A Brief History of the King James Bible
by Dr. Bobby Adams

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

I. CALLED SCRIPTURE

II. COLLECTED SCRIPTURE

III. COPIED SCRIPTURE

IV. CIRCULATED SCRIPTURE

V. CORRUPTED SCRIPTURE

VI. CORRECTED SCRIPTURE

VII. CONSUMMATION OF SCRIPTURE

I. CALLED SCRIPTURE:

As Christians we need a Biblical basis for our world view. (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Our world view is that God exist and He has spoken. Therefore, the Bible is our Final Authority in all matters of faith and practice. In fact, we read in Esther 9:29, “…wrote with ALL AUTHORITY,….” It is the basis for textual authority as well. It’s the Biblical basis for studying the Bible as the word of God. Without it we wouldn’t know God, let alone anything about Him. (1 Pet. 1:10-12, 23; 2:2; 2 Pet. 1:19-21). No human origin. Inspiration is prophecy. A prophet is an inspired man speaking inspired words. The Spirit of God moved upon men’s vocal chords and when they spoke He gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). Prophecy then is inspired speaking. (2 Pet. 3:1-2, 15-16). This is for the whole body of Scripture.

From 1 Cor. 12:8-10; 2:7-13 we see that when Peter says of Paul that he wrote “according to the wisdom given unto him” that the word of wisdom is a supernatural working-gift of God. Knowledge and prophecy go together. It is Revelation doctrine. How are we to know God? By words. He gives us a revelation of Himself by words by His Spirit. They are Spirit taught words. So, the wisdom of God involves inspiration.  (2 Tim. 3:15-17).  Even before the N.T. penned the O.T. as Scripture (1 Tim. 5:18; Deut. 25:4; Lk. 4:17-19; Isa. 61:1-2a). The writings are Scripture and were recognized as such from the very beginning, even then. (Mk. 15:28; Isa. 53:12; Da. 10:21; 9:2; Jn. 2:22; 5:38-39, 47; 10:35; Rom. 10:8, 11; Acts 17:11; 8:32; k. 24:27). Scripture is ALWAYS what is on hand. In 1Timothy 5:18 Paul quotes from Luke10:7-refers to it as Scripture.

“INSPIRATION”. It means, 1) God Breathe, 2) Spirit words, and 3) Alive.

(Gen. 2:7; Eze. 37:4-10; Jn. 20:22; 6:63, 68; Acts 11:14; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Job 33:4; Ps. 33:6). Consider 2 Tim. 3:16 with Job 32:8. Inspiration in Greek is a compound word. Theos is God, and pnuestos is from pneuma and means spirit. Thus it means God’s Spirit. So, inspiration is not only His breath but Spirit taught or given words which are life. It’s the Scriptures that give man understanding. See Hebrews 4:12-13.

“TRANSLATION”. (2 Tim. 3:16). If a translation cannot be given by inspiration, than even the “originals” cannot be given by inspiration of God! (Gen. 42:23; Ex. 5-11 conversation between Moses and Pharaoh were in Egyptian and then were of Artaxerxes, Darius, and Cyrus written in the Persian language, and Nebuchadnezzar written in Babylonian or Chaldean tongue yet translated into Hebrew in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Joseph spoke to his brothers in Egyptian by way of an interpreter yet when it was to be put in the Scriptures it was in the Hebrew language. More than 40 O.T. are quoted in the N.T., that is, from Hebrew into Greek. Mtt. 1:22-23; Isa. 7:14; Mtt. 2:5; Mic. 5:2; Mtt. 2:15; Hosea 11:1; Mtt. 2:17; Jer. 31:15; Lk. 23:38; 24:25-27, 44-45).

Now, the word translation comes from two Latin terms: trans and latus. Trans means ‘across.’ Latus means ‘to lift or carry.’ So, the literal meaning of translation is to lift or carry across. In plainer words, a translation means to carry from one language (bodily, literally) to another. That is, to not losing any parts, gaining any parts or changing any parts. (Give the Hebrew/English of Gen. 1:1. And give the Greek/English of Jn. 1:1. Consider, Acts 22:1-21 (21:40; 22:2), where Paul spoke Hebrew but, Luke wrote it in Greek-translation. Consider Acts 9:5-6 and 26:14. Both are given by inspiration and translated, and we have them preserved in the English of a KJB! A copy of a copy of copies yet they are Scripture. This is some book we have ladies and gentlemen! Psalms 12:6-7! 

And that isn’t all. “IS” See Eph. 6:17; Job 27:3; 32:8; Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:25. “IS GIVEN” See: Job 37:10; Eze. 33:24; Mk. 6:2; Rom. 5:5; 12:6; 1 Cor. 1:4; 11:15; Eph. 4:7; Phil. 1:29 It always means something is on-hand. The same thing as Lk. 22:19, “This is my body, which is given for you.” In 1 Jn. 4:2-3, modern versions want to change this also, “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God”. Change “is come” to ‘has come’ and you have not only changed the tenses from Greek texts from a present tense to a past tense verb.

But also they’ve changed the meaning, Jesus is still flesh, 1 Tim. 2:5. His incarnation will never have an end. So, if ‘scholars’ will change the truth about the word incarnate, than they will change the written word as well. 2 Jn. 7 same thing.

In several places the term, “word” is placed on the same level as the “scripture.” (Jn. 2:22; 5:38-39, 47; 10:35; Acts 17:11; Rom. 10:8-11 et. al.) So, the word Scripture appears 53 times in 14 books of our KJB. They were called Scripture. It might also be added that no one in the first century had a copy of all 39 books of the O.T. bound together. In Luke 4:17 only the Book of the Prophet Isaiah was given to the Lord and He opened it and read. Today we have all 66 books of the Bible all bound together. We are so privileged a people! Same thing in Acts 8.

II. COLLECTED SCRIPTURE:

(2 Pet. 3:15; 1 Pet. 1:1). In the Epistles of Paul, to whom is he writing? Galatia. Who are they? Antioch, Psydia, Iconia, and Lystra. Cappodocia?  No.  Asia Minor. Ephesus, Colossians, and Philemon. Paul was told not to go to Bythynia. Well, where did the others learn about the Epistles of Paul? Must have been collected Scripture huh? At least 2, yes? How were they collected?  Passed around. See Col. 4:12. Preacher boys in training at the Church of Ephesus started churches and collecting the Scriptures and passing them around. Acts 19:19 mentions a School of Tyrannus where Paul taught preacher boys. From here all of Europe was evangelized-Acts 19:10. One of those preachers went down to the Lycos River Valley and started 2 churches: Hieropolis, and Colosea-Col. 4:12-16. His name was Epaphras.

The Laodicean Scriptures-Paul wrote them, but they’re not in the canon of Scripture are they? No. We do not have 1^st and 3^rd Corinthians (1 Cor. 5:9; 2 Cor. 2:3-4). What we have are the 2^nd and 4^th Corinthians, known to us as 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians. This letter to the Laodiceans may be the Book of Ephesus. In that book Christ is the Head of the Church, and in Colossians He is the Body of the Church. So, they do fit together nicely. They are shared letters. Collected Scripture. This is certainly nothing new.

Consider: Neh. 7:64; 8:1; 1 Chron. 9:1; Ex. 17:14; 24:4, 7. Moses was told to write and put them into the Ark of the Covenant. Joshua (24:26) wrote-recorded things to be kept in the Book of the Law. We have the Book of Joshua right? In Psalms we find it divided up into 5 divisions or books. Prov. 25:1. Hezekiah’s men copied out. The Book of the Kings, all kept and preserved fulfilling Ps. 12:6-7. In the N.T. in Lk. 24 we have the 3 O.T. divisions: Law, Prophets, and the Psalms. In Jn. 16:13, Jesus says that the Spirit will guide you into all truth. In 17:20 His prayer, Jesus prays for us who shall believe on Him through their word.

The vocal chords is inspiration, yes, but the apostles words-the Bible. (Jn. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23; Rom. 10:17). God gave the words by His Spirit, and He collected them.

III. COPIED SCRIPTURE

Though we have already touched on this topic, we must deal with it a bit under this heading. John Burgon tells us that God safeguarded the integrity of the deposit of Holy Writ (originals), copies, versions, Church Fathers or ‘Patristic Citations.’

To begin with Paul’s writings are copied Scripture (2 Pet. 3:15-16; Col. 4:16).

From the Greek word translated as “interpretation”, we get our English word “hermeneutics” when we transliterate the Greek word. Let’s follow this word a little bit. In 1 Cor. 12:10, note “hermania” a noun hence “interpretation,” a noun in our Bible. In verse 30 we notice the verb form, “interpret,” “hermeneo”. In the Book of John chapter one in verses 41-42 in giving the meaning of “Messias” and “Cephas” the word is in the verb form in v. 41, than the noun form in v. 42. Why bring this up? The writer was translating you see. Translating Scripture. He was coping Scripture too. We have translation of the O.T. into the N.T. and it is just as inspired as the original. Translation is as inspired as when it was written in the O.T. Translating is the same as copying Scripture. 

The conversation between Pharaoh and Moses, in Egyptian in Exodus chapters 5- 11, were translated into Hebrew the “originals.” That was a translation-copied it down as Scripture. The decrees of Artaxerxes and Darius were written in the Persian tongue and Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean tongue were copied/translated into Hebrew. (Dan. 3:29; 6:25; Esther 8:8-13). More than 40 verses in the “original autographs” of the N.T. were Greek translations of Hebrew. WOW! I didn’t learn that in Greek and Hebrew courses in college, in a university and in seminary. Latin, as well as Hebrew and Greek, was inspired. (Lk. 23:38). Let’s also mention Aramaic words too while we are at it in Acts 1:19, “Aceldama” and you will see this set off by “that is to say”. Or “which is by interpretation” discussed earlier. In Mk. 7:34, again Aramaic word is copied. In Lk. 4:21 where Christ turned to was a copy of a copy of copies. He did not have an original writing of Isaiah, save that Isaiah penned the book Jesus reads. In Acts 8:32, 35 the Scripture read was not Isaiah’s original autograph-writings. But it was given by inspiration every word of it (2 Tim. 3:16). No one in David’s time (1100 B.C.) had the original copy of Moses (1400-1500 B.C.). People in Paul’s day had Scripture that they could search (Acts 17:11), and Jesus said to search them in John 5:39.

Now then, returning to the word interpretation, I wish to explore it a bit further. The Gift of Interpretation is the gift of making inspired translation. Prophecy is the Gift of Inspired Speaking. In Acts 2:4 you see the gift of inspiration. Prophesying when speaking in tongues. Difference? We heard them speak in our language that they didn’t know. (Miracle of hearing ) Corinthian Church spoke in an “unknown tongue.” Paul told them don’t do that unless you have the gift of interpretation of tongues. Again, translating, though only it had to be interpreted it’s still inspired translations, it’s copied Scripture. Make sense everyone?

In the Byzantine Mss we have upwards to 98% agreement with each other. But the Critical Text has many major differences: shorter ending of Mk. 16:1-8, the woman taken in the act of adultery in Jn. 8. The line goes, Byzantine to the TR to the KJB. The Critical Text the so called “oldest& bestest” we say no the “mostest” is the “bestest.” But which one has the history? Critical text has NO history for its constantly changing according to their own people. The Reformers have already faught this fight of which is the correct text. The Muslims conquered Constantinople so, the Greeks fled to western Europe with their Greek mss and taught Bible out of the North in Greek. The Greek Orthodox Church still today use this same Greek Testament. Reformers judged Jerome’s Latin Vulgate as the wrong text. To give one example: the Reformers called the Catholic Church to repent, be justified by faith. While the Catholic Church said, No, do penance, & be justified in the Church. You are declared righteous in justification, its imputation. Thus, the Reformation was born. The RCC said that the “original mss” had been lost, but they have been preserved in the Latin Vulgate by the church. But again, the Reformers said No, God has preserved the true text of Scripture. Bloody battle.

The Reformers said that the apographa (copies) came from the autographs (originals). While the RCC said, No, the apographa are corrupted and lost except what we have in the Vulgate. However, since then, there has been a marriage between the Critical Text people and the RCC, and the Bible Societies. This is enough said along this line for our purposes. But I agree with the Reformers. So, there is copied Scripture. They believed copies were the word of God. Now the RCC’s are controlling the Scriptures by being in control of and on Bible Societies who publish them. Do we believe that the originals are lost, they are not preserved in the copies that we have, some 5,860 Greek Mss, or should we look for them through the so called “science of textual criticism”?

Paul wanted pastor Timothy to be with him in Rome (2 Tim. 4:9, 13, 21). But Timothy is to stop at Troas on the way and pick up Paul’s cloke, the books, but especially the parchments which he left in the house of Carpus. It had been wet with the brine of the Mediterranean Sea, white with the snow of Galatia, yellow with the dust of the Egnatian Way, and made crimson with the blood of his wounds for Christ’s sake.  Winter will be coming on soon, and when it sets in the season for navigation will be closed due to bad weather conditions for ships to venture out to sea. If Timothy waited too long to leave he’d have to wait to travel in spring. I like to think he started at once and left Carpus’ home and sailed past Samothrace to Neapolis, then on by the Egnatian Way across the plains of Philippi and on through Macedonia to the Adriatic, where he took a ship to Brundisium. From here on up to the Appian Way to Rome where he found the Apostle Paul. Later, Paul would walk to the place of execution near the Pyramid of Cestius to be beheaded and go on home to glory.

The NT began to multiply (Acts 1:8 12:24; 19:20; Rom. 10:18; 16:26; Col. 1:6, 23) and were carefully preserved, and transmitted to the next generations (1 Tim. 6:13- 14; 2 Tim. 2:2; Mtt. 28:19-20); and were taught to keep without spot and pass them along exactly as they were given in Greek. Then the Syriac and the Old Latin (Itala) from AD. 100-200. The Apostles wrote letters unto the brethren which are of Syria meaning Syriac (Acts 15:22-23; 18:18). Further, Paul said that he spoke “with tongues more than ye all,” and planned a trip to Spain (1 Cor. 14:18; Rom. 15:24). With Greek being translated into the Syriac and the Old Latin the text goes into the 2^nd century. The process of the NT books in these 3 languages went into various other languages distributed throughout the known world of the first two centuries such as out to the Middle East, Asia Minor, Europe, Africa, England, and India.  According to Acts13:1-4, Paul was sent out with church authority, and wrote NT books, then carried the Gospel to Asia Minor & Europe. Significantly the NT text is called the Antiochian, and Syrian Text according to Harry Sturz, pp. 104-105, The Byzantine Text-Type: New Testament Textual Criticism.

IV. CIRCULATED SCRIPTURE

This has been addressed repeatedly, therefore no further comment is needed. However, a few comments should be mentioned concerning such matters of: 1) Land Barriers, 2) Law Barriers, and 3) Language Barriers though briefly. The Lord gave the Great Commission in Mtt. 28:18-20, and nothing is listed by way of excuse to let us off the hook from accomplishing what He gave us orders. The Lord said to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mk. 16:15.) God help us to be obedient to His command. When you read the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, you see the disciples going everywhere preaching the Gospel as laid out in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Look at passages such as Acts 1:8 where they were told to go: Jerusalem, all Judaea, Samaria (Israel), “and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  There are NO Land Barriers, NO Language Barriers, and NO Law Barriers. In Acts chapter 15 the subject of the Law of Moses surfaces, but the disciples met together and decided to come up with a plan. In verses 28-29 the letter had four points to it. The Gentile Christians were to: 1) Abstain from meats offered to idols, 2) and from blood, 3) from strangled animals, and 4) from fornication. Some of the disciples went here and yonder preaching the word of God. Look at Acts 6 to see how they overcame languages and different kinds of problems between the Grecians against the Hebrews because their widows they felt were being neglected, so deacons were chosen and given this responsibility.

Stephen was the first martyr for his faith and words in chapter 7. Saul (Paul) zealous for the law and Judaism was converted in chapters 8-9 and that problem was resolved and the churches had peace and comfort from God (Acts 9:31).

Believers were scattering to escape the persecution.

In Acts 8 Philip spoke to a eunuch of Ethiopia who was reading Isaiah 53, so he preached to him the Lord Jesus. The eunuch believed, was baptized and brought the gospel and the Scriptures to Ethiopia. All barriers were overcome in the NT. Peter went to Caesarea to some Italian men in chapter 10 and more people came to Christ. The law comes up again in Acts 11 because they preached to the Gentiles. These issues constantly came up but God helped the apostles to come out ahead every time. Paul spoke many languages so, no barriers for him either.

V. CORRUPTED SCRIPTURE

Though we have briefly mentioned this point of corrupting Scripture we now must show that it too took place in Biblical times as well as in history after the canon of Scripture was closed. In Genesis 3:1, the Serpent ask Eve, “Yea, hath God SAID?” So, the word of God was being questioned from the very beginning. He went from Doubting God’s words to Denying God’s words, to Denouncing God’s words. In 1 Corinthians 2:17 we read of “many, which corrupt the word of God.” Further, we read of those in Jeremiah 23:36, who “have perverted the words of the living God.” Again, we read in 2 Corinthians 4:2 of people who were “handling the word of God deceitfully.” 

Let’s consider an example in Jeremiah chapter 36 of corrupting the words of God. Jeremiah was in prison for preaching the word of God. But he had a man whose name was Baruch to write the words of God from the mouth of Jeremiah (that’s inspiration, 36:4;  2 Pet. 1:21).  Baruch then took those words written on a “roll of a book” and read them to the people in the Lord’s house. Those words finally reached the ears of the king, than Jehudi who was now doing the reading says verse 23 began to “cut it up with a penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.”  The word of God was destroyed in the fire, than later it was tied to a rock and thrown into the Euphrates River. Now, since we have a copy of this book Jeremiah must have spoken the word of God again, and Baruch wrote them down. See Jer. 36:28; 51:60-64. God’s words were cut up and burned in order to keep it from being heard and responsible for obeying it. They corrupted His words by not letting it say what it does and changing it. God said something so the men cut it up as if to say no, we do not have it. They changed the words as to say that God said nothing. They changed it, corrupted what God had said by cutting the book up and burning it. They corrupted the words of God by doing away with it, changing it-burnt it.

There are several other verses of Scriptures dealing with the corruption of the word of God. Paul writing his second letter to the church of the Thessalonians said in chapter 2 and verse two, “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, NOR BY WORD, NOR BY LETTER AS FROM US, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” False teachers were writing and posing as apostles in order to influence the other people even during the FIRST CENTURY. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 11:13-15 and says concerning them, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” They were corrupting the word of God Paul says earlier in 2 Cor. 2:17.

In his second epistle, the Apostle Peter (2 Pet. 2:2-3; 3:1-4) warns of those men who deny the Scriptures of old, bring in their false doctrines and deceive many from the true words of God. Most people are aware of the fact that Apostle John wrote his general epistle to combat Gnosticism. In First John (2:1-19) where he lets the reader know that these apostates left the truth of what is written and went out into the world. These people are liars, and an antichrist because they deny that “Jesus is the Christ,” and they also deny “the Father and the Son” (v.22-23).

From Forever Settled, page 81, Moorman writes, “Most tampering of the text took place before 200 A.D. And most was done in the Western areas furthest from the location of the original autographs. Colwell says, ‘The overwhelming majority of variant readings were created before the year 200.’ Scrivener says, ‘The worst corruptions to which the N. T. has ever been subjected originated within a hundred years after it was composed.’ Kilpatrick states, ‘The creation of new variants ceased by 200 A.D. because it became impossible to sell them.’”

During the second century there were men who were heretics who corrupted the words of God, such as Marcion, Montanus, Valentinus, and Tatian. Soon Origen would follow who also changed the Holy Scriptures to what he wanted them to say. So, the Lord’ churches were plagued by unbelievers who tried to change the Bible to say just what they wanted it to say. We have people alive today who live to distort the truth of Scripture, such as Bart Ehrman, Dan Wallace, and James White do to the KJB. These are besides modern versions and cultic groups changing and denying Scripture. Holy Scripture has been dumbed-down, deluted, and defied. However, while this falsifying of Greek documents was ongoing, God was moving to protect Scripture in other languages too, namely, English. While Satanic Persecution was ongoing, Supernatural Preservation was ongoing as well!

VI. CORRECT SCRIPTURE

So, while the Greek transmission of the Scriptures go in one direction, the Gothic translation (later called German and English) went another way. The Peshitto, is Syrian for “Common,” around 150 A.D., along with the Old Latin or Atala dating around 157 A.D. It is called Vulgate which was the vulgar tongue of the people around this time period also means “Common.” Jerome’s Latin Vulgate was written somewhere around 380 A.D. Which brings us to the English Bible and that begins with the Gothic Bible written about A.D. 350 by Ulfilas. We are ONLY studying the English Bible, NOT the Greek and Hebrew Bibles.

Waite, in his book, shows that the Received Text, or the correct text was in circulation nearly everywhere. On pages 45-48 of Defending the King James Bible, Dr. Waite lists 37 historical evidences supporting the Textus Receptus. From 100-312 A.D., the 45 corrupt texts that disagree with the Textus Receptus originated. This was a period of wrestling against many heresies and heretics that developed their own Bible’s to support their heresies. The church rejected these variant texts and they fell into disuse whereas the Textus Receptus continued on as the text for the Christian church. During this time according to Dr. Waite, “The Peshitta Syriac Version, (150 A.D…)…was based on the Received Text. Papyrus #75 used the Received Text. The Italic Church in Northern Italy (157 A.D) used the Received Text. The Gallic Church of Southern France (177 A.D.) used the Received Text. The Celtic Church in Great Brittain used the Received Text.

Church of Scotland and Ireland used the Received Text. The Pre-Waldensian churches used the Received text. The Waldensians (120 A.D. and onward) used the Received Text.” The first English Bible was the Gothic Bible written about A.D. 350 which was translated from the Greek Byzantine Text of the New Testament. So, the Gothic Bible was based on the Received Text.

Now, both the correct text, the Gothic/Received Text and the corrupted text, which is the critical text, one comes from Antioch of Syria and the other one from Alexandria, Egypt, and both of them come to us side by side through history. That is, once the critical text comes into existence. According to Bentley, however, there is no record that Vaticanus existed before A.D. 1475 and was found in the Vatican Library in Rome. Also, according to both Bentley and Birdsall the dating method of mss, Vaticanus is a 4^th Century ms which had no bearing on the N.T. text whatsoever. Further, these men said that the dating method was invented by two Jesuits Catholic monks in order to counter the Protestant Reformation. While this was going on, the word of God in English began with the Gothic Bible. The information comes to us, as Stephen Shutt says, “The history of the English Bible must be documented from old Bibles, their texts, their prologues, and eyewitness reports of history’s great Christian’s and translators…and martyrs.”

“A scientific study of English begins with the study the Gothic Bible,” (The First Germanic Bible, ed. G. H. Balg, p.v.) Riplinger says that, “Gothic was a major world language spoken at the time of Christ. It was spoken as early as the 300s B.C.”

“[A]bout the middle of the second century [A.D. 150]” and “the early centuries A.D... [the Goths] swept southeastward across Europe to the Black Sea.” God drew them from Scandinavia to Scythia (modern Romania and Bulgaria) to meet the recently completed New Testament half way. The Goths “migrated into Scythia” and became part of the “Barbarian, Scythian,” people mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Colossians (3:11). “At this time a vast number of Goths were Christians, their conversion having been effected by those whom they had carried into captivity.” “A large part of the nation became Christian about this time.”

(The First Germanic Bible, p. xiv; The Bible Through the Ages, ed. Robert V. Huber, Pleasantville, New York: The Reader’s Digest Association, 1996, pp. 224, 225; Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed., New York: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 1910-1911, s.v. Goths, s.v. Rome, map of Scythia, pp. 648-649.)

“During the preceding century Christianity had been planted sporadically among the Goths beyond the Danube, through the agency in part of Christian   captives,. and in part of merchants and traders.” “[T]he Goths were acquainted with Christianity before Ulfilas, [also called Wulfila, ‘the apostle’ to the Goths] through missionary work in their territory.............. ” “By Ulfilas’ time, the Visigoths [West Goths] were aware of Christianity not only because of their captives but also through the missionaries who had come to preach among them.” (EB, s.v. Ulfilas; Camb. Hist. Vol. 2, p. 339; The Bible Through the Ages, p. 224.)

The Goths and Ulfilas got their Bible first hand. “[T]he possibility of the influence of the Greek original exists.” Paul’s travels and original epistles skirted, by only 200 miles, the land of the Goths. The Goths moved “as far as Ephesus in the middle of the third century.” “They were quartered in Thessalonica in 390” and “formed the backbone of the Roman army.” Philostorgius said Ulfilas’ “grand- parents were Christians,” converts of those “dwellers in Cappadocia” which received the gift of “other tongues” heard in Acts 2:9. His grandparents were the direct converts of the “strangers scattered throughout Cappadocia” spoken of by Peter (1 Peter 1:1). These Cappadocians were the “hearers of Peter’s first sermon, and its Christian residents among the readers of his first epistle.” Ulfilas worked as a “reader of the Scriptures” in Constantinople, a town crowning the Sea of Marmara above the very center of those cities receiving Paul’s visits and letters. ‘‘(Camb. Hist., Vol. 2, p. 342; G.W.S. Friedrichsen, The Gothic Version of the Gospels, London: Oxford University Press, 1926, p. 38; G.W.S. Friedrichsen, The Gothic Version of the Epistles, London: Oxford University Press, 1939, p. 262; Ecclesiastical Histories, II. 5, ed. Bidez, p. 17f; Young’s Concordance, s.v Cappadocia; EB, s.v. Ulfilas, s.v. Goths).

“[T]he word order of the Greek text rigidly determined that of the Gothic Version...” “For the translator of the Greek Gospels into Gothic, therefore, the unit of translation was neither the sentence nor the phrase, but THE WORD.”

(Fredrichsen, Gospels, pp. 15, 16, 18, 23, 197-199; Friedrichsen, Epistles, p. 271).

The Gothic “Codex Argenteus represents a Byzantine text” and is the best existing exemplar of the Gothic text. Erasmus had easy access to it at the Abbey of Werden on the Ruhr River in Westphalia, just 80 miles from his back porch in Holland.

Even Catholic Cardinal Granvella’s secretary, Antonius Morillon, records seeing this Gothic Bible in Werden, not many years after Erasmus’ death. Codex Carolinus would have been available to Erasmus at the Abbey of Weissenburg, just east of his frequent Rhine River travels to his outposts at Heidelburg, Basil and Strasbourg. Codex Ambrosiani was housed in the monastery in Bobbio. (Camb. Hist., Vol. 2, p. 341; Metzger, Early Versions, pp. 378-379; The First Germanic Bible, p. xvi. Roland Bainton, Erasmus of Christendom, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1969, p. 129 et al..)  The Gothic language spread over Europe, and the north coast of Africa. The Goths remained in Spain until the 8^th Century. Metzger tells us that a writer of the 9^th Century, Walarid Strabo wrote that the Gothic Bible was still around and that it was the Bible of the “Scytharum” (Scythian) mentioned in Paul’s writings given earlier.  A Salzbury ms written in the late 10^th Century is the last surviving Gothic ms. The Cambridge History of the Bible says that the Gothic language still survived into the 16^th Century.

Now, let’s move from the Gothic language to other Old English Bibles. Another Old English Bible was the Anglo-Saxon’s. Let’s now explore these which will bring us up to the Middle English Bible called the Wycliffe Bible of the 1300’s. The following is a general list of English Bibles:

Gothic (apostles – A.D. 500) Anglo-Saxon (A.D. 500 – 1000)

Pre-Wycliffe (A.D. 1000 – 1400)

Wycliffe (A.D. 1384)

Tyndale/Coverdale/Great/Geneva (A.D. 1526-1558)

Bishops (A.D. 1568-1611)

King James Bible (A.D. 1611 – future till the Lord returns)

A consistent Christian would necessarily have to believe what Coverdale said, “No, the Holy Ghost is as much the author of it in Hebrew, Greek, French, Dutch, and English, as in Latin” (W. Kenneth Connolly, The Indestructable Book, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996, p. 148). Coverdale said further in the Coverdale Bible, Chadwyck, p.5, in part, “…the scripture…leaveth no poor man unhelped… And, why? Because it is given by the inspiration of God….”

The following is a more detailed list of the history of our English Bible, the KJ’s. England was dominated by the Celtic Britons for at least 500 years before Christ. In marched the Romans in 55 B.C. carrying their laws, their language and building byways which in less than 100 years would carry the gospel of Jesus Christ to the natives of Britain along with their Scriptures. Many Britons, men of the Celtic race were already Christians who had carried the Scriptures throughout England during the first six centuries and beyond. The information we have of the trail of the English Scriptures in their three stages: Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English, not to mention from the Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, to the German language to English. All of our information comes to us from Tertullian (200’s), Gildas (500’s), Bede (700’s), Asser (800’s), William of Malmesbury (1100’s), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (700 – 1200’s), and John Fox (1500’s).

John Foxe gives 7 proofs that the Gospel of Christ spread over England through the 6^th Century. (1) The testimony of Gildas writing in A.D. 633 said that Britain received the Gospel in the time of Tiberius the emperor, under whom Christ suffered. Further, that Joseph of Arimathea, after the dispersion was sent of Philip the apostle from France of Britain about A.D. 63. Walter Scott confirms that during the reigns of Nero and Domitian, A.D. 54-68, 81-96 by the companions of Paul, while numerous translations of portions of the Scriptures from the Old Latin Bible and circulated during the 2^nd Century. (2) Tertullian (c.150-c.230) testified that the Gospel from the apostles and there reckoning up the Medes, Persians, Parthians, dwellers in Mesopotamia, Jewry, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Egypt, Pamphylia, and others all the way to the Moors, all the borders of Spain, with divers nations of France, and parts of Britain that the Romans couldn’t attain. The (3) point to prove that England had the Gospel early on up to the 6^th Century is from Origen(c.185 – c. 254) who said “that the faith of Christ was sparsed here in England before the days of Eleuherius (A.D. 180).”

Foxe next cites the testimony of Bede stated that the first preachers came from Britain, the east but not from Rome. Fifthly, he alleges the words of Nicephorus that from Lk. 6:15 and Acts 1:13 that Simon Zelotes spread the Gospel to the west ocean, and brought it unto the isles of Britain. Sixthly, Foxe uses the words of Peter of Clugni writing to Bernard and affirmed that the Scots would not allow Rome to have the bishop over them. Finally, the 7^th argument adduced is that King Lucius of England was converted around A.D. 180. What’s really neat is that the King became a preacher teaching and preaching in France and Germany, and found many churches. While the Britons ruled, the Christians governed after the passing of the king from A.D. 180 – 449.

J. R. Dore says that it cannot be fixed when the Holy Scriptures were translated into English. He further states that the missionaries first responsibility is to translate the Scriptures, the epistles and the Gospels into the vernacular languages of the people. Even though we do not have any copies extant does not prove that they never existed but that the Christians chose to memorize the verses rather than watch them being profaned. Foxe, Bede, Constantius and Gildas all testify that the English Scriptures were destroyed by the Roman emperor Diocletian in A.D. 303 when it reached the Christians in Britain.  We have no Celtic Scriptures from before A.D. 300 or they were all destroyed by being burnt.

What became of those scriptures used in Britain from the first to the seventeenth century?

1. Diocletian was just one of the many Roman emperors who destroyed scriptures made from the time of the apostles to A.D. 303. The ten official persecutions from A.D. 67-313 were under Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, Severus, Macrianus, Decius, Aurelian, and Diocletion. The charge against Christians and their scriptures was odio humani generis, Latin for ‘hate crimes’ (lit. hatred of the human race).
2. Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, many of whom were heathen, destroyed those scriptures written between A.D. 303 and 450.
3. Danes destroyed the scriptures used between A.D. 450 and the late 800s.
4. Normans destroyed the Bibles made between the late 800s and A.D. 1066.
5. 5. Kings Henry IV (1399-1413), Henry V (1413-1422), Henry VIII (1509-1547) and finally Queen Mary (1553-1558) are just a few of the English monarchs who called for the destruction of all Christian Bibles.

1. Gildas wrote a history of Britain about A.D. 546 in which he quotes both the Old and the New Testaments that do not come from the Vulgate. In the Prologue of the 1395 edition of Wcliffe’s Bible says that Bede translated the whole Bible into Saxon.
2. Christians in England (A.D. 597-A.D. 731), Stonyhurst Gospels (John ,7^th Cent), Caedmon brought the English Scriptues forward for 6^th Century.
3. Wilfrid ordered copy of 4 Gospels (A.D. 678), Guthlac a Saxon (Psalter at the close of the 7^th Century)
4. Aldhelm: Anglo-Saxon (Psalter, early 7^th Century),
5. Ango-Saxon Gospels (A.D. 735 or before), King Alfred (800’s) in Anglo- Saxon the 10 Commandments, some of Exodus, the 4 Gospels, and the Psalter.
6. Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (late 800’s-1154), Aelfric collected various early translations portions of the Bible in West-Saxon, 10^th Century (Pentateuch, Josh., Judg., a portion of Kings, Esther, Job).
7. The Worcester Fragment (copied c. 1200) from a much earlier text.
8. Rushworth Version of the Gospels (Anglo-Saxon A.D.950),
9. The Lindisfarne Gospels from Latin (A.D. 698) into Northumbrian (Old English dialect) by Alfred in A.D. 950.
10. Junius ms (A.D. 1000 Old Saxon, Genesis, much of Daniel),
11. 12^th Century of the Gospels in the Kentish dialect.
12. Before the middle of the 14^th century the entire Old Testament and the greater part of the New Testament translated from the Old Latin into Anglo- Norman dialect of the period.
13. John Wycliffe Bible (A.D. 1384). From the 12^th through the 14^th century, Old English became Middle English which was used until the end of the 15^th century. Note: Wycliffe gathered earlier English Bibles when he wrote.
14. In the last half of the 1300’s, men like John de Trevisa produced English editions of the entire Bible. The English Bible widely used in the 1400s – 1500s inspite of persecution. All Bibles were handwritten upto this point.
15. After 1455 (printing press invented), German Bible in 1465, Italy in 1471, France in 1474, the Low Countries in 1477, Bohemia in 1488 and others before the English Bible was printed. Martyr John Lambert, burnt at the stake in 1538 said English Christians needed a printed Bible as others.
16. William Tyndale (c. 1484-1536). Tyndale New Testament in 1525. Soon no telling how many 1,000s died for reading the English Scriptures.
17. The first complete printed Bible: The Coverdale Bible in 1535
18. The Matthew’s Bible 1537