The English Standard Version(ESV) was released by Crossway Books in 2001. They profess that the ESV is the most accurate version and is easier to read. According to them, the King James Bible(KJV) is not accurate and we need to update the language, just like all the other 300 new versions that have been published for money making purposes. One must notice that the new versions always compare themselves to the KJV.
Their claim is that the KJV is hard to understand and needs updating. Nothing can be further from the truth. When grammatically compared to the KJV, the ESV is much harder to read.
On the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level the KJB received a 4.32 when the ESV received an 8.22. The sentence complexity for the KJV is 29, when the ESV is 61. Vocabulary complexity for the KJV is 2 and the ESV is 10. With the higher number being easier to read, the short sentences in the KJV has 10,342 and the ESV with 3,441. Again the KJV has 5,728 simple sentences with the ESV having 2,301. The ESV had 13,478 big words, while the KJV only had 7,020. Finally, the KJV had the average of 8.78 average words per sentence when the ESV had 18.82. These results show that the people of the ESV have lied about their translation being easier to read.
The ESV's preface and introduction state that the ESV captures the precise wording of the "original text". That is a flat out lie because no one has the "originals" today. What we have today is around 6,000 pieces of copies of the Greek New Testament with most differing from each other. The ESV committee members are dishonest and handle the precious words of God deceitfully.
2 Corinthians 4:2 "But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." KJV
The KJV is translated from the Textus Receptus(TR) text. This text agrees with over 99% of the 5,686 Greek manuscripts. The ESV, along with all the other new versions is translated from the text of Westcott and Hort(W&H), which drastically different from the TR. The W&H text, that has been altered by the philosophy of men, removes complete verses and words, which explains why the new versions do the same. The new versions are not just "updating the language", they are corrupting the word of God with the help of the corrupt W&H text.
Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort are the two men behind the corrupt Greek text of the new versions. These two men were on the translating committee of the Revised Version(RV). By reading these two men's quotes any Christian would agree that these two men were heretics.
For time sake, I will not quote all of their quotes, but leave it up to the reader to research these men. Here are just some of the false beliefs of these men. Both did not believe in the infallibility or authority of the Holy Scriptures. They denied the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and did not believe in a literal eternal Hell. Both denied the literal account of creation in Genesis. Westcott believed in the worship of Mary, while Hort said that the worship of Mary and Jesus had a lot in common. Hort believed in the Roman Catholic sacraments and taught baptismal regeneration. Westcott did not believe in the literal Second Coming of Jesus Christ, nor believed in a literal heaven. Hort did not believe in the Trinity, nor believed in literal angels. Hort attacked the doctrine of substitution also. The list goes on and on, but I will stop there.
Those are the men behind the new version's Greek text and after examining their beliefs one can see why the new versions corrupt major doctrines, such as the deity of Jesus Christ. Understand that it is not just the ESV that uses the W&H text, but all the other new versions, such as the NIV, NASV, ASV, RV, RSV, NCV, etc.
The W&H Greek text consists of two corrupt manuscripts that disagree with the Majority text. These two manuscripts that are filled with errors are called the Vaticanus and Siniaticus, which include the Apocrypha in the Old Testament. The KJV translators made it clear that the Apocrypha was not inspired scripture by putting it in the middle for only historical reasons and noting that it was not scripture. The ESV uses the 4th edition of the UBS Greek New Testament and the 27th edition of Nestle's Novum Testamentum Graece, which follow the W&H Greek text.
Deceitfully, the ESV claims lineage to the KJV. Again, nothing can be further from the truth because as you have seen, the KJV and ESV use completely different texts in translating. The ESV uses the same Greek text as the Revised Standard Version(RSV), which claimed the KJV had many mistakes when it was published.
The Lord has warned people against subtracting and adding to his words. The ESV goes directly against God's command and takes out 17 complete verses. The fact is, the new version people are LIARS because they claim that they are just updating the language to make it "easier", but what they have done is used the corrupt W&H Greek text that corrupts doctrines and alters the precious words of God.
Deuteronomy 4:2 "YE SHALL NOT ADD unto the word which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH ought from it.." KJV
Proverbs 30:6 "ADD THOU NOT unto his words.." KJV
Revelation 22:18,19 "..If any man SHALL ADD unto these things..And if any man shall TAKE AWAY FROM THE WORDS of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life.." KJV
Luke 8:12 "..then cometh the devil, and TAKETH AWAY the word.." KJV
My friends, God is not the author of the ESV! The spirit behind the ESV comes from the same person in the above verse that wants to take the word of God from you.
The 17 verses removed in the ESV are Matthew 12:47, 17:21, 18:11, 23:14; Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46, 11:26, 15:28; Luke 17:36, 22:44, 23:17; John 5:4; Acts 8:37, 15:34, 24:7, 28:29 and finally Romans 16:24. Look them up!
Do you know what Matthew 18:11 says?
Matthew 18:11 "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." KJV
What a verse to take to completely out!
Not only does the ESV take out 17 complete verses, it takes out over 33,000 words in just the New Testament alone. If the ESV is "easier" to read it is not because of it's reading grade scale, but the fact that is takes out so much of God's word.
The ESV takes out the name "Jesus" 18 times, "Jesus Christ" 51 times, "Christ" 39 times, "Lord" 66 times and "God" 38 times. The ESV attacks our Lord Jesus Christ! The ESV also removes the word "Hell" 40 times, the words "devil" and "devils" 83 times.
In Matthew 5:22, the ESV makes Jesus Christ a sinner by removing the phrase "without a cause". Remember that Jesus Christ got angry in Mark 3:5.
Matthew 5:22 "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." KJV
Matthew 5:22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." ESV
The ESV takes out the precious Blood of Jesus Christ in Colossians 1:14!
Colossians 1:14 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:" KJV
Colossians 1:14 "in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." ESV
The ESV denies the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ in Philippians 2:6!
Philippians 2:6 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:" KJV
Philippians 2:6 "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped," ESV
In 1 Timothy 3:16, the ESV attacks the deity and incarnation of Jesus Christ by replacing "God" with "He".
1 Timothy 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." KJV
1 Timothy 3:16 "Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory." ESV
The ESV takes out the words "is come in the flesh" proving itself have the spirit of antichrist behind it.
1 John 4:3 "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." KJV
1 John 4:3 "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already." ESV
We know that there are many sons of God in scripture, such as Adam(Luke 3:38), the angels(Job 1:6) and Christians(Philippians 2:15). With that in mind, the ESV changes John 3:16 into a lie by removing the word "begotten".
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." KJV
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ESV
The ESV gives Lucifer one of the names of the Lord Jesus Christ in Isaiah 14:12, which is "Day Star"(1 Peter 1:19).
Isaiah 14:12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" KJV
Isaiah 14:12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!" ESV
The Lord's Prayer is changed into the Devil's Prayer by removing the phrases "which art in heaven", "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in the earth" and "deliver us from evil". The "father" of the ESV is not in heaven and does not want to deliver us from evil because it is Satan who is behind this corrupt translation!
Luke 11:2 "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil." KJV
Luke 11:2 "And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation." ESV
The Virgin Birth is attacked by the ESV in Luke 2:33 by saying that Joseph was the father of Jesus!
Luke 2:33 "And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him." KJV
Luke 2:33 "And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him." ESV
While the ESV corrupts the word of God, it seems like they try their best to cover their tracts. In 2 Corinthians 2:17, they replace "corrupt the word of God" with "peddlers of God's word".
2 Corinthians 2:17 "For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." KJV
2 Corinthians 2:17 "For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ." ESV
The ESV takes out the word "study" in 2 Timothy 2:15 and replaces it with "Do your best". What a joke right? Not only do they do that, but they take out the words "rightly dividing" and replace it with "rightly handling". To understand the Bible one must know how to rightly divide it.
2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." KJV
2 Timothy 2:15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." ESV
In Luke 4:4, the ESV takes out the phrase "but by every word of God" and we can see why! Note that the Lord Jesus Christ is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3.
Luke 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." KJV
Luke 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone." ESV
Remember that I said Hort attacked the doctrine of substitution and that the ESV and new versions come from the W&H text. Knowing that, one must take a look at the verses dealing with Salvation in the ESV. In the ESV, salvation is not a one time finished thing, rather salvation is a process and is not complete. Notice in the below verses that the KJV says "saved", while the ESV says "being saved".
Act 2:47 "Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." KJV
Acts 2:47 "praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." ESV
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1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." KJV
1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." ESV
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1 Corinthians 15:2 "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." KJV
1 Corinthians 15:2 "and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain." ESV
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2 Corinthians 2:15 "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:" KJV
2 Corinthians 2:15 "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing," ESV
In Colossians 2:10, the ESV says that we are not "complete" in Christ, rather we are just "filled".
Colossians 2:10 "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:" KJV
Colossians 2:10 "and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority." ESV
The ESV perverts the simplicity of salvation in Matthew 7:14 by saying "the way is hard". There is nothing hard about being saved. Being saved is simply by realizing you are a sinner and trusting Jesus Christ(John 10:9, John 4:14).
Matthew 7:14 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." KJV
Matthew 7:14 "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." ESV
I understand that I quoted a lot of verses making this article fairly long, but I wanted the reader to actually see just SOME of the corruptions in the ESV. Believe me, what I have shown is not even half of all the corruptions in the ESV.
So, what have we learned? The ESV flat out lies by saying it is just an update of the KJV and is "easier" to read. The ESV people talk about the "originals" without never even seeing them. The ESV uses the corrupt Greek manuscripts by W&H that are based upon the Vaticanus and Siniaticus manuscripts, which include the Catholic Apocrypha IN the Old Testament. Finally, they take out complete verses and words, while corrupting major doctrines and attacking our Lord Jesus Christ.
Contrary to popular belief, this is a VERY serious issue and must be examined. Having God's pure word is the #1 issue because without the word of God we would not know what God said about anything, including major doctrines like salvation and the deity of Jesus Christ. If the new versions are taking away from the word of God then the Bible issue is everything but a "non-issue". Christian, the Devil is undoubtedly involved with the new versions, such as the ESV, NIV, NASV and NKJV.
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