THE SPIRIT ITSELF (ROMANS 8:26)

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:26

Bible correctors tell us that the Spirit should be referred to as himself, not itself. The ASV, RSV, NKJV, NIV and all other versions that I examined do have ‘himself’.

ASV: And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;

RSV … but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

New King James … but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

NIV … but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

This is one of the best proofs that the modern revisers’ claims to having a deeper knowledge of Greek is hogwash. The Greek word for spirit is pneuma. Greek, like German, has 3 genders, which include a neuter, as well as masculine and feminine. Pneuma is a neuter noun. Since it is neuter, the only reflexive pronoun that could be used is itself. ‘Himself’ is bad grammar, and any 1st month Greek student should be able to recognize that, let alone one of these self-professed scholars of Greek! I always smile when this verse is brought up to discredit the KJV. I haven’t checked every version out there, but from what I’ve seen so far, the KJV is the ONLY version to get this verse right. It should also be pointed out that the Old Testament does use the word ‘it’ in reference to Christ.

Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

I recently heard an evangelist point out that there is a direct connection between this ‘it’ and the ‘it’ in Luke 2:17, and indeed there is.

Luke 2:16&17: And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

In this case ‘it’ refers back to ‘babe’ or brephos, which also is neuter. This connects Genesis 3:15 and Luke 2:17, the latter being the fulfillment.

Oddly, many of the new versions got ‘it’ right in this passage.

ASV: And when they saw it, they made known concerning the saying which was spoken to them about this child.

RSV: And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child;

Why did they hypercorrect the Romans passage and not this one? Was it just incompetence, or were they trying to remove a part of the trinity? The NIV did foul this one up by translating it ‘him’, but this is not surprising. No serious Greek scholar takes the NIV very seriously, and I very much doubt that the NIV translators made much reference to the Greek, and only lied about having done so.

If the KJV translators had ignored Greek grammar the way the modern revisers have done, they would have eliminated the connection that the Romans verse has with the ‘it’ in Genesis 3:15. So in summary, not only do the modern revisers show their ignorance, but they destroy some of the intricate connections between the two testaments.

John Hinton, Ph.D.
Bible Restoration Ministry
A ministry seeking the translating and reprinting of KJV equivalent
Bibles in all the languages of the world.