SOME FACTS ABOUT THE KING JAMES 2011
REVISION
The Tyndale
Memorial
Revision
During the decade of the seventies many
churches were
feeling the pressure to replace the King James Translation with one of
the
newer translations. While there were some good reasons for doing this,
I found
the proposed change upsetting because certain problems with the newer
translations were not being addressed. As a result, there were at least
three
different occasions when I asked the Lord to raise up someone who would
revise
the King James translation.
The first time I made that request, the
thought “Why
don’t you do it” came very strongly into my mind while I was praying.
At the
time, I just brushed that thought aside for I felt that such a task was
far
beyond my ability. Months later, when praying on the same topic, that
thought
came to me again and again I brushed it aside. Then, perhaps a year or
more later, that thought came to me a third
time as I prayed. However,
that time, instead of brushing the thought aside I said to God, “If you
really
want me to revise the King James Translation, you need to give me the
ability
to do it for I feel totally inadequate to take on such a task”. After
that I
did not think much more about it. However, about ten to fifteen years
later I began
to write theological articles.
When I first began writing I tended to be
very
critical of myself, and for that reason would often rewrite my articles
over
and over three, four and even five times until I was satisfied with
them. I
concentrated on being able to present a clear train of thought. And, in
time I
learned how to word things in a way that was unambiguous and easy to
follow.
Over the years I have written more than two-hundred essays, many of
which have
appeared in “Christian News”. Then, as I neared retirement, everything
seemed
to fall into place for me to revise the King James Translation. I had
the
entire text of the King James Bible on my computer, the skill needed,
and confidence
that could do it. It took about five years of work, but by 2011 that
revision
was largely complete.
Gary Ray Branscome