The KJV is a Literary Masterpiece, And a Disaster Study Bible (vIDEO)
Welcome to the home of Episode 205 of the Misquoting Jesus Podcast with Bart Ehrman. Below, you can watch the entire episode, read its description, and see links to related resources.
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episode description
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In Episode 205 of Misquoting Jesus, Bart Ehrman and Megan Lewis explore the King James Version (KJV), examining why some Christians regard it as the only authoritative Bible translation and why its historical and textual problems make it unsuitable for serious biblical study.
Ehrman explains that the KJV, published in 1611, was not the first English Bible but a revision of earlier translations, particularly William Tyndale’s work. Its enduring appeal comes largely from its extraordinary literary influence, memorable phrasing, and cultural familiarity. However, its archaic vocabulary, changing word meanings, theological biases, and reliance on relatively late and unreliable New Testament manuscripts create significant problems for modern readers.
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The discussion highlights striking examples, including the mistranslation of Isaiah’s young woman as a virgin, the identification of a divine being in Daniel as the Son of God, and passages that entered the KJV despite not belonging to the earliest recoverable New Testament text.
In the bonus Q&A, Ehrman discusses the development of original sin under Augustine, early Christian evangelism, and the historical interpretation of Jesus’ teaching about eunuchs in Matthew 19, including the disputed story of Origen’s self-castration.
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