James Price’s “indisputable error” in the King James Bible?
Isaiah 13:15
For those who do not know, James Price is the chief editor and translator of the NEW King James Bible and he has also written a book which is highly critical of the King James Bible. It is called “King James Onlyism: A New Sect”. I have read it and have also written a refutation of this Bible agnostics views of the King James Bible. The man simply has NO complete and infallible Bible to give you nor to believe in himself, but he is sure the King James Bible is wrong in many passages. If you wish to see my article about this man’s book, you can see it here –
http://brandplucked.webs.com/priceskjonlyismsect.htm
Isaiah 13:15 – “Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one THAT IS JOINED UNTO THEM shall fall by the sword.”
One blusterous Bible corrector asserts:
www.dbts.edu/journals/1999/Combs.pdf
Errors in the King James Version?
by William W. Combs – Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
“The following example was supplied to me by Dr. James D. Price, who is currently producing a manuscript on this subject.”
“In the OT it is universally agreed, even by KJV-only advocates, that the KJV was based on the Second Bomberg Edition of 1525 edited by Jacob ben Chayyim. However, on occasion the translators did not follow the Hebrew/Aramaic text before them. For instance, in Isaiah 13:15 the KJV reads “joined” (“every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword”). There is no support for this reading in any Hebrew manuscript, text, ancient version, or rabbinic tradition. Instead, the correct reading is “captured” (“anyone who is captured will fall by the sword,” NASB). Possibly, the KJV translators misread one Hebrew letter for another, mistaking the word såpåh , “capture,” for såpaÿ , “join.” Whatever the case, THE READING OF THE KJV IS NOT THE READING OF THE AUTOGRAPHS AND IS THUS AN INDISPUTABLE ERROR.”
The Modern Vatican versions that side with Mr. Price’s translation of “captured” are the ASV, RSV, ESV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, Holman Standard, and of course, the more modern Catholic versions like the St. Joseph New American Bible 1970 and the New Jerusalem bible 1985.
Mr. Price’s information on page 288 of his book “King James Onlyism: A New Sect” appears to be totally false, as we shall soon see. Mr. Price writes – Isaiah 13:15 – The MT, supported by the LXX, Vulgate, and Targum reads “captured”, whereas the KJV reads “joined”. The translators misread one Hebrew letter for another, mistaking the Hebrew word nispeh for the word nispach found in 14:1, meaning ‘join’ or ‘cleave to’.”
First of all, Mr. Price is completely wrong about the alleged LXX reading “captured” and not “joined” as the King James Bible (and many others, as we shall soon see) has it.
I have a copy of the LXX right here on my desk. It is ‘The Septuagint Version with Apocrypha Greek and English, published by Zondervan, 4th printing 1977. There are several different versions of this thing, but the one I have clearly says: “And they that ARE GATHERED TOGETHER shall fall by the sword.” The Greek is οἵτινες συνηγμένοι εἰσίν μαχαίρᾳ πεσοῦνται – oitines suneegmenoi eisi.
The verb used here is a common one; it is the periphrastic perfect passive participle of sunago, which means “to gather, to assemble together, to come together, to assemble.” It is used numerous times in the N.T. in such places as “they were assembled together” (Acts 4:31), “he should gather together in one the children of God” (John 11:52) and “Come and gather yourselves together” (Rev. 19:17). The word has NOTHING to do with “capture”. The good doktor Price is flat out wrong.
According to Wigram’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance 1980, on page 881 he lists the Isaiah 13:15 reference to the Hebrew word # 5595 sahphah, meaning “to add, to augment, to put, or joined”. There is a very similar word under the same number (5595) and pronounced the same way which also means “to destroy, consume or to perish”.
Strong’s concordance lists the word found in Isaiah 13:15 as # 5595 and lists a variety of meanings for this single Hebrew word including: “to scrape together, to accumulate or increase, perish, add, augment, consume, destroy, heap, JOIN, perish and put.”
Even if we were to take this Hebrew word as the NASB concordance lists it under #5595 we see that the NASB has also translated it as “to add” twice and “to heap” once. Deut 32:23 “I will HEAP mischiefs upon them”; Numbers 32:14 “to ADD still more to the burning”, and Isaiah 30:1 “in order to ADD sin to sin.”
It seems only logical that if a group of people are “added” to another group, then they are “joined unto them”, right?
Lamsa’s translation of the Syriac Peshitta reads differently than them all with: “Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one THAT ESCAPES shall fall by the sword.” This certainly does not help out the Bible agnostics claim that the word should be translated as “captive”.
The LXX copy I have (Brenton’s translation of the Septuagint) agrees with the King James Bible saying: “they that ARE GATHERED TOGETHER shall fall by the sword.” – οἵτινες συνηγμένοι εἰσίν μαχαίρᾳ πεσοῦνται (kai hoitines sunegmenoi eisi pesountai makaira)
The New Brenton Translation 2012 also reads “THEY THAT ARE GATHERED TOGETHER shall fall by the sword.”
The Spanish Sagradas Escrituras of 1569 – “y cualquiera que a ellos SE JUNTARE, caerá a espada.” = “And whoever IS JOINED TO THEM, will fall by the sword.”
The Spanish Cipriano de Valera 1602, the 1865 Revision, and the Reina Valera 1909 also agrees with the King James reading: “y cualquiera que a ellos SE JUNTARE, caerá a cuchillo.”
The Spanish Reina Valera Gómez bible 2010 reads: “y cualquiera que a ellos se una, caerá a espada.” = and whoever UNITES HIMSELF TO THEM, will fall by the sword.”
The Italian Diodati of 1649 agrees with the KJB reading – “Chiunque sarà trovato sarà trafitto, e chiunque si SARA AGGUIUNTO con loro caderà per la spada.” = “and anyone will have joined with they fall by the sword.”
The Portuguese Almeida Bible of 1681 and A Biblia Sagrada em Portugués also agree with the KJB reading – “Todo o que for achado será transpassado; e todo O QUE SE UNIR A ELE cairá à espada.” = “whoever unites himself with them will fall by the sword.”
The French Martin Bible 1744 also reads like the KJB saying: “et quiconque s’y SERA JOINT, tombera par l’épée.” = will be joined
The Modern Greek Bible agrees totally with the King James reading – “και παντες οι συνηθροισμενοι θελουσι πεσει δια μαχαιρας.” = “And all THOSE GATHERED TOGETHER will fall by the sword.”
Martin Luther’s German translation of 1545 also agrees with the King James reading. Brother Herb Evans affirms: “Equally interesting is Martin Luther making the same “mistake” in his German Bible before the KJB translators did, he says “Welcher dabei ist”? (to unite by means of a joint or to become united or connected by or as of by a joint)”
The 2014 Romanian Fidela Bible also reads “each one THAT IS JOINED will fall by the sword” – “si fiecare ce li se alatura va cadea prin sabie.”
Darby’s translation agrees in sense with the King James Bible – “All that are found shall be thrust through; and every one THAT IS IN LEAGUE WITH THEM shall fall by the sword.”
Young’s 1898 likewise is similar to the KJB: – “Every one who is found is thrust through, And every one WHO IS ADDED falleth by sword.”
The Geneva Bible of 1587 also agrees with the KJB – “Euery one that is founde, shall be striken through: and WHOSOEVER JOINETH HIMSELF, shall fall by the sworde.”
The Bishops’ Bible of 1568 is similar in meaning – “Whoso is founde shalbe shot thorowe: and WHOSO TAKETH THEIR PART, shalbe destroyed with the sworde.”
Coverdale’s 1535 translation reads: “Who so is founde alone, shalbe shot thorow: And WHO SO GATHER TOGETHER, shalbe destroyed wt the swerde.”
The Great Bible 1540 – “And WHO SO GATHER TOGETHER, shal be destroyed with the swerde.”
Matthew’s Bible (John Rogers) of 1549 – “And WHOSO GATHER TOGETHER, shalbe destroied with the swerd.”
God’s First Truth 1999 – “And WHO SO GATHER TOGETHER, shall be destroyed with the sword.”
The Work of God’s Children Illustrated Bible 2011 has: “and EVERY ONE THAT SHALL COME TO THEIR AID, shall fall by the sword.”
Isaiah 13:15 – “EVERY ONE THAT IS JOINED unto them”
Also agreeing with the reading found in the King James Bible – “And every one that IS JOINED TO them shall fall by the sword.” are The Bill Bible 1671, Webster’s translation of 1833, the Lesser Bible 1853, the Calvin Bible 1855, The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907 – “every one that IS JOINED unto them shall fall by the sword.”, the Complete Apostles Bible 1998 – “and THEY THAT ARE GATHERED TOGETHER shall fall by the sword.”, The Word of Yah 1993 – “EVERYONE THAT IS JOINED TO THEM will fall by the sword”, the KJV 21st Century Version 1994, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, Bond Slave Version 2009, the Holy Scriptures Jubilee Bible of 2010, the Urim-Thummim Version of 2001, the Heritage Bible of 2003 – “Everyone who is found shall be stabbed, and EVERYONE JOINED TO THEM shall fall by the sword.”, The Complete Apostle’s Bible 2003 – “and THEY THAT ARE GATHERED TOGETHER shall fall by the sword”, Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010 – “everyone THAT IS JOINED unto them”, The Jubilee Bible 2010, the Biblos Interlinear Bible 2011 – “EVERYONE THAT IS JOINED unto them shall fall”, and The Holy Bible, Modern English Version 2014 – “ and every one WHO IS JOINED to them shall fall by the sword.”
And this Online Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament – “and everyone THAT IS JOINED shall fall by the sword.”
http://studybible.info/IHOT/Isaiah%2013:15
The Catholic Connection
The Douay-Rheims of 1610 reads much like the KJB with – “Every one that shall be found, shall be slain: and every one that shall come to their aid, shall fall by the sword.”
However the newer Catholic bible versions are like the NKJV, NIV, NASB, ESV (Because they are produced by the joint UBS Catholic/Evangelical Combine).
The New Jerusalem bible 1985 reads: “All those who are found will be stabbed, all THOSE CAPTURED will fall by the sword.” So to the NKJV, NIV, NASB, Holman, RSV and ESV. – “Everyone who is found will be thrust through, And everyone WHO IS CAPTURED will fall by the sword. “ NKJV
John Gill comments on the passage, saying: “and everyone that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword; or “added” unto them; any of other nations that joined them as auxiliaries, see (Revelation 18:4) or “that is gathered”; so the Septuagint, “they that are gathered”; that ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN A BODY TO RESIST THE ENEMY, AND DEFEND THEMSELVES. Some render the word, “every one that is consumed”, with age; neither old nor young, as follows, should be spared. The Targum is, “everyone that enters into the fortified cities,”flees there for safety and protection.”
Matthew Henry comments: “every one that is joined to them shall fall by the sword; THOSE OF OTHER NATIONS THAT COME TO THEIR ASSISTANCE shall be cut off with them. It is dangerous being in bad company, and helping those whom God is about to destroy.”
John Calvin also translated the passage as it appears in our King James Bible and he comments: “And every one that is joined to them shall fall by the sword. Some translators render this clause differently from what I have done; because the Hebrew verb (saphah) signifies to destroy or consume, they read it, Whosoever shall be destroyed, and explain it as relating to the old men, who were already worn out with age, and could not otherwise live longer; as if he had said, “Not even the men of advanced age, who are sinking into the grave, shall be spared, even though they are half-dead, and appear to be already giving up the ghost.” But because that is a feeble interpretation, and the verb (saphah) signifies likewise to add, I rather agree with others, who think that it denotes companies of soldiers, as in taking a city the soldiers are collected together in the form of a wedge, to ward off the attacks of the enemy. But IT WILL PERHAPS BE THOUGHT BETTER TO UNDERSTAND BY IT THE CONFEDERATES OR ALLIES WHO WERE JOINED TO BABYLON, AND MIGHT BE SAID TO BE UNITED IN THE SAME BODY, in order to show more fully the shocking nature of this calamity.”
Albert Barnes (1854) also comments on this verse in his Notes: Critical, Explanatory, and Practical on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah
“Every one that IS JOINED unto them – Their allies and friends. There shall be a vast, indiscriminate slaughter of all that are found in the city, and of those that attempt to flee from it. Lowth renders this, ‘ And all that are collected in a body;’ BUT THE TRUE SENSE IS GIVEN IN OUR TRANSLATION. The Chaldee renders it, ‘And every one who enters into fortified cities shall be slain with the sword.’ “
What we learn from this single example is that men like James Price and William Combs have no inerrant Bible in any language to give to anyone. Instead they foolishly and ignorantly set up their own minds and peculiar understanding as their final authority, in spite of the fact that many other godly men throughout history who were just as qualified, if not more so than Mr. Price or Mr. Combs, disagree with them and side with the King James Bible reading.
By the way, if you see or contact Mr. James Price or William Combs, ask them to SHOW you a copy of the complete, inspired and infallible Bible they PROFESSES to believe in. They will never do it. Why? Because they, like their buddy James White, really HAVE no infallible Bible to believe in at all. Go ahead; ask them and see.
From Brother Will Kinney (Which Version Club)