DRAGONS – REAL OR MYTH
The word “dragon” and “dragons” are found 22 times in the Old Testament and 12 times in the New Testament only in the book of Revelation. Except for the New Testament, almost in every case in the Old Testament, dragon and dragons have been replaced with jackals, serpents, sea serpent, sea monster, sea creatures, monster and reptile. The translators of the modern versions clearly do not believe in any real and literal dragons. It is obvious for anyone who has a King James Bible to judge what these “scholars” have done to the dragons found in the Holy Bible. Other than attributing dragon or dragons to something spiritual in nature, any literal application of this animal must be denied and replaced with a real animal that is current in our time. Below is a brief examination of the word “dragon” and “dragons” in the Old Testament of the King James Bible with comparison from the New King James Version, the New American Standard Bible and the New International Version.
Deuteronomy 32:33:
KJB: Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
NKJV: Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of cobras.
NASB: Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly venom of cobras.
NIV: Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly venom of cobras.
We are told that the animals must not be dragons because serpents are poisonous whereas dragons probably are not. Or perhaps, the translators of these modern bibles do not believe in literal dragons and as such, dragons must be removed from the pages of the Holy Bible. So the “scholars” have decidedly change dragons, which are mentioned in the Holy Bible for the first time here in Deuteronomy 32:33 to another creature they are acquainted with in their days and age. This will set the direction for future translation of dragons into some other creatures other than dragons. Curiously, the “scholars” also changed asps into cobras as though only the venom of cobras is cruel or some would prefer deadly. They failed to consider asps, which included cobras and other species of poisonous snakes, whose venom is just as cruel if not even more deadly.
Nehemiah 2:13:
KJB: And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
NKJV: And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire.
NASB: So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.
NIV: By night I went out through the Valley Gate towards the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.
Well, we see the “accuracy” and very “exacting” high standards of modern days’ bible “scholars” as some prefer this well to be called the Serpent Well while another the Jackal Well. So serpent and jackal are the same and they mean the same thing as no doctrine has been changed or affected in their noble cause of making the English Bible more readable to our modern day gullible English reader. Pay a visit to a zoo and you won’t find zoologists as dumb as these bible “scholars”.
Job 30:29:
KJB: I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.
NKJV: I am a brother of jackals, and a companion of ostriches.
NASB: I have become a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches.
NIV: I have become a brother of jackals, a companion of owls.
Unbelief suggests that dragons are not real and so jackals are more appropriate. Job must be hallucinating while under great distresses and pains from the sufferings he was going through. After all, these bible “scholars” have never seen a dragon before so this word must be changed otherwise it might bring great insult to their scholarly standing among their peers of infidels. Some even mistaken owls for ostriches! How wonderful to go hunting with these people!
Psalm 44:19:
KJB: Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
NKJV: But You have severely broken us in the place of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.
NASB: Yet Thou hast crushed us in a place of jackals, And covered us with the shadow of death.
NIV: But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness.
There is no place for the dragon especially in the Holy Bible as a real animal, according to these “scholars”. They have found a place for jackals and their haunt so that you would think that they are indeed knowledgeable people when they sell you a bible to make a quick buck from you.
Psalm 74:13:
KJB: Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
NKJV: You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.
NASB: Thou didst divide the sea by Thy strength; Thou didst break the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
NIV: It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters.
So once again, dragons are a myth and the closest you could call it would be monsters or sea serpents and they are only found in the seas and not in lakes up in a high mountain! Unless you think these “scholars” are expert zoologists, you would be much better off believing the pure words of the living God that there are dragons in the waters, which are not necessarily restricted to living in sea water.
Psalm 91:13:
KJB: Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
NKJV: You will tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
NASB: You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.
NIV: You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
Either the “scholars” do not believe in dragons or they think they are too huge to be trampled under feet so they all agreed to change it to a serpent. But what they don’t realize is who is doing the trampling here. So much for their “spiritual” insights and you won’t want to use them to teach your Sunday School kids. They also think that the only dangerous snakes to be found are cobras. They probably didn’t pay attention in class during their school days!
Psalm 148:7:
KJB: Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps:
NKJV: Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths:
NASB: Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps;
NIV: Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths:
Identifying sea creatures or monsters, as dragons would definitely affect their scholarly standing so it is better to avoid this terrible creature and leave it to the readers to make up their own mind.
Isaiah 13:22:
KJB: And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.
NKJV: The hyenas will howl in their citadels, and jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.
NASB: The hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.
NIV: Hyenas will howl in her strong holds, jackals in her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand and her days will not be prolonged.
One wonders how these “scholars” knew that the wild beasts are hyenas as though hyenas are the only wild beasts to inhabit desolate houses which some of them make them live in citadels (what choice of word to use by the NKJB translators to make the bible more readable to the common men!), fortified towers and strong holds. Have the hyenas become pets for the owners of these dwelling places? Or have they been domesticated and trained to detect weapons of mass destruction for the occupants of these strong holds? Common sense is rather uncommon to these modern day translators of the English bibles. So again we are told that the correct animals to be listed here are the jackals perhaps even having a good time in the palaces living in “luxury”. Do you trust their scholarship here like they did for the hyenas?
Isaiah 27:1:
KJB: In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
NKJV: In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; and He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.
NASB: In that day the LORD will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.
NIV: In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.
We are spoilt for choice of adjectives to describe the serpent. Some think it should be a fleeing serpent while others think that the serpent should be gliding but not piercing as well as the serpent should be twisted and coiling instead of being crooked. Either “piercing” must be an obsolete word that the modern day reader cannot understand or leviathan is rather gentle and piercing would be an unfortunate description of this creature! Any negative word like “crooked” used to describe him must be avoided at all cost. Animals have rights don’t you know especially when they are endangered species? Surprisingly, the translators of the NASB this time think that this personality is the dragon while the rest prefers it to be called a reptile or a sea monster. So do you still think that the NKJV is actually a KJB with only updated English words that the modern readers cannot understand?
Isaiah 34:13:
KJB: And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.
NKJV: And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses; it shall be a habitation of jackals, a courtyard for ostriches.
NASB: And thorns shall come up in its fortified towers, Nettles and thistles in its fortified cities; It shall also be a haunt of jackals And an abode of ostriches.
NIV: Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls.
Here we have the convenient jackals replacing the dragons and owls mistaken for ostriches. You think there are sufficient free space in palaces and fortresses for ostriches to roam instead of a place for the owls that can fly? Ostriches have more sense than these “scholars” to make such places their natural habitats unless they don’t mind risking some broken bones or neck injury, as we don’t expect these huge and heavy birds that can’t fly falling off staircases to be something close to impossible.
Isaiah 35:7:
KJB: And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
NKJV: The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
NASB: And the scorched land will become a pool, And the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
NIV: The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
Of course there are no dragons as no one has seen it in our days so it is better to change it to jackals so that the modern day readers can relate. Unfortunately, dragons do not look like jackals and jackals do not behave like dragons. What a poor replacement from our highly educated “scholars”.
Isaiah 43:20:
KJB: The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
NKJV: The beast of the field will honour Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen.
NASB: The beast of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches; Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people.
NIV: The wild animals honour me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
Unless the “scholars” believe that dragons are incapable of honouring God and jackals are much better to give honour to whom honour is due, it is the unbelief in literal dragons that prompted the consistent replacement of dragons with these creatures. What dishouring spiritual malpractice in producing false bibles to rob Christians of their faith in God’s preserved words!
Isaiah 51:9:
KJB: Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
NKJV: Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, and wounded the serpent?
NASB: Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not Thou who cut Rahab in pieces, Who pierced the dragon?
NIV: Awake, awake! Cloth yourself with strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced the monster through?
Was Rahab identified as the dragon or was it just a serpent or an unidentifiable monster? Perhaps UFO would be a possible alternative for the next newest and more enhanced and highly accurate English version coming into the market soon! Again, the translators of the NASB think that it should be the dragon because of its spiritual connotation in the verse here. So the modern versions translators do not always agree among themselves and each claims that they are making the English bible more accurate, more readable and closest to the originals. But then again we already have the infallible King James Bible to judge all other works!
Jeremiah 9:11:
KJB: And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
NKJV: “And I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”
NASB: “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, A haunt of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without an inhabitant.”
NIV: “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so that no-one can live there.”
So as far as a land animal is concerned, these “scholars” have all agreed that jackals would make more sense and dragons are out of the question. Since, no one has ever seen a live dinosaur, they must not be real. Since there are no Tasmanian Tigers in the world any more, they don’t exist. Do you follow the reasoning of our modern days bible “scholars”?
Jeremiah 10:22:
KJB: Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
NKJV: Behold, the noise of the report has come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, a den of jackals.
NASB: The sound of a report! Behold, it comes – A great commotion out of the land of the north – To make the cities of Judah A desolation, a haunt of jackals.
NIV: Listen! The report is coming – a great commotion from the land of the north! It will make the town of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals.
How did they know that there were jackals in Israel during Jeremiah’s time? How did they conclude that dragons did not exist in Israel during those days? Infidelity is contagious and it is deadly. It is a privilege to believe God’s pure and holy words than to trust in the scholarships of these translators.
Jeremiah 14:6:
KJB: And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
NKJV: And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; they sniffed at the wind like jackals; their eyes failed because there was no grass.
NASB: “And the wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyes fail For there is no vegetation.
NIV: Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights and pant like jackals; their eyesight fails for lack of pasture.”
Are there such animals as wild donkeys? Aren’t wild asses domesticated to become donkeys? Jackals must be some wild speculation on the part of these translators to replace literal dragons.
Jeremiah 49:33:
KJB: And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
NKJV: “Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, a desolation forever; no one shall reside there, nor son of man dwell in it.”
NASB: “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, A desolation forever; No one will live there, Nor will a son of man reside in it.”
NIV: “Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, a desolate place for ever. No-one will live there, no man will dwell in it.”
Another case of consistent unbelief in literal dragons! The King James Bible is wrong here and Christians have been deceived for more than 300 years until these modern versions “scholars” come to our rescue. How noble is their work of “faith” and labour “love” perhaps love for the money in selling copyrighted bibles!
Jeremiah 51:34:
KJB: Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
NKJV: “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me; he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up like a monster; he has filled his stomach with my delicacies, he has spit me out.
NASB: “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me and crushed me; He has set me down like an empty vessel; He has swallowed me up like a monster; He has filled his stomach with my delicacies, He has washed me away.
NIV: “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us, he has thrown us into confusion, he has made us an empty jar. Like a serpent he has swallowed us and filled his stomach with our delicacies, and then has spewed us out.
In identifying Nebuchanezzar as a type of the devil devouring Israel, likening him to a serpent or a monster would be inadequate and do injustice to the children of Israel suffering under his hands. Since the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, likening him to a dragon fits the bill especially when cross-referencing with Revelations 12 with regards to the great conflict of the ages concerning the woman (Israel) and the dragon (Satan). Don’t ever trust these “scholars” to teach your Sunday School classes concerning spiritual matters!
Jeremiah 51:37:
KJB: And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
NKJV: Babylon shall become a heap, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment and a hissing, without an inhabitant.
NASB: “And Babylon will become a heap of ruin, a haunt of jackals, An object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
NIV: Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and scorn, a place where no-one lives.
Babylon as the seat of the Dragon should likewise become a dwelling place for dragons. Unbelief in God’s words produces infidels incapable of receiving spiritual truths. As there is a literal Devil, there are literal dragons as well.
Ezekiel 29:3:
KJB: Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
NKJV: “Speak, and say, `Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, `My River is my own; I have made it for myself.’
NASB: “Speak and say, `Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, That has said, `My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’
NIV: Speak to him and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “ `I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, you great monster lying among your streams. You say, “The Nile is mine; I made it for myself.”
To identify Pharaoh as a type of Satan, great monster would make a poor description. So dragons not only live in the sea, they live in rivers as well!
Micah 1:8:
KJB: Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.
NKJV: Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals and a mourning like the ostriches,
NASB: Because of this I must lament and wail, I must go barefoot and naked; I must make a lament like the jackals And a mourning like the ostriches.
NIV: Because of this I will weep and wail: I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl.
The “scholars” think that Micah was mistaken and can’t tell a dragon from a jackal and an owl from an ostrich. They think they are more spiritual than the prophet! Go hunting with these “scholars” will get you into trouble with the authorities for hunting the wrong kind of animals.
Malachi 1:3:
KJB: And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
NKJV: But Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.”
NASB: but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation, and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”
NIV: but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his heritance to the desert jackals.”
These “scholars” are trying to misrepresent Lord. What audacity! Maybe, they think that the Creator of the universe could not have created dragons and jackals are more likely the correct animals here. Such is the defective thinking and irreverent mindset of these “scholars” when handling the pure, holy and inspired words of the living God.
Only bible “scholars” are so dumb when trying to be the authority on zoology. People of the world won’t shy away from this word “dragon” and they give names to animals, fruits and plants associating them with the word “dragon” such as Komodo dragon, dragonfly, dragon fruit, dragon tree and even dragon’s blood. Why are they so fearful of dragons, especially literal dragons? Don’t they know that fallen men believe in dragons and some even worship them? The Chinese have the Lion Dance and the Dragon Dance! One would have to conclude that these “scholars” have lost touch with realities and are not living in the real world! Whenever anyone suggests that he is only trying to update and enhance the King James Bible with more modern words that can be readily understood by the modern English readers, don’t believe him. This is just another smokescreen to change the words of God into some other words that have totally different meanings.