Where is God's preserved Word?

Having established God’s promise to preserve His Word to all generations, the question arises, If God’s Word is available today, then where is it? God’s inspired, preserved Word is available today, both in the original languages, and in translations.

God’s preserved Word is available in the original Greek. However, there are several different text-types of the Greek text. A text-type is a group of manuscripts having a strong agreement, especially on passages on which other manuscripts disagree. The two main text-types are the Byzantine and the Alexandrian. Which of these is the true Word of God? Advocates of the Byzantine text-type will point out that 95 percent of all known manuscripts fall into this category. Advocates of the Alexandrian claim the Byzantine was produced by a revision of the Alexandrian text around 350 A.D. However, if the Alexandrian text is the Word of God, then the Word was lost for 1,500 years between the supposed revision of 350 and its rediscovery in the mid 1800s. But God promised His Word to all generations (Ps. 100:5). God’s promise of preservation is the strongest witness against the Alexandrian text.

The Word of God is found in the Byzantine text-type. The strong agreement of the Byzantine manuscripts, and the continuity of the text dates back at least as far as the Alexandrian as evidenced in ancient translations. The Byzantine text is evident in the Peshitta Syrac (145 A.D.) and Old Latin (157 A.D.) translations, dating two centuries before the supposed revision of 350 A.D.

The disagreements of the Alexandrian manuscripts, not just with the Byzantine, but among themselves, prove them to be unreliable at best. The Anglican scholar John W. Burgon examined the five most revered Alexandrian manuscripts in depth, and concluded that “they render inconsistent testimony in every verse.” Of four of these, he writes “... [they] differ essentially, not only from ninety-nine out of a hundred of the whole body of extant MSS. besides but even from one another.” These differences are evident in translations. For example, look up Mark 16:9-20 only to find a footnote implying that this passage isn’t authentic. However, only two manuscripts (of over 5,000) omit this passage!

Therefore, Byzantine text-type is the Word of God. But God’s Word is not limited to the original languages. For if God could use men to inspire and preserve His Word perfectly, surely He could guide men to translate it perfectly. For one of the Spiritual gifts is “interpretation [translation] of tongues [languages]” (1 Cor 12:10). In Mark 15:34, which is the Word of God, the original “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” or the translation “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It is self-evident, that both are the Word of God. Therefore, we can conclude that.

For a Bible translation to be the preserved Word of God, it must use the Byzantine text, and it must be translated literally. Byzantine translations include the KJV and NKJV, while most other translations (NIV, NASB, etc.) use the Alexandrian text. We cannot live by “every word” (Matt. 4:4) with a translation that’s not literal. Literal translations include the NASB, KJV, and ESV. Only a literal translation can be taken literally as the Word of God.

The KJV is the only English translation commonly in print that uses both the correct Greek text, and the correct translation method. Therefore, I believe the KJV to be the inspired, preserved Word of God in English.

For more information, please see: http://preservedword.com/article.php?id=207