan personally and in this encounter effectively impeaches Satan’s temptations and twisting of Scriptures with “…it is written…” and in Revelation His enemies are slain with “…the sword of His mouth…” which is “…the book of the LORD.”
I hope you have a copy given by inspiration and that works effectually in you and others who believe.

Grace and peace

Tony
The King James Bible Page SwordSearcher Bible Software
 

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